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Booktastic Reviews: Milledgeville Misfit

Here is another 5-star review of Milledgeville Misfit.

Please stop by and Visit Rachael at Booktastic Reviews!

Monday, 14 May 2012

Milledgeville Misfit by T.L. Gray

Author: T.L. Gray
Edition: Vabella Paperback
Published: January 31st 2012
Pages: 168
Rating: See below review.

Fourteen-year old Juniper "Junebug" Summerville loses her parents and her ability to talk in a car accident. Against her silent protests, she is sent to live in a remote swampland infamous for its ghosts, federal prison and insane asylum.

As Junebug struggles with her emotional scars, she begins to heal with help from six other orphans at Dearborn, a once famous Milledgeville Plantation. Just as she begins to enjoy the peace she’s long desired, she finds herself in a fight for her sanity when she stumbles upon a tear in the fabric that separates the possible from the impossible, and she must choose which to believe.

Damnit! How am I ever going to give this book the justice it deserves?! Milledgeville Misfit, put quite simply, is amazing. Beautifully written, emotional, thought-provoking... to be perfectly honest, I think I need to install a whole new rating system just for this book!

Please excuse me if I sound a bit gushy, but it's just that I absolutely loved this book! It was so unbelievably sweet how all of the orphans had such a connection with each other. I felt like I was experiencing something even more powerful than the love of a real family - something deeper that only a group of children can form in the absence of parents. I'm really not kidding when I say that this book will tug at your heartstrings.

Since, unintentionally, I've already got straight into the characters, I suppose I will tell you a little bit more about Junebug and her "family" as she puts it. First, Junebug. Ever since the car crash that left her parents dead and her without a voice, Junebug has felt like a part of her died along with them. That is, until she finds friendship in a group of orphans at Dearborn. I really don't want to go into too much because I'll probably end up revealing spoilers but I'll definitely tell you that this book is one of a kind and not to be missed. Anyway, back to Junebug. To me, I could never have thought of a more perfect main character. I felt almost privileged to watch her recovery and the development she goes through. I seriously don't think I can pick a main character, I just loved all of the six orphans and Junebug the same! I'd love to do nothing more than to talk about each of them but for now I will agree to talking about just the one. Abby. Little Abby is the youngest of them all and she practically had me hugging her through the pages. She was just so sweet and I could picture her so clearly. Well, come to think of it, I could picture them all so clearly.

Let me just leave it at the characters were all wonderful. Now on to other things. Gray has an absolutely beautiful writing style and she portrayed everything perfectly through Junebug's eyes - I really felt that involved in the story! I also loved how she managed to wrap up everything. The ending was spot-on, not to mention emotional! She also has a great way of threading mystery and keeping the reader hanging by a thread.

Overall I absolutely adored Milledgeville Misfit. I feel like the book really spoke to me and I think I will remember it for years to come. It has very rightfully found a spot on my favourite-books-of-all-time bookshelf! With a beautiful writing style, great characters, an unusual mystery and a story that will have you smiling sweetly and then almost in tears, this book is definitely one I recommend to all!

Milledgeville Misfit is a young adult novel that deals with grief and healing, and has an ending that leaves the reader with the choice of what to believe.


I'd like to express my thanks to Vabella Publishing and T.L. Gray for giving me a complimentary copy of this book and to Jessica at Booked Up! for hosting the giveaway! :D

Happy Reading,
Rachel xoxo

A Story that Defies Classification

SOUTHSIDE  BOOK  REVIEWS

Reviews Of Books Recently Written By Southside Authors

Compiled by:  Forrest W. Schultz   770-583-3258   schultz_forrest@yahoo.com

April 24, 2012

A Ghost Story That Defies Classification

 A review of

T. L. Gray Milledgeville Misfit (Vabella Publishing, 2012)

                  178 pp   $13.95   ISBN-10: 0983433275   ISBN-13: 978-0983433279

Review Attempted By:  Forrest Schultz

     Carroll County author T. L. Gary has written one of the most interesting and mysterious ghost stories I have ever read, and one that I find impossible to categorize.  At its surprising ending the reader learns that the newly orphaned Juniper "June Bug" Somerville has helped six ghost orphans from the twentieth century and that they have helped her. (I cannot tell you the nature of the help they received without giving away the story, which is well told, although it is a bit slow at the beginning.) We are not told how this could have happened without violating the laws of physics.  The rear jacket lets the reader decide, which is a clever ploy! 

     I recently told someone that the only adjective adequate to describe the stories of H. P. Lovecraft is that they are "Lovecraftian".  Likewise, I here proclaim that the only adjective adequate to describe this story by T. L. Gray is to say that it is "T. L. Grayish"!! 

     Well, I guess this is to be expected of an author who has written a story where Cain is still alive and well and causing mischief.  This story, Cain, is about to come out in a second edition, which I also intend to read

and review.  

     Information on T. L Gray is available at www.tlgray.net and www.vabella.com 

Barnes & Noble - Newnan Author's Event

Newsflash!

