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Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Book Review & Giveaway: Grounded

By Gail Allison

**Giveaway is now closed**

When flight attendant Annie Taylor is shaken out of her persistently on-the-go lifestyle due to a takeover at the airline she works at, she doesn’t really know where to turn. Gone is the jet-set routine that went hand-in-hand with layovers in Rome and stops in Hawaii. As quickly as her job has been snatched out from under her (although her boss promises to try and find a place for her in the newly reorganized company), she also loses her boyfriend. In a blur of emotion and uncertainty, Annie bolts from the city to her grandmother’s farm in Kentucky, where she is met with the business end of a shotgun. After her grandmother realizes that it’s Annie who has come sneaking into the house in the middle of the night, they set aside the reunion for the next morning.

 Fast forward a few days, and Annie sees nothing about the farm that’s worth keeping. It’s a money-losing proposition, and she tries to persuade her grandmother to see things her way, but Beulah refuses to budge. And as she starts learning more about the farm, and the family history behind it, Annie realizes that her grandmother might be right. With a dash of romance added to this novel that’s based in real human emotion, Grounded offers what so few novels do: real, homegrown advice, and characters that stay in your heart and your mind long after you’ve put it down. I was stunned to realize that this was Ms. Correll’s debut novel, and I can’t help but hope for a follow-up.

The writing in this novel was spot-on. The language never felt overblown or too flowery, but instead was realistic, resulting in good dialogue and believable situations. Ms. Correll’s use of descriptions was also absolutely bang-on, and never felt forced or ridiculous. The descriptions are woven so well into the story that without even realizing it, the reader all of a sudden knows how to can green beans, how to plant a garden so that not everything comes up at once, and how to serve up a good country dinner. Annie is never overbearing, and as she slowly becomes the country girl that she once was you really get to see her blossom in a way you just know she never had the chance to in the city.

Jake (Annie’s childhood friend) comes back to the farm as well, all grown up, and considering leaving his corporate lifestyle to get back to his roots and try his hand at farming. He has a girlfriend in tow, and I love the fact that his commitment, his loyalty, and his “good-guy” personality run so deep that he doesn’t take one look at Annie and forget all about his current sweetheart. (Seriously…any time I read a book and the love interest does this, I have to wonder how deep any of their feelings really go.) Jake is a wonderful foil to Annie’s initial character as he understands the city and how the corporate world works, but also sees the value in getting back to the land.

I honestly cannot say enough about Grounded. I absolutely adored this book. It’s already in the re-read pile! It was written from the heart and right from the get-go, you can tell. It pulls you in and makes you feel involved in the story in a way that not many novels do any more. My fingers are permanently crossed in the hopes of a follow-up novel. Even if it’s not a sequel to Grounded, I will definitely be first in line to grab Ms. Correll’s next offering. Well thought-out, and well written, Grounded was everything I look for in a book. I’ve recommended it to friends and family, and will be lending my copy out all over the place. This book is amazing, and you won’t regret picking it up.

Thanks to Angela Correll for the book in exchange for an honest review. She has TWO copies for some lucky readers in the US and/or Canada.

How to win:
In regards to the title of this novel, tell us about a time you were grounded as a kid/teenager. What was it for and how long did it last?

One entry per person.

Please include your e-mail address or another way to reach you if you win. Entries without contact information will NOT be counted.

US/Canada only. Giveaway ends October 21st at midnight EST.

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35 comments:

  1. I was grounded the summer before 9th grade, and ALMOST missed the drill team try-outs! My parents thought I was rude to them all summer long and they were sick of it. YIKES!

    This book sounds so very good.
    pascale.poitras@verizon.net

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  3. I hate to admit it, but I didn't really get grounded when I was young. I got a good whipping instead. I was such a rebel that every time I did something wrong and was threatened with grounding, I just left home. Sometimes, it would be for the day, sometimes overnight and sometimes longer. So, instead of a talk or grounding, I was then given the belt in a surprise attack. Needless to say, I was glad to get older and finally had a good enough job to leave home.

    kinini01@hotmail.com

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  4. I was grounded in high school. We lived out on the farm and I wanted to drive into town. When my parents did not let me take the car, I started walking and that's when they really got mad! I stayed home for the next two weekends!!
    pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

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  5. I was grounded when I was in high school for smoking. My phone privileges were taken away and I stayed put for a while.

    mauback55 at gmail dot com

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  6. Good book to add to reading list.
    CABWNANA1@bellsouth.net

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  7. My girlfriends and I all told our parents we were staying at eachothers houses when in reality, we were going to a party. Well, needless to say we were busted and grounded for about a month :/

    Was one heck of a party though!

