Sam Guerra can’t afford to pick a fight at school and risk another expulsion, but after witnessing the beginning of a humiliating locker room beat down, he gets involved anyway. Soon more students approach him with offers of money and requests for protection. Having zero interest in becoming anyone’s bodyguard, he finds other students willing to take his place for the same fee. A growing list of names rapidly morphs into a reason to approach the pretty geek again, and despite the stark differences in his and Peyton’s backgrounds, they begin seeing each other outside of school.
But everything changes when Peyton transforms the list into a bodyguard website for a class project. Not long after go-live, she’s struggling to maintain the burgeoning database of bullied students matched with student bodyguards. What happens next turns the senior class assignment into a non-profit, nationwide project that will ultimately tear her parents' marriage apart and the town in two as it fuels the hot topic of violence to stop violence in an already divided nation. Her struggle to do the right thing becomes even more complicated when she learns of Sam’s dark past and equally violent present—information that could compromise their relationship, her reputation, and the integrity of a successful, anti-violence project she refuses to quit.
Paperback, 324 pages
Published
May 19th 2014
by Callie JamesGenre: Young Adult
Kristine's Thoughts:
I received a copy of this book through a Goodreads giveaway in exchange for an honest review.
This book is definitely a young adult book geared towards people of that age. It is a cute story about young love while at the same time tackling the issue of bullying in high school. The story between Peyton and Sam is not an original one but enjoyable all the same. They are two extremely different people from completely different backgrounds who find themselves drawn to each other by circumstances. In this case, Peyton approaches Sam with a proposition in order to help her brother escape the bullying he endures daily at school. She thinks that if Sam can help, because of his reputation, that it will stop and she won't have to worry about him anymore. Although he declines her request and money he still finds himself helping the very next day. The relationship slowly develops from there.
But...
Both have secrets, insecurities and issues that complicate things around every corner. Sam has physical scars that he doesn't want Peyton to know about and a job that he is sure will drive her away. Peyton's father forbids her to see Sam and her anti-bullying website takes all of her time, causes issues at school and she starts to receive threats. Their surprising relationship seems doomed with every turn of the page.
Over all the story is good. The plot and characters are well developed and both Sam and Peyton are like able and relatable. The story did drag a little bit towards the middle but other than that it flowed nicely. While the story centred around the relationship between Sam and Peyton I wish that the bullying issue was explored a little more thoroughly. Yes, it was a big part of the story but I craved more. I wanted more of a story and resolution when it came to the threats to Peyton and the media attention that she received around her website.
Young readers will probably really enjoy this book.
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