The Union Recorder

April 4, 2012

Author of Milledgeville ghost tale visits

From staff reports
The Union-Recorder
 
MILLEDGEVILLE — The Mary Vinson Memorial Library will host a book signing event featuring author T.L. Gray who is promoting her newly published novel “Milledgeville Misfit.”

“Milledgeville Misfit” is about 14-year-old Juniper “Junebug” Summerville who looses her parents and her ability to talk in a car accident. Against her silent protests, she is sent to live in a remote swampland infamous for its ghosts, federal prison and insane asylum. As Junebug struggles with her emotional scars, she begins to heal with help from six other orphans at Dearborn, a once famous Milledgeville Plantation. Just as she begins to enjoy the peace she’s long desired, she finds herself in a fight for her sanity when she stumbles upon a tear in the fabric that separates the possible from the impossible, and she must choose which to believe. The young adult novel deals with grief and healing, and has an ending that leaves the reader with the choice of what to believe.

“Milledgeville Misfit” is Gray’s third published book under Vabella Publishing. Her first published work was in 2009 called “The Blood of Cain,” in which the second edition to the book and sequel, “The Arcainian Series,” will both be released this May. The first book of a young adult series called ‘The Necromancers’ is scheduled to be released in early 2013. “Milledgeville Misfit” will also be featured in the May edition of the “Ghost Voices Magazine,” an international print publication based out of London, England.

The book signing event is slated from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday in the downstairs theater area of the public library.

“Milledgeville Misfit” is currently available at Mary Vinson Memorial Library, Barnes & Noble, and on Amazon, Kindle and Nook.

For more information about Gray and reviews of her work, visit www.tlgray.net or join her Facebook page at authortlgray.

Booked Up - Review!

Booked Up – Jessica Jillings

Review of Milledgeville Misfit

I love opening my mailbox and finding a new review.  This morning was no exception.  Here is the latest 4-star review I received from blogger/reviewer Jessica Jillings of Booked Up.  Enjoy!

    “Never in my entire life have I read a book that has been even similar to this, and I feel like I have experienced something amazing by reading Milledgeville Misfit. You need to have an open mind to read this, and at first you may be skeptical, but stick with it and you will be incredibly impressed.

 

     The beginning was quite slow and hard to get in to at first, but soon it starts to pick up the pace and only gets better and better. You just have to give this some time and read on. Junebug was a brilliant main character, and what she went through was awful. I got to watch her go from a child to a young woman, all in 168 magical pages. I feel like I went through it all by her side, feeling what she felt, thinking what she thought and choosing what she chose. But if I had actually been Junebug, I don't know how I could of handled her situation.

     I felt for every single orphan, especially little Abby with her golden locks and poorly stitched teddy bear. I also loved Daniel, the handsome older boy, Susan, the motherly young woman, Eddie, forever watching TV, Alex, the pink haired animal lover and finally Michael, the boy in a red baseball cap. I physically cared for each and every child. Every orphan had a background story and whilst reading them, I found that my mouth was hanging open in shock!

     Something that I wasn't so keen on was the front cover, which just came across as sort of dreary and boring-looking, but apart from that, I can hardly find faults. Oh, and one quick warning: Do not read this book at night, it gets quite eerie!

 

     Throughout this entire novel, I was forever asking myself whether all of this was real or fantasy, and because of this T.L. Gray is a very clever author. I love also how the author has even managed to include a little love interest in this book too! It's that extra touch that makes this novel so great.

  
     At times I wondered whether this was simply a horror story, and I couldn't have been more fooled. This is a tale of grieving, family, love, and what you believe in.

    I'm just surprised that I hadn't heard of T.L. Gray sooner, she is already one of the best authors I know, after reading just one of her books. I highly recommend this to everyone I know, and already have a queue of friends that are begging to borrow this from me! So thank you so much T.L. Gray and her publisher for giving me the chance to read and review this masterpiece.

      I give Milledgeville Misfit a 4/5, with just one star lost because of the dreary front cover and slow beginning. Other than that, I thoroughly enjoyed this, and my mind has pretty much be blown! Go to http://www.tlgray.net/ or http://www.tlgray.blogspot.com/ for more info about the author!”

Well, that was probably one of the best reviews I've received so far, including the lack of enthusiasm for my cover.  Make sure you guys drop by Booked Up and let Jessica know you appreciate her review. 

Till next time,

~T.L. Gray

Congratulations! Goodreads.com Give-a-Way Winner!

Congratulations….

Julie Rodriguez

Houston, Texas!

You are the big winner of the Goodreads.com give-a-way contest.

Your autographed copy of Milledgeville Misfit will be shipped to you in the next couple of days.

Blog Tour - First Stop

Check out the write-up on the following blog by author Ardyth DeBruyn featuring Milledgeville Misfit.
Make sure you leave a comment for Ardyth - and let her know you appreciate the post.

Ardyth is one of the first people I met on CritiqueCircle.com who ripped me to shreds, taught me a thing or two, and solidified our friendship with her honesty and integrity.  She is also the author of the following publications:

 

 and 


Check out the feature here: Ardyth DeBruyn Blog