Worth the Time

Waltham Academy, Book 2

By: Laura Jackson

Narrated by: Giselle Lumas

Doesn't anyone feel she's worth their time? Routinely ignored by her single mother, high school senior Lindsey Hamilton hides her loneliness behind a mask of flirtatious self-confidence that has many boys wrapped around her finger. However, during community service required for graduation, she meets a shy guy with a haunted past who barely gives her the time of day. Why doesn't he like her? Then the father she thought had abandoned her before birth wants to meet, and she discovers everything she believed about him is a lie. How will Lindsey learn to trust so she can realize that she has been loved all along?

©2014 Laura Jackson (P)2017 Laura Jackson

Not what I normally read

I'm not religious so I normally stay clear of books with a strong religious themes. The blurb on this one was intriguing so I decided to give it a go. I was right about the strong religious themes but I enjoyed the book anyway.

The writing is very well done and the story has a great flow to it. There's lots going on and strong themes of forgiveness and moving on. The characters are well developed and their interactions are a times funny, touching, sad and more.

Lindsey is not very likeable for parts of the book but her story is also touching and she does a lot of growing throughout the book, I was quite attached to her by the end.

All in all I enjoyed listing to this book. The narration is well done, the character voices are clear and distinct and the delivery is smooth and well paced.

I received a free copy of this book from the author and/or narrator and/or publisher and I voluntarily wrote this honest review.

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Religious undertones that I hadn't been expecting.

Worth the Time, Waltham Academy, Book 2, by Laura Jackson wasn't quite what I had expected. The overall premise of the book is good and man, did I feel sorry for poor Lindsey! This book had some religious undertones, which didn't bother me, but I just hadn't been expecting them. So if you don't care for books with a bit of a religious undertone, then I would recommend staying away from this one. That being said, it's a decent YA story dealing with some the battles of growing up and dealing with jerks at school, peer pressure, etc. as well as some more major issues such as finding out that everything you though about an absent parent may just be completely false. I would recommend this book for more of an older YA crowd, as there are some more serious issues and sex is a topic periodically.

Giselle Lumas' narration wasn't bad, per se, but it wasn't great either. She handled the narration well enough but I found that I was unable to really get into the story as much, as there wasn't as much emotion in the narration to bring the characters to life as I've come to expect from many of the Audible books that I listen to. In addition, the audio recording was hollow sounding and somewhat distracting. It wasn't as hollow sounding as some narrations that I've listened to, but it was definitely there. A good, quality recording and a bit better editing (there were a few spots where there were other technical issues with the recording) would have made a star's worth of difference in my rating. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher for an honest review.

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A teen story everyone should read

The story has religious undertones. Lindsey is an in secure girl who is graduating. She has all the boys wrapped around her little finger except the one she meets during her community service which is a requirement for graduation. Lindsey find that life if more complicated than she first thought. Her mother had not only been ignoring her but also lying to her about her father. The story is a likable story. Very thought provoking. Enjoyed to very much.

The narration of the book was very good. She brought the characters to life

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Fine Story

A teenager who is coming of age learns that community service can generate more than just an opportunity to graduate but an opportunity to learn what real life is. She uses flirtation to cover her insecurities until she runs across a boy who does not succumb to her flirts but does do something even better. The narrator made the story come to life and kept me listening. I am not a fan of YA novels but this one was fine. I got this book via audiobook boom.

Clean read.

I have not read book one but I did not feel that I was missing anything.
This book is an interesting read in that it is about family and the drama that comes with it.

The narrator I thought was OK, she voiced the characters but I felt the male voices sounded strange.