Careful (The Careful, Quiet, Invisible #1)by Isobella Jade
Published: July 26, 2012
Publisher: Gamine Press
Available: Amazon, B&N
Synopsis:
After Estella Montclair is killed in a texting and driving crash, what remains of her face and body is devastating. But not all of her has died.
During the first month after her death, Estella's spirit travels among her living friends and family. Her best friends Zara, Eva and Jett show her how pain and sorrow can break apart or strengthen a bond.
She also sees for the first time that loss can spark revenge, catastrophe can come without warning, and we all have secrets. She wonders if her chance for love with Phoenix has passed her by, and if out of sight truly means out of mind. And maybe one day the girl who caused her death will admit her mistake.
While adjusting to a new state of being, Estella struggles to face the limitations that come with death, but blossoms by recognizing she can still touch the lives of the people she once knew so well.
Excerpt:
That night the clouds looked grayish purple as I glided toward Willow Lake and rested under the first willow tree I saw. The willow tree’s branches were droopy from the snow and rain, and ice dangled off of them like half-frozen snakes. I spent the rest of the night there among the rain, earth, and wind, pondering if I was using my energy fully and in the right ways, and trying to understand exactly what I was.
At first, it was difficult for me to come up with a clear resolve as to what I had left to offer the living. Maybe it was too early for me to fully know. In the cold of the night air surrounding me I focused on the liveliness I felt, the energy running through me. I considered what was keeping me going and what I might have gained in death.
I was still able to feel emotions about the things I saw and the people I knew. The feelings charged through me intensely. I still had my ability to care; it was always with me, as if it never left me, even after death.
What did it mean?
It had to mean something.
I could feel that there was more to do and give, but without an instinct as to how. I hadn’t thought much about my purpose when I was alive, and I wasn’t sure what my purpose was now, but I decided in that moment of emptiness and loneliness under the willow tree to give finding my soul’s purpose a try.
When I was alive, it seemed that my purpose had been based around maintaining my body and keeping it toned and lean, keeping my stomach muscles tight and legs strong in preparation for the next track meet.
Now, absent of an earthly body, I had to discover myself beyond my verbal and physical attributes.
I had tried to brush up against, curl up next to, and be close to my friends and family, but my warmth obviously wasn’t something that skin could feel so easily. There was a barrier of muscle, vessels, glands, and bone between us. Their nerve endings hadn’t felt the pressure of my touch or registered that I was near them. I realized I had been expecting the wrong things, trying to be what I wasn’t, and not noticing the right path.
Somewhere deeper within them, in a place that I could relate to better, was where they’d feel and hear me.
When my soul did interact with another’s soul, I wondered if I could speak to it and be heard. Maybe I could send a vibe of my compassion outward, like an electron traveling through a circuit, and it could reach them. I wanted my aura to have a positive effect on others.
Author Bio
Isobella Jade is an author, petite model and a wizard of self-promotion. Her modeling memoir Almost 5'4" is her personal memoir about being a shorter-than-average model in NYC, the ins and outs and highs and lows of striving to beat the odds. Her graphic novel Model Life was released in November 2009 and Short Stuff is her collection of on-the-job experiences that took place after Almost 5'4" and includes modeling tips for shorter girls. Her most recent work is a new YA novel called Careful, the first book of the Careful, Quiet, Invisible series.
I loved writing about Estella's spirit discovering her new purpose. Love lives on! ~IJ
ReplyDelete