This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Jack Magnus for Readers' Favorite
Catch Me is a young adult and new adult coming of age/social issues story written by Shade Owens. Kaitlyn hadn’t really focused on her sexual identity until that moment when Samantha walked into Mr. Tanore’s English class. She had had a boyfriend until she had gotten tired of him trying to get her to go farther, but she was not really a girly girl. Kaitlyn hated wearing feminine clothing, and she was pretty ambivalent about sex. Samantha’s sudden appearance changed everything. She was electrifying, hostile, and everything about her warned of danger, but Kaitlyn was transfixed by those green eyes and that stunning, black-as-night hair. She hadn’t seriously given it a thought if she was a lesbian or bisexual before, but something about Samantha had her wondering. And when Samantha chose to befriend her, Kaitlyn realized it was probably the wrong thing to do, but she found herself unable to resist the other woman’s domineering personality.
Shade Owens’ social issues story, Catch Me, follows the coming out of an eighteen-year-old girl whose religious parents’ first instinct is to send her for sexual conversion at their church. There are no blacks or whites in this compelling story, only muted shades of gray as Samantha provides Kaitlyn with the strength and support to recognize and accept her sexuality, even as she leads Kaitlyn on a destructive path that takes her out of school and into alcoholism while in submission to the stronger woman’s lifestyle and worldview. Shade's characters are well-defined and authentic. I especially liked Maddi, the co-worker at Kaitlyn’s pharmacy job, who becomes a friend and mentor, and Andrew, Kaitlyn’s sister’s boyfriend, who somehow bridges the tension between Kaitlyn and her family after she comes out. Catch Me is at times a cautionary tale, filled with dark visions of lives wasted, but that part of the tale that brilliantly shows a young woman coming to terms with her sexuality and coming of age works so well both because of and in spite of her relationship with Samantha. And it makes the story ultimately a triumphant and uplifting one. Catch Me is most highly recommended.
