.jpg "Suicide City, A Love Story (Julie Frayn)")
Suicide City, A Love Story is an edgy young adult novel. It is told from the points of view of August, Reese, and August’s mother. It is an unapologetic, honest, and sometimes explicit look at some hard realities including teen homelessness, drug use, child abuse and prostitution.
But at its heart, it is the story of first love – and the consequences of every choice made.
The Book has been self-published via Amazon, CreateSpace, and others and is available as eBook and Paperback. (263 pages - released in February 2013)
About the Book
Sixteen-year-old August Bailey yearns for more than pig slop and cow shit. She fantasizes about an apartment in the city, not a tiny house on an Iowa farm. She dreams of new clothes and falling in love with a worthy boy. Not hand-me-downs from the second hand store in Hubble Falls, population two-and-a-half, or having her jock boyfriend grope her and push her for sex. During another fight about makeup and boys, August’s controlling mother slaps her. And August hops the next bus out of town.
She arrives in Charlesworth to discover that reality and fantasy don’t mix. After a night of gunfire and propositions from old, disgusting men, she is determined to find the ‘real city,’ the ‘real people’ of her dreams. To prove to her mother, and herself, that she is the adult she claims to be.
When her money runs out, she is ‘saved’ by seventeen-year-old Reese, a kind boy with electric eyes and a gentleman’s heart. Reese lives on the streets. Though clean for months, he battles heroin addiction and the compulsion to cut himself. Each day is a struggle to make the right choice.
August falls in love with Reese, and knows her love can save him. She breaks down his emotional walls and he tells her his secrets – of abuse and the truth about his mother’s death.
As Reese’s feelings for August grow, so does the realization that keeping her could ruin her life too.
.jpg "Suicide City, A Love Story (Julie Frayn)") |
| Click to Read an Excerpt |
Reviews (Excerpts)
- "This is a well-written and gripping tale of a young girl's odyssey--a girl trying to find herself far from a home life she finds stifling. The characters she meets and the situations she encounters are disturbing, but they reflect the dark underbelly of the world that most of us rarely see--child prostitutes, drug dependency, suicide. The author brings these to life in a way that's hard to forget. I would recommend the book to young people so that they can understand what's out there, and to parents so they can see what perils that await their children if they're not loved enough. " - J.V. Simpson
- "[...] Frayn's writing style is brilliant and her plotting is flawless. August's journey is a poignant one. I cannot imagine giving this novel to a teen any younger than 16 but I might give it to all that I know who are older. Suicide City, a Love Story is a cautionary tale for a modern age. " - T. Dewhurst
- "Suicide City by Julie Frayn is heartfelt, poignant, and soul touching. Frayn's first novel tells the story of August, a young runaway who learns about the reality of life, along with the pains of a beautiful first love, when faced with life on the streets. Frayn accomplishes the task of grabbing the reader with her opening lines, and tells the story from the various character's standpoints with a heart touching clarity that makes her story play more like a movie than a book being read. Each character was so real to me that I found myself wanting to call them after I finished reading to see how they were doing. Frayn perfectly captured the feelings and emotions of both her teenage characters as well as the adult characters in the book.[...]" - Amber Norrgard
- "[...] It was a great read for me and I couldn't put it down. It took me a minute to get into it, but when I did, I couldn't stop reading it. It was like a freight train.
I recommend this for adults, and reservedly for young adults, that will not be offended or jaded by the contents. It does deal with some very adult situations and language. However, I believe it tells a very sobering tale many could benefit from reading about. It is a dark story, but with a solid moral compass. " - J. Scott Sharp
About the Author
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| Author Julie Frayn |
Julie Frayn is a single mother of two amazing adults, an accountant, and addicted to writing.
When she isn’t crunching numbers, she's creating chaos on a page, occasionally taking a break to munch some bacon.
Links to the Author and the Book
Link to the Author's Website
Connect with the Author on Twitter: @JulieFrayn
Link to the Paperback Suicide City, A Love Story with Excerpt on Amazon
Link to the eBook Suicide City, A Love Story with Excerpt on Amazon
