Dawn's Reading Nook: Book Spotlight and Giveaway~ The Peace Project by Denise Mathew

Book Title: The Peace Project Author: Denise Mathew Genre: Young Adult / Coming of Age Release Date: December 11, 2013 Hosted by: Book Enthusiast Promotions

"I was so sure it would be like The Fault In Our Stars all over again (with a different twist of course). I was ready for heartaches, tears and death.BUT I WAS SO WRONG.I was in for a big surprise as the story took a different turn." Cha~Book Freak Blog "This is a needle in a hay stack kind of a book, I am so glad that I had the opportunity to read and review it because it is the first book EVER to bring a tear to my eye, and I know that that may seem weird as why would someone want to cry? But that is not how I mean it, I mean that it was able to provoke such emotions in me that no other book has been able to, and that is brilliant writing and story telling." ~Bookworm in Barrie Blog "The characters were another positive aspect of the story. I don't praise characters unless I really mean it, and I definitely do in this one. Jax wasn't the cardboard cut-out bad boy; his character was so fleshed out, and I really ended up loving his POV. And he was such a good boyfriend! I loved him. Marilee was another wonderful character, and I loved her POV just as much as Jax; maybe even a bit better. Her character growth throughout the story is stunning. I am really glad this was a two POV story, because it made Jax and Marilee so much more real. I have to admit, I got really attached to Marilee and Jax."~My Full Bookshelf Reviews Seventeen-year-old Marilee Mackie has everything going for her, beauty,money and a bright future. But when she's diagnosed with Stage 3 Hodgkins Lymphoma her world falls apart. Instead of finishing her senior year she begins the fight of her life. Nineteen-year-old Jax, an enigmatic hospital orderly, lives on the Strip, the proverbial other side of the tracks. With his sleeves of tattoos and rocker look, he's the kind of bad boy that Marilee has always steered clear of. But when Marilee's cancer strips everything that has defined her away, she searches for meaning in her life. Seeing that Marilee has lost hope, Jax steps in and helps her find purpose, a reason to live another day. From devastation the Peace Project is born. With Marilee's money and Jax's knowledge of the Strip, the teenagers embark on an unforgettable journey. Marilee learns that happiness is a choice, small acts of kindness can change lives forever, that a little good goes a long way, and that love can grow even in the darkest places of your life. But more than anything she learns that rainbows can follow storms. The Peace Project is a story about love, hope and the preconceived notions and barriers that we put between us for no reason other than the way someone looks or where they live. It's about letting go of all the things that we thought were important in the quest for our true purpose. And that sometimes the people you never thought you could love, may be exactly who you needed all along.

Denise Mathew loves good chocolate, lots of coffee, her kids and husband, when they behave, and of course writing stories. She believes that housework should be banned and wishes that potato chips were the most healthy and nutritious food on the planet. She worked as a pediatric nurse for eleven years, once owned an online jewelry business and even taught English in Thailand. She plans on writing until the stories run out, something she hopes never happens.