SYNOPSIS

In the tradition of Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, a devastating but hopeful YA debut about a ballerina who finds the courage to confront the abuse that haunts her past and threatens her future.

There are two kinds of people on the planet. Hunters and prey
I thought I would be safe after my mother died. I thought I could stop searching for new places to hide. But you can’t escape what you are, what you’ve always been.
My name is Savannah Darcy Rose.
And I am still prey.

Though Savannah Rose―Sparrow to her friends and family―is a gifted ballerina, her real talent is keeping secrets. Schooled in silence by her long-dead mother, Sparrow has always believed that her lifelong creed―“I’m not the kind of girl who tells”―will make her just like everyone else: Normal. Happy. Safe. But in the aftermath of a brutal assault by her seemingly perfect boyfriend Tristan, Sparrow must finally find the courage to confront the ghosts of her past, or lose herself forever….

Praise for SPARROW

“The truth of it all is that you can’t be brave until you’re frightened out of your wits and still do the thing that needs doing. You have to be scared to be brave.”

Abuse is something that happens to more people than we would like to think. One in four women over eighteen years of age has experienced abuse by an intimate partner. Mental and physical abuse takes over your life and it veers you on the wrong track. When enough is enough, would you be brave enough to speak up?

Sparrow’s entire world is her family/friends and most importantly ballet. She is the lead dancer in Swan Lake with her dancing partner, Lucas. They work hard and train even harder to be pure perfection. Then something steps in the way of her life and takes control.

Tristan King sweeps Sparrow off of her feet. He’s the light in her life and little by little he takes control. An argument escalates into something more and more each time they’re together. It goes from verbal to physical quick but Sparrow only wants to make Tristan happy. She deals with it while disassociating herself from her friends and the things she loves most.

Then the excuses start coming. Lucas speaks with Sparrow and Delaney about the abuse but Sparrow tells them different clumsy tales of what happened.

Things get terrifying when Sparrow suggests a break from Tristan. Will Sparrow soar high and lead herself away from this abuse? Or will she let it consume her?

This was a really hard book to read. It was a great book and it hits you where it hurts but it was rough. I’m not going to lie. This brought forward so many raw emotions from me that I would break out in goosebumps and weep. This definitely left a mark in my life and on my heart.

Sparrow and Lucas are the two best single characters that I’ve read in a while and you break alongside both of them. My emotions are still strong for them and their stories.

Sparrow is a difficult but important read. The statistics alone are heartbreaking and reading about it is seriously eye-opening. If you see something, speak up. Tell someone who you trust. Just remember that you’re loved and important in this world. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.

–  5 Winners will receive a Copy of SPARROW by Mary Cecilia Jackson.