Graceful Waters

Dynamic! Outstanding!

Graceful ¿Grace¿ Waters is an angry and beligerent 17-year-old. Chock full of attitude and bucking authority at every opportunity, she soon finds her smart-mouth landing her in front of the same judge for the umpteenth time. Patience worn thin, the judge sentences Grace to Sapling Hill ¿ a place specifically designed for Grace¿s brand of attitude. There she gets off to a very rocky start with Joanna Carey, the senior instructor of Sapling Hill. The instructor cuts Grace no slack whatsoever. Every time Grace¿s sarcastic attitude comes out, she finds herself having to ¿drop and give ten¿ for the instructor. Saying Grace did alot of pushups is an understatement! Unexpected and difficult circumstances soon force Joanna and Grace to share quarters, where Joanna begins to suspect there is more to Grace¿s attitude than meets the eye. Whatever the reason, it was something severe enough to have made the young woman become extremely bitter and uncaring about life in general. As she spends more and more time with Grace, Joanna begins to believe that the young woman is worth saving and embarks on the task of getting Grace to face the reason behind her turmoil and anger. And maybe, just maybe, getting Grace to believe in herself once again. When someone from Joanna¿s past suddently surfaces, Grace ¿discovers¿ something about Joanna that intrigues her greatly. Joanna is a lesbian. Having just begun to sort out her own identity, this fact greatly interests Grace. As Grace nears the end of her time at Sapling Hill, she finds her feelings for the erstwhile instructor changing - feelings that cannot be allowed by the instructor to be acted on. However, Grace has decided that Joanna is the ¿one¿ for her and sets out to do whatever it takes to get the reluctant older woman to believe this. VH Foster, who also writes under the name of Verda Foster, and BL Miller, co-authors of the terrifically dynamic book Crystal¿s Heart, once again deliver a solid, quality tale. Graceful Waters is a book that grabs your attention and your heartstrings in the first few pages and doesn¿t let go - even at the very end. It¿s a book that very definitely defines for the reader, both young and old, that having just one person believe in you can carry you along way in believing in yourself. Ms. Foster and Ms. Miller have also penned individual works. Ms. Foster¿s The Gift, The Chosen and These Dreams, as well as Ms. Miller¿s solo work, Accidental Love, prove without a shadow of a doubt that both authors can capture and hold a reader¿s attention whether writing individually or writing together.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Grace, Style, and Depth

I loved this book. From the first page, when I was sure it would be a typical story about a rebellious teenager receives much needed lessons in life, to the last, by which time I was convinced that I had learned something myself about assumptions, about lessons and discipline and setting goals. This book is alive with believeable characters and dialogue and secrets. Grace Waters gets sent to a boot camp for juvenile delinquents, and not a moment too soon. She is acting out, and her temper is out of control. She mouths off to the judge who sentences her, spits on a prison guard, and is determined to be a hard case. Along with the military regimen, the girls must attend classes and receive counseling. The cliches that this scenario seems to beg for do not materialize. Grace is a girl with a lot of problems, and with the guidance and help of her mentor and teachers at the camp, she begins a journey toward self respect. She grows, matures, and sets goals for herself. It's quite surprising to find out what those goals are. The reader will become invested in Grace's success, and each step along her path will be cheered.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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