Book Review & Blog Tour! | Paralyzed Dreams

Hey-o, dearies! I am participating in a blog tour!!
You can find the book here, and the author's blog, here.
And now, for the book review. :]

Paralyzed Dreams C.B. Cook Publisher: Amazon Kindle Genre: YA Fiction, Christian Released: 2015
{blurb} Fourteen-year-old Pam Wilson's life is going perfectly. She and her best friend, Lauren, are becoming an amazing volleyball duo, and her dreams of playing in the Olympics are coming along wonderfully. Then a car accident paralyzes Pam from the waist down, and her dreams for her life are shattered. No more volleyball, no more walking, no more future. The only thing she has left is her faith in God. . . If only she would turn there.

--------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: I was provided a copy of this novella in exchange for an honest review. (Thanks, girlie!)
{The Basics} Pam Wilson has her life all figured out. She's got an awesome best friend, loving parents, and volleyball. Her dreams are just beginning.
But it's when we are at our highest that God sees fit to give us a little lesson in humility. We must learn to rely not on our strength alone, but His. Our ways are not God's ways, and Pam learns this the hard way.
Small misspellings, slight mistakes/typos--but not many at all.
{Positives} Pam and Lauren love volleyball, but when teamed against the snobby twins (who always win every match), they dread the practice. Despite the hostile, arrogant attitudes of their opponents, the girls try to keep everything cheerful and positive, no matter the outcome. They even go so far as to invite them for ice cream afterwards, whether they win the match or not.
Lauren is the perfect definition of a best friend. She sticks with Pam through thick and thin, always encouraging and present amid the difficulties. And Pam is eternally grateful.
Pam's youth leader, Jeremy, is genuine and compassionate. Pam's parents are so supportive of her passion in volleyball. When Pam is injured in the car accident, they are always near, catering to her every need and/or giving her space to sort out her future.
Eventually, Pam comes to forgive the young driver, who is broken over the accident. She, in turn, apologizes to him herself, and is given the chance to be an example of persona of Christ.
She learns that this accident did cause some good and helped grow her relationship with Christ. She needed to rely on His strength and not solely her own.
{Negatives} Pam talks back to her mother, whose simply trying to cheer her up to see the positive. She [Pam] is very sarcastic. And at first, she feels only anger for the driver, who, in her mind, caused all of this. She finds forgiveness nigh impossible.
She feels anger towards God (but, honestly, who wouldn't, at first?), and is a bit terse with her youth pastor.
A nurse is far too cheerful, in my opinion, and obviously doesn't think before speaking: "Although I don't envy you. . ." What? O_O You don't say something like that to a girl whose just had her life drastically changed by the fact she'll never walk again!!
Following the accident, Pam is rather selfish, thinking of nothing but herself, and throwing a perpetual pity party. (She comes around, though.)
{Spiritual Content} Pam and Lauren are very active in their church and youth group. Even when facing off to the dreaded twins, they strive to show Christ and mention inviting them to church.
Her parents and youth leader work together to uplift and encourage her. Going so far as to make her go to a Wednesday church service. Pam later decides to go on a kind of mission trip to a local nursing home, and leaves refreshed and cheered, or in other words, blessed. (That was a sweet scene.) :]
{Violence} A car accident leaves Pam paralyzed. Upon learning she has no feeling in her legs and would never walk or play volleyball again, she throws a kind of panic/anger tantrum.
{Language, Alcohol & Drugs} None. A nurse gives a sort of sedative to a injured, panicked girl, so she wouldn't harm herself further.
{Love-y Content} Schoolgirl crushes. Girls tease each other over liking certain boys.
{Conclusion} Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this little novella and the message it conveys. A quote that really stood out to me was this, "Her dreams were no longer paralyzed; they were His." Beautiful!
For a debut novella, I say well done! The characters were relate-able, the dialogue fun and perky in places, and the moral, fantastic!
To repeat, our ways are not God's. Pam's story felt real. I don't know about you, but if I were in a paralyzing accident, I would definitely feel the anger she felt. The support from her friends and family and the lesson of seeing the good in the midst of suffering, was sweetly portrayed.
--------------------------------------------------------------------- Recommended ages: 10-18 My rating:

C.B. Cook is a teen author with many short stories under her belt, and now a published novella, Paralyzed Dreams. She has been blogging for over a year and is working on writing a middle grad fantasy series. When she's not balancing homework or writing, she can often be found messing around with Photoshop or talking to her dog. You can visit her at www.theworldofthewriter.wordpress.com.
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Thanks for reading! Happy Saturday!
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Comments

AnonymousMarch 7, 2015 at 10:33 AM
Oh my gravy! *blubbers* I just... Ack, I just recovered from reading one review, and now yours is going to make me cry, too!
You pinned everything down so accurately! Thank you so much for this amazing review!
And, yeah, I kind of wanted to strangle the nurse myself. But she insisted. *sigh* ;)
Sarah CnossenMarch 7, 2015 at 6:34 PM
Teehee! #^-^# So glad you like my review! Thank you. I try to be specific, because I like specifics and details (obviously)--especially before trying a new book--and therefore, I figure other people would like to know the specifics, like me.

Haha! Yes, that's the best reaction (although, not literally, of course). xD
TheScribblingSpriteMarch 8, 2015 at 8:27 PM
Sounds so inspiring! It always makes me happy to hear about books by teen authors. Great review!