Presenting Rachel Reuben!

I'm excited to have Rachel Reuben as my guest on Dellani's Tea Time this coming Monday, June 11 at 4:00 PM Eastern on Blog Talk Radio. If any of you missed my review of Rachel's knockout YA novel, Hag, I've included it below.

As an added bonus, I'll be running the switchboard. If you thought the shows were funny before, just wait. I've proven myself completely incompetent with the switchboard on more than one occasion, so it should be interesting to see if I can handle that and the interview without breaking a nail, disconnecting my guest or poking myself in the eye.

Tune in Monday! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/rrradio/2012/06/11/dellanis-tea-time

                                   HAG – Rachel Reuben

Audrey Saldano has learned to be tough. Living on the less posh side of Cleveland, she's learned to defend herself. The only thing she can't defend herself against is the pain she feels when she sees her ex-boyfriend, Desmond, with his new girlfriend, Raquel.

Even the appearance of a hot, interesting new guy, Roddai, can't make her feel any less upset. In fact, Roddai irritates her even more. He's persistent and, eventually, Audrey finds that she enjoys his company.

Audrey isn't quite sure what's going on when Desmond shows up at her home and wants to be friends again. In fact, he asks her out to a carnival and she agrees to go. While there, he's jumped by a bunch of boys from another school. Desmond fights them off, but gets surrounded. Fortunately, Roddai isn't far away and jumps in to help Desmond, scaring the other boys off.

For a time, life seems pretty good. She and Desmond are back together and she's friends with Roddai. Everything is fine until Desmond decides to get even with the guys who jumped him at the Winter Carnival. This time, things don't go so well and Desmond is seriously hurt. Audrey's life falls apart. Desmond's death reveals secrets he'd been keeping, even from her.

Hag is an intense, real life drama for teens. Gritty and hard hitting, Hag closely examines Audrey's situation and asks the question, "What would you do if...?"

The characters in Hag are well fleshed out and seem authentic to the reader. Audrey is an especially good, three dimensional character. Her grief and anger are very real. While we might not agree with her actions, we can see why she reacts in the way she does. She is tough, independent, self-sufficient and doesn't rely on others to fight her battles for her.

I really enjoyed Hag is a great coming of age story for young adult readers 16+ and adults. It will make you laugh, cry and cheer. 

Five Golden Acorns.