BooksChatter: ☀ How To Keep Rolling After a Fall

Thursday, 28 July 2016

☀ How To Keep Rolling After a Fall - Karole Cozzo

Thank you for joining us on the Virtual Book Tour for How To Keep Rolling After a Fall, a Contemporary Young Adult novel by Karole Cozzo (2 August 2016, Swoon Reads, 273 pages).

Don't miss our interview with author Karole Cozzo.

PREVIEW: Check out the book's synopsis and excerpt below.

Author Karole Cozzo will be awarding a hard copy of the book to a randomly drawn winner (US/CAN) via Rafflecopter during the tour. Please do take part: comment on our post and follow the tour where you will be able to read other excerpts (☀), interviews (ℚ), reviews (✍) and guest blog posts (✉).

Synopsis | Teaser | Author Q&A | About the Author | Giveaway & Tour Stops

Synopsis

The party was at her house. The photos were posted to her Facebook account. That's all the evidence anyone needed to condemn Nikki Baylor for a cyberbullying incident that humiliated a classmate and nearly resulted in the girl's suicide. Now Nikki's been expelled from her old school, her friends have abandoned her, and even her own parents can't look her in the eye. With her plans for the future all but destroyed, Nikki resigns herself to being the girl everyone hates - almost as much as she hates herself. But then Nikki meets Pax, a spirited wheelchair rugby player who knows what it's like when one mistake completely shatters your life. Refusing to judge her because of her past, he shows her that everyone deserves a second chance... and everyone deserves to be loved.

Teaser: Excerpt

I choke back my tears, bending over and grabbing onto my knees for support. I’ll never escape this. This is going to follow me forever. I can pretend to be someone I’m not—I can pretend to be the person I used to be—but it’s nothing more than playing a part.
     I shake my head back and forth and wipe my eyes with the back of my hand, struggling to wrap my head around what just happened, feeling like I have whiplash. Jeremiah had come and gone so fast. The prospect of happiness had been so fleeting. I walked in the door envisioning the warmth of his smile; now all I can remember is the cold hatred in his eyes.
      What the hell just happened?
     “That was pretty harsh.”
      I straighten and turn around … then look down. The boy is in a wheelchair more lightweight than most I see around here, and he can’t be much older than me. But he has a more mature look about him, something about his deep-set hazel eyes and square jaw that makes him look more like a young man and less like a boy. His light-brown hair falls to his chin, and the muscular build of his upper body makes me think he might’ve been a badass at one point.
      I square my shoulders and lift my chin. “I probably deserve it.”
     “Highly doubt that.” He wheels a bit closer, shaking his head. “That was a bad scene back there.”
     “Well, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” I stare into the distance and blow out the breath I realize I’ve been holding. “If you did, you probably would’ve stood up and applauded him.”
     “Nah, I don’t think so.” A hint of a smile plays on his bow-shaped lips.
     “Trust me, you would’ve.”
     “No, I don’t think so,” he repeats. He taps his knuckles against the wheels of his chair. “Standing ovations, not really my thing.”
     I cringe and want to die. “Oh my God. I’m really sorry.”
     “No apology necessary. I’m not easily offended.”
     “Still. I’m sorry.”
     He nods once in acknowledgment. “’S okay.” Then he tilts his head and studies me. “Anyway, I’ve seen you around here a couple of times. And I think you have a really nice face. I have a hard time figuring why it makes that dude want to puke.”
     I smile in spite of everything, just for a second. Then reality sets in again, and I cover my eyes with my hand. “Today officially sucks. And I need to clock in. Like, five minutes ago.” I take a deep breath, trying to imagine how I can possibly make myself go back inside. “But I can’t go back in there.”
     “I can have your back if you want,” wheelchair guy offers. “Give you an escort.”
      I look at him, asking why without saying the question out loud.
     He shrugs. “I’m old-school like that. A guy shouldn’t lash out at a girl, and he really had no business putting his hands on you. Just because of a fight or whatever.”
      “It wasn’t a fight,” I mumble. “Not his fight, anyway. You certainly don’t have to make it yours.”
     But he doesn’t go anywhere, and I don’t ask him to leave. He’s a perfect stranger, sure. Still, he offered to “have my back.” The exact opposite of what my so-called friends have done in recent months. And I want to take him up on his offer.

How To Keep Rolling After a Fall
Available for Pre-Oder!

About the Author

KAROLE COZZO is a school psychologist by day, a wife and mother of two by night, and a writer of YA romance in the wee hours of the morning.

She loves camping out at Starbucks, breakfast cereal at all hours, and watching every movie made from her favorite YA books.

How to Say I Love You Out Loud is her debut novel.

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