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  8. I got caught in a lie after junior prom and ended up having to stay home from the after party :(

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  9. My mom grounded me for calling her a b***h.... I was 16 and I thought I said it under my breath. I was grounded for two weeks.

    tropicalsunlover05(at)yahoo(dot)com

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  10. I usually got grounded for bad grades..lasted about a week.
    Brannanflooring@aol.com

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  11. I got grounded if I did not get along with my siblings.

    sendsusanmail at gmail dot com

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  12. I used to get grounded when I talked back to my parents.

    Thanks!
    -Jessica M
    walkingcorpse11@hotmail.com

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  13. I can’t say that my Mom ever grounded me other than a quick scold. Usually, all it took was an evil-eye look and I shaped up. I loved and respected her too much to defy her.

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  14. I was grounded for two weeks when a friend and I drove to the next county over to hang out with some boys. We got caught because the car broke down on the way home!

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  15. Grounded for high phone bill lasted a week & lost my phone.lomazowr@gmail.von

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  16. I was grounded once for smoking (!). The stupid thing is I thought just blowing smoke out my bedroom window would mask the smell. It doesn't. I was grounded for several weeks and received a good paddling. (I was only 12). Unfortunately, I didn't stop smoking until I was 38/39, but I least learned it.

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  17. I was caught drinking the summer before my senior year and was grounded for a couple of weeks!

    Jhuelsebusch@sbcglobal.net

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  18. I was raised by very strict parents. I was grounded for grades (anything under a B), disrespect, forgetting to do chores, and quite a few other normal adolescent behaviors.
    ldwrncpn@comcast.net

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  19. I was grounded when I ate a whole box of cereal in one sitting !

    leonelescota AT Gmail

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  21. I was grounded for a month because I used the downstairs bathroom the day my mom came home from the hospital after having a hysterectomy. We had been told not to use it but the bathroom upstairs was busy and I couldn't wait. fishingjan at aoldotcom

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  22. I feel weird saying this, but my parents didn't ground us.

    SuzyQ4PR(at)aol(dot)com

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  23. The one time my parents grounded me was when I came home late from a youth group meeting on a school night. I tried telling my parents that I stayed longer because we were really deep in prayer and lost track of time. They didn't buy it.

    dawndennis66611 at yahoo dot com

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  24. I don't remember being grounded, but I did have my phone privileges taken away for a week or so because I was on the phone too much.

    valleyreader (at) gmail (dot) com

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  26. I don't think I was ever grounded. I may have had the car keys taken away for a week but that would be all. That would have been for being late coming home. I was really too good ( or better than the rest of the kids in the family). Maybe I just didn't get caught??

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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  27. Was never grounded

    bn100candg at hotmail dot com

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  28. Grounded for fighting with my brother as kids! :)

    Stephaniet117 at yahoo

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  29. I was grounded frequently as a child. The one I remember most was when I got expelled from a private school - in kindergarten! Apparently climbing out the window to run to the playground was frowned upon. So was coloring on the desk. After a failed attempt at private school, my parents enrolled me in public school where I did much better (perhaps because their were screens in the windows so I could not escape outside?). I remember sitting on my bed and being grounded "forever" according to my father. I'm sure it didn't last much more than a week, and now I have great stories to tell, although I'd wait to tell my own kids until they were past the kindergarten age ;)

    azacia (at) gmail dotcom

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  30. We never got grounded; we had other punishments that were given. There were 7 of us kids, and if we had been made to stay inside, we would have driven my Mom crazy... :)
    sparkle40175@hotmail.com

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  31. I was never grounded, but have grounded my kids. Taking the phone is the ultimate punishment.

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  32. At 66 yrs of age, I don't remember my teen-age years as anything but me being perfect. :) I'm sure I wasn't, but I really do not remember being grounded. I do remember Mother telling my sister & I that if we ever did anything that the police picked us up for, she was not going to bail us out. My sister & I both believed her, and as sis said recently, whether she meant it or not, she made believers out of us and we never attempted anything we shouldn't have done. And when we did something at home we shouldn't, all she had to say was wait 'till your daddy gets home. And all he'd have to say was our name with a frown. We didn't like to disappoint him, so that was worse than a spanking.
    donna(dot)durnell(at)sbcglobal(dot)net

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  33. I was never grounded. I did get sent to my room for not doing certain chores for when my parents went out running errands.

    fishiegirl22@yahoo.com

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  34. I was grounded after I got a speeding ticket. It was just two months after getting in an accident. Oh, and the icing on the cake was that my parents took my driver's license away :(

    Bjoneill@hotmail.com

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  35. Thanks for participating and telling us how you were grounded. I had fun reading all your entries.

    Thanks to Angela Correll for sharing the books with our winners.

    Random.org chose TWO winners from all entries with contact info (one entry per person).

    Congrats to:
    8-Lisamarie
    22-Linda Kish

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