Down in the Belly of the Whale by Kelley Kay Bowles
A contemporary story about family and friendship for fans of Eleanor Porter and L.M. Montgomery.
Harper Southwood is a teenage girl who can sense when people will get sick—but so what? She can’t predict her best friend’s depression or her mother’s impending health crisis. Being helpful is all Harper ever wanted, but she feels helpless in the face of real adversity. Now, she’s got a chance to summon her courage and use her wits to fight for justice. Laugh and cry along with this irrepressible, high-spirited teen in her journey of self-discovery, as she learns that compassion and internal strength are her real gifts, her true superpower.
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About the Author
Kelley Bowles Gusich writes young adult novels under the pen name Kelley Kay Bowles and cozy mysteries under Kelley Kaye. Her debut novel, cozy mystery Death by Diploma, was released by Red Adept Publishing on February 2016, went #1 on Amazon for cozy mysteries in August that same year, and is first in her Chalkboard Outlines® series. Book # 2, Poison by Punctuation, was released April 2018.
Kelley’s new young adult novel, Down in the Belly of the Whale, was released May 5th, 2018, by Aionios Books, and won their title ‘Victor Indie Book of the Year’. Look for it in Kindle, paperback, and audio book (narrated by Kelley!).
Kelley taught high school English and drama for twenty years in Colorado and California, but a 1994 diagnosis of multiple sclerosis has (circuitously and finally) brought her to the life of writer and mother, both occupations she adores and dreamed about way back when she was making up stories revolving around her Barbie and Ken dolls.
Kelley has two wonderful and funny sons and an amazing husband who cooks for her. She lives in Southern California.
My Review
4 Stars
Harper Southwood is a typical teenager that feels like the odd man out from her family, has school issues, and a crush on her lab partner. But where she is not normal is her ability to sense when people are ill. We start the story as she is meeting up with her best friend Cora who has been acting strange and making Harper’s knees itch. Cora tries to play everything off until Harper notices cuts on her legs and learns about Cora’s abuse. As Harper navigates this new world she also learns that her mother is ill also.
This is a deep story. Harper is a wonderful teenager that can annoy you but make you care about her at the same time. She is trying to find her place in the world while feeling like an outsider. My heart breaks for Cora and everything she goes through. I also felt for Harper as we see what her mother is going through too.
This is an amazing story that touches on several hard topics. It tries to balance the darkness with humor which is how I live my life so I could easily see how this was used. Although this story is more of a coming of age story I really would have liked to see Harper’s ability been used more, it was a big draw to me when I decided to read the book.
Overall I recommend checking out this book. It’s a great read on some tough topics that could trigger some people. I love how she tackled these topics. This is the first book of Kelley Bowles that I have read but it won’t be my last.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. I voluntarily chose to read and post an honest review.
I would like to thank The Author for the opportunity to read and share her book.
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