Tuesday, November 11, 2014

REWRITING HISTORY by Missy Johnson & Carla Grey

SYNOPSIS:

What do you do when being with the man you love is forbidden?

You hide it. 

Our relationship is secret because he's my teacher, but it wasn't always that way. We met online, when I lied about my age. For six months we built a friendship that slowly moved into something more. 

What i wasn't expecting was for my lies to unravel like they did when he walked into that classroom. We're too far gone to try and deny our feelings for each other, so we sneak around like we are ashamed of how we feel. 

We steal kisses or the touch of a hand when nobody is watching.The problem is, somebody is always watching and when things go wrong, they have the potential to ruin everything. 



My thoughts after reading...

This is the third time I received an ARC from Missy Johnson, but I’ve read most of her books and suffice to say I loved them all. And no, I’m not being a kiss-ass. Just telling ya’ll the truth. Try reading one of hers to find out… 

REWRITING HISTORY is Eli and Jill’s story… To give you an overview, Eli is Jill’s History substitute teacher. Like how all typical teacher-student relationships start in the classroom, theirs started differently… They met at an online dating chatroom and has been exchanging messages six months prior. Fate stepped in, and next thing you know he’s transferring to Denver to help-out on family matters… and of course, they finally met in person. Their personalities clicked, and they fell for each other almost instantaneously.

I’m not saying it’s okay for a teacher to start a relationship with their students, especially when the student is still in high-school. I'd never condone it, but conclusions depends on the situation at hand... From the outside looking in, I wouldn’t approve of it. If I was Jill’s parent, I’d be really worried and wary… but when I put myself on Jill’s shoes—feeling the way she feels towards Eli, I could understand her. At her age, she feels like she could conquer the world as long as the love of her life is by her side. And I guess that’s true to a point… I kinda’ miss that feeling sometimes. When you grow-up and experience life more, you tend to fuss on details like practicality, fear, apprehensions, etc., and fail to see what’s important---your own happiness.

I loved how both Eli and Jill looked for ways to overcome their predicament… they got through all the roadblocks… I guess that’s what love does to you. The other person is practically your oxygen—your reason for breathing. And of course, one cannot live without oxygen. 

The right thing for Eli to do is to step aside and end things, and he did... but wasn't successful enough to resist it for long. It makes you realize that Love doesn't have an age requirement, it just strucks you when you least expect it, especially when you nurture it... The heart wants what it wants— propriety be damned. Afterall, somethings—or people are worth the risk. So… 

This story has everything—it made me laugh, cry, angry, swoon…among others. The story also touches on typical family issues, dealing with grief, guilt, anger, acceptance… I would’ve wanted to read more… maybe a longer epilogue or probably a love triangle with Jill being in the middle. Despite what Eli went through, I still felt he had it easy with Jill in the love department.

To the fans of Gabriel's Inferno by Sylvain Reynard and Not Yet by Laura Ward, this is the book to read next...