The Way I Used To Be by Amber Smith → Start Date: June 18th, 2016

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Katie and I
please join us if you can!

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

And Ange!! Jump in anytime!

[Katie]

This one looks very good and powerful.

[Vicki]

I'm in!

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

yay!! I hope we love this one!

[Vicki]

I hope so too, Trisha.

[Vicki]

Suggestions? I just bought 2 books for buddy reads and then last night discovered I already had them on my Kindle app. Thing is when I went on Amazon it didn't show I'd purchased it but it usually does.

Anyone have a good system so that you don't waste hard-earned money? Lol

[Katie]

You could create a Goodreads shelf for what books you have. Or I have an Excel spreadsheet of the books I own, though I forget to update it sometimes. Though really, I guess I'm pretty good at remembering what books I've already bought.

[Vicki]

I have THE worst memory ever! Lol

Thanks for your suggestion.

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

Yes, I have a shelf called "books owned - physical"
and I check it EVERY TIME from the store before I buy anything
THEN, when I get home, before the books go on any bookshelf, I take them out one by one from the bag and mark them as "owned" and put them on that shelf

I also have a shelf called "bought-Kindle" so I don't buy a physical copy of one I already bought as a digital copy! lol

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

sorry Ange, stuck a camp and wasn't able to get internet updates.

i'll try to get rolling on this one tonight too :)

[Vicki]

You aren't late, Trisha! Our official start is tomorrow.

[Katie]

I plan on finishing another book and then getting to this one, hopefully later today.

[Vicki]

Thanks, Ang. :)

[Katie]

Freshman year - This is good so far, though a bit of a tough read since it's a difficult subject.

Kevin (view spoiler)[It's awful that he did that to Eden and that her family thinks he's so great and don't know what he's really like. (hide spoiler)]

Eden (view spoiler)[I wish she told someone so she doesn't keep everything bottled up inside. (hide spoiler)]

Stephen (view spoiler)[I also wonder if he might like Eden. (hide spoiler)]

Mara (view spoiler)[I like her, though I wish Eden felt like she could tell her about what happened. (hide spoiler)]

[Katie]

Sophomore year

Josh (view spoiler)[He seemed like a really nice guy and I feel bad about how Eden treated him. And I didn't think the age difference was that big a deal, so she shouldn't have lied. (hide spoiler)]

Caelin (view spoiler)[I think he tries to be a good brother, but he's missing the information about what happened since Eden didn't tell him so he doesn't really understand what's going on with her. (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki]

I've only read a little bit but had to jump in and comment. Only through page 24

Eden (view spoiler)[should tell someone. I know how difficult it must be and I realize she tried to tell her mom but if only her mom would have shut up and LISTENED to what her daughter was saying instead of essentially saying, "I know what happened." (hide spoiler)]

I can't imagine (view spoiler)[having to sit next to your rapist just hours afterward and pretend nothing has changed. Poor child! (hide spoiler)]

Kevin (view spoiler)[obviously is a total creep!!! He is "part of the family" and he could not only RAPE Eden but threaten her with death?? Ugh...He needs to be found out and punished!!!(view spoiler)[

This story (view spoiler)[ is such a horrific subject. Rape in any form is horrible, but when it's by someone you AND your entire family trust it does damage on SO many levels!!! How will poor Eden ever learn to trust again? (hide spoiler)]

Caelin (hide spoiler)]did notice that his sister was not the same. That never comes from nowhere. I wish he'd explore it more and try to see if she won't open up to him. (hide spoiler)]

I'm reading another book too so I'll be back and forth and with today being Father's Day AND the Warriors game I'll do the best I can. LOL

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

sorry guys, FINALLY starting!! :)

[Vicki]

I've barely read any but it starts off really "good" and will grab your attention. Good luck!

[Trisha, lives on coffee]

okay, I have to be honest guys....

I'm about 5 pages in
and I can already tell.....I should stop

I can't read this :(

I'm so sorry.....

[Vicki]

It's okay Trisha. No worries!!

