Are YA Relationships Worth the Effort?
Ella Jones has rejected the values of her wealthy parents. She insists on attending public high school and holds down a waitressing job that starts at 4:00 AM. One morning, while opening up the Read Between the Beans coffee house, she meets a seventeen-year old homeless boy sleeping near the restaurant’s dumpster.
The morning Ella meets Ayden Worth she writes, “My heart accelerated to a terrifying pace as my unwanted visitor stepped into the light—rumpled, dirty clothing, shaggy hair, head down, concentrating on the ground.” As the weeks pass Ella brings her new friend coffee and a Danish for breakfast. As the teens get to know each other they find out they share similar values and interests.
Kai Strand did her homework. She confronts the homeless problem in the United States by writing Ella’s story in Worth the Effort: Ella’s Story. (It’s the first book in the Love’s an Effort Series.) This story is told in Ella’s point of view focusing on the plight of homeless teens. Strand’s empathetic prose, surprising plot twists, and complex relationship between Ella and Ayden will keep readers turning pages in this eighty-one page young adult contemporary romance novella.(Note: as of this writing, Worth the Effort: Ella’s Story is free if you download the Kindle version of the book.)
About the Author
Kai Strand is the mother of four children, keeps in shape by walking, and is a huge fan of Mozart. She writes middle grade and young adult fiction. Some of her books include Worth the Effort: Ayden’s Story, Save the Lemmings, and The Wishing Well. You can learn more about Strand on her website at www.kaistrand.com.
Ella sounds like my kind of women.