☊☊☊☊☊ End of the Beginning & Raise Your Glass by John Goode ☊☊☊☊☊
Audio book review of Tales from Foster High (books #1-3)
Author: John Goode
Narrator: Michael Spellman
☊☊☊☊☊
The Tales from Foster High series:
- Maybe With A Chance Of Certainty (book #1) – click here for review
- End Of The Beginning (book #2) – in this review
- Raise Your Glass (book #3) – in this review
- End Of The Innocence (book #4)
Note: See the review of the first book where I focus a little more on the narration. I cannot speak more highly of Michael Stellman. He did a wonderful job of narrating Tales from Foster High and I believe his voice is perfectly suited to the telling of a YA story.
❅❅❅❅❅❅❅
End of the Beginning by John Goode
The Blurb…
Not too long ago, Brad Greymark outed himself to his high school and the rest of the town of Foster, Texas, with a fairly obvious public display of affection. Now what? Brad had thought being Foster’s favorite son wasn’t that important, but when it comes time to choose between high school fame and Kyle, the boy he might just be falling for? It’s not an easy decision, knowing his heart may break either way.
So what did I think?
This is the second book in the series and part of the Tales From Foster High audio book so I listened to rather than read this book. As with the first book, I LOVED this is it’s audio form. The narrator’s voice was just brilliant, catching the teenage voice of Brad.
Here we have Brad’s point of view as he agonises over the events of the past couple of days. Coming out in front of the whole school was a spur of the moment decision and Brad wonders if he made the right choice. It was sad to watch him go from the top of the school social ladder to pretty much the bottom but his strength lay in how he handled himself.
It’s such an interesting look at the real person behind the facade. Brad may have had the looks, the status, his sporting prowess, a big home and a nice car but this didn’t make him happy in his heart. I loved the character development in this story.
Raise Your Glass by John Goode
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Blurb…
Tales of Foster High – Sequel to The End of the Beginning Kyle Stilleno used to be the invisible student. Brad Graymark used to be the baseball star. Then they fell in love and Brad outed them both with a spectacular public display of affection, and now everything is different. After spending a few days lying low, Kyle and Brad are going back to school. It’s time to face the music and see how Foster High deals with their growing romance. But the school’s reaction-and the staff’s hostility-are not what they expected. Everyone they know seems to be allied against them. Isn’t there anyone they can count on to defend their happiness?
So what did I think?
When times get tough, you really find out what people are made of and in this book Brad and Kyle totally shine, particularly Kyle who is no longer a wall flower and very much the centre of attention.
The experiences the boys go through as they return to school are heartbreaking. As to be expected, the reaction from the other students is not positive and Brad and Kyle are tormented for their sexuality. But it is the reaction of the adults – the teachers and authority figures – that is the most shameful. This is tough look at what life can be like for young people who don’t conform to what other people deem as being acceptable – bullying and lack of support. But there is a positive ending as support comes from some unexpected places.
I liked the message from the author at the end of the book, an anti-bullying message, to remind people they are never alone and remind us, the reader, that although this story is a work of fiction, bullying is an all too common occurrence that can have tragic consequences.
❅❅❅❅❅❅❅
To find out more about John Goode check out the Tales from Foster High Facebook page.
Buy Maybe With A Chance Of Certainty from Amazon.
Buy the audio book, Tales from Foster High (books 1-3) from Audible.
