Book Review: Sia by Josh Grayson
What: Sia by Josh Grayson
Who: N/A
When: November 20th 2013
How: A copy of this novel was provided by the author for review.
When seventeen-year-old Sia wakes up on a park bench, she has no idea who or where she is. Yet after a week of being homeless, she’s reunited with her family. At school, she’s powerful and popular. At home, she’s wealthy beyond her dreams. But she quickly realizes her perfect life is a lie. Her family is falling apart and her friends are snobby, cruel and plastic. Worse yet, she discovers she was the cruelest one. Mortified by her past, she embarks on a journey of redemption and falls for Kyle, the “geek” she once tormented. Yet all the time she wonders if, when her memories return, she’ll become the bully she was before…and if she’ll lose Kyle.
Sia is a heart-warming, uplifting story that will simply make your day.
Sia was such a feel-good book, and I enjoyed reading every moment of it. The main character, Sia, is so likeable, and I felt myself rooting for her the entire novel. Her confusion regarding her fugue amnesia was heartbreaking, and there were moments where I wanted to jump in, and hug her. Her story was sweet, and magical, and just downright enjoyable.
I must say that the beginning of the book was my favourite. I loved Carol, and I loved Sia’s journey into the world of homelessness. The way Grayson portrayed it was believable, and was achieved with such finesse. I applaud him on that. Sometimes, authors can tackle difficult issues the entirely wrong way, but Grayson has done well with Sia.
Even though the beginning was my favourite part of Sia, I really liked the rest of it, as well. I loved Sia’s dedication to changing people’s thoughts on her, changing the prejudice against the former meanest girl in school image that she had before her amnesia.
Plus points go to Grayson for focussing on family and friends in this novel. Yes, there was a love interest (I’ll be getting to that in a second), but it wasn’t all about Sia falling in love with a guy she never would have looked twice at before her amnesia. It was about Sia finding herself in the midst of losing everything she had ever known about herself and those around her. I liked that her relationship with her parents was explored, as well as the changing dynamics between Sia and her former group of ‘friends’. It was refreshing, and a nice change.
Ah, but the love interest. Kyle. I loved Kyle. I loved how real he was, how hesitant, how believable. I think we have a winner here, ladies. Kyle is a believable teenage boy, and I loved him as a character. There is a particular scene at the Oscar’s (yes, the Oscar’s, but it’s awesome, and you’ll understand when you read it) where Kyle and Sia have a conversation about their relationship. And, without ruining anything, Kyle is the most perfect gentleman. Ever. He’s so considerate, and swoon-worthy.
The development of numerous characters in this novel was awesome. We see Sia, her mother, and her best friend grow as people – all because of what happened to Sia. I like that. I like how uplifting this story is – how it gives you hope that people really can change, and for the better, too.
Grayson has adapted Sia for the screen, and I for one, will be buying tickets to the first screening. I think that Sia would be a wonderful film, and can already tell it will become one of my staple feel-good go-tos. Just like the novel.
© 2013, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity. All rights reserved.
