Book Reviews and More: 8 Notes to a Nobody - Cynthia T. Toney

8 Notes to a Nobody
Bird Face Book 1
Cynthia T. Toney
Write Integrity Press
ISBN 9781938092480
ASIN B014RC09K2

Recently Author Susan Peek posted a list of Catholic Teen Fiction a day for June, I believe the list originally comes from Theresa Linden. Of the 30 books in the list I had already read and reviewed 14 of the titles, and already had a few others in my to be read pile. But the title of this book grabbed my attention. This book was my introduction to the writings of Cynthia T. Toney, but it will not be my last. Before I had even finished this book I had picked up the eBooks for the other two in this series and added her book that is coming out in the fall to my wish list.

This book was a good clean uplifting read. It is in the genre of realistic fiction, but with strong Christian and specifically Catholic undertones. It also does a great job of capturing life in high school. And dealing with divorce and blended families. It starts with some bullying and the stress of school and teen life. But the beginning of the turning point for fourteen year old Wendy Robichaud, is the sudden appearance of random sticky notes with short messages and signed A Frend. The sticky notes are a little baffling, a bit of a challenge and get Wendy thinking. This book also deals with teen suicide, and does so in a caring sensitive way.

The book also deals with crushed expectations, friends growing apart, and also the development of new friendships. Overall I was very impressed with the writing and the character development in this story. But I must say if it still had the original title of Bird Face, and original cover I likely would never have picked it up. Once I got going in the book I could relate to the main character and being focused on artwork and getting school work done and done well.

One of the ways that I judge books is do I want to share them with my children. I cannot wait for my girls to be older to be able to read this book with them. I think there are a lot of great lessons in this book without being pushy or preachy. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from the author soon!