[Vicki]

FRESHMAN YEAR

Wow! (view spoiler)[So sad and difficult! Awful to be raped by someone considered family! Even worse for the family not to know so they can support Edy. And even more tragic is the feeling of loss of all she ever loved and anything that made her who she was. It's easy to understand why she no longer loves the same things though. (hide spoiler)]

I am glad that (view spoiler)[Edy is starting to stand up for herself but I don't think that she is going about it the right way being so disrespectful to her parents. Hopefully that'll get smoothed out and she'll simply learn to stand up for herself in a more healthy way. (hide spoiler)]

Stephen (view spoiler)[definitely seems to be interested in her but I don't think she is ready for any kind of romance at all! (hide spoiler)]

Mara (view spoiler)[is fun and I like her too, but she is a wee bit over the top with Cameron. LOL (hide spoiler)]

[Katie]

I finished the book and it was a tough read, but good.

Eden (view spoiler)[It was sad to see her tumble in a downward spiral. I'm glad she finally told about Kevin at the end. (hide spoiler)]

Amanda (view spoiler)[It's awful that Kevin was sexually abusing his little sister too. (hide spoiler)]

Steve (view spoiler)[I felt bad for how Eden used him. (hide spoiler)]

Josh (view spoiler)[I'm glad he and Eden decided to stay friends. (hide spoiler)]

Mara (view spoiler)[She was a pretty good friend even though she definitely didn't understand a lot of what Eden did. (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki]

SOPHOMORE YEAR

Josh (view spoiler)[ seemed to have gotten the bad end of the deal. I agree that she treated him really bad! Their first sexual encounter was her trying to prove something to herself and he kept making sure she was okay, even throughout other times they actually had intercourse. I think he was a really good guy. (hide spoiler)]

Their ages (view spoiler)[is a HUGE difference in some states, if a parent prosecutes. In California the legal age of consent isn't until 18. They HAVE prosecuted for having sex with someone under age, especially if there is a 3 or more years age difference. He was wise to have asked her in the first place. (hide spoiler)]

[Vicki]

JUNIOR YEAR

Absolutely heartbreaking!

Eden (view spoiler)[is doing what so many girls do when they have lost self-esteem in such a way as she did. She is turning to promiscuity and it just doesn't work. Gosh, I hope she stops soon! It's so sad to give the most precious thing you possess to so many, for the wrong reasons, and to lose a piece of yourself each time. Heartbreaking.. I was really sad when she slept with Troy's brother SO fast and with NO real desire for anything other than pure and simple sex to drown herself, not at all getting anything truly positive from it. So sad! (view spoiler)[

I hate to see (view spoiler)[either of them getting into underage drinking and the smoking of weed. I know it's "typical" among teens but I personally believe it to be bad for them so I don't like that at all. (hide spoiler)]
Troy and Alex (view spoiler)[the stoners. I don't see how can be anything truly positive in the girls' lives. I do feel bad that Troy seems to really like Eden and she slept with his brother. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

[Katie]

the age difference (view spoiler)[I think in Pennsylvania the age of consent for an age difference is 16 for an age difference of 4 years or more, and there can be an age difference of 4 years or less under the age of consent. I'm not sure if that's actually accurate now, but I believe that's what I recall learning back in health class. So that's why I had thought the age difference wasn't such a big deal, though I know laws vary from state to state. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

Going to start this one soon...

[Sarah]

I'm on sophomore year.
SO deep. I'm getting my degree in social work. I'm expected to graduate in May of 2017 and to be honest, this book is probably skimming the surface of what I'll observe. Thankfully, I don't want to work in child protective services. My interests are more with the law side of social work.
I just want to encourage her to tell someone...

[Vicki]

Good luck, Sarah!

[Sarah]

Thank you! :)

[Sarah]

Just finished this. Every time I read something like this (Ellen Hopkins books especially), I just want to grab ahold of the character and just scream: "Tell someone! Get help!"
It was a real page turner but I hate the way it was open-ended.

[Vicki]

I know what you mean.