Holiday Chick [Kindle Edition]

Amber L. Carter (Author), Karah Bausch (Illustrator)

Book Description

All Aden Callen wants is a life that means something. And she almost has it, until an unexpected letter arrives, forcing her to face her troubled past and leave her hard-won happiness at camp for the sleepy northern logging town of Holden.

The new girl in a small town, Aden soon becomes the reluctant center of attention for the local young, restless, and bored. Among them is bumbling and awkward Derek, who's not as clueless as he seems; Cory, cocky, charming, and entirely ruthless; the mysterious and beautiful Tory; and Jason, intense and eager for the bright spark in a dead-end town.

Struggling to reconcile the painful relationship she has with her family amidst a shattered heart, Aden soon finds herself giving in to the sway of distraction the local scene holds. Yet when her new-found notoriety swirls into dangerous consequences, Aden must fight to keep from losing herself - and the future she wants more than anything - before Holden swallows her whole.

HOLIDAY CHICK is an absorbing tale of the lure of misspent youth, freedom and futures, and that ferocious time in life when anything can happen.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Amber L. Carter grew up in Red Wing, MN. Although she has attended many universities, she has yet to graduate from any of them due to just not liking being tied down to showing up to stuff, man. It should be said, however, that she has maintained a 4.0 at all academic institutions and was even a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, a point that she regularly makes to her father whenever he tries to bring it up. She has a job and an apartment and a car and some friends and sometimes she dates some people. She does all of this in Minneapolis, MN and sometimes talks about it on the blog An Amber-Colored Life, which was chosen as one of the Top 10 Minnesota Blogs That Deserve Your Attention in 2010 by MinnPost.com. She has appeared in the second season of the web-video series, Chasing Windmills, playing a fictionalized version of herself. This book, her first novel, is her last-ditch effort to make something of herself before she gives up and lives in a shack out in the country where she will no longer have to deal with people who are fond of calling themselves trend-setters. She is a lover of campfires, stars, folk music, red wine, slow dancing, and you for buying and reading this book.

Product Details

• File Size: 482 KB
• Print Length: 536 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1452894760
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B004DI7L02
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #196,475 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A rookie's effort with a veteran's result. November 10, 2010

By Kevin Watterson

Format:Paperback

I bugged Amber Carter about this book for a long time. Years. Much of it was for my own amusement, but I had a more noble purpose as well. Carter writes the only personal blog in my Google Reader for a reason: She's a damn sharp and compelling writer, no matter what she's writing about. I wanted to make sure she actually wrote the book and hoped my persistent pestering would keep her from quitting. When I finally got to order it online, I waited for it with the same anticipation I get waiting for a MacBook or a new golf club.

It arrived at the start of the 4th of July weekend and by Monday afternoon I was ready to dig in. It did not disappoint. Three days later I turned the last page in disappointment that there wasn't another.

I was expecting Carter's book to be an extension of her blog, and had it been I would have been wholly satisfied. It went way beyond. The dialogue from the characters was beyond superb and so very natural that it may be the highlight of the book. But the way she told the story, weaving it from character to character with a deft hand you wouldn't expect from a writer's first effort, truly elevated the book. Don't get me wrong, she has a good story. But she brought it out in a way only someone with a true sense for storytelling could do. It's more than enough to make this book with your time and money, and it makes the release of her next book later this year a date to circle on your calendar for sure.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars 3 Day Holiday October 27, 2010

By Stu

Format:Paperback

528 pages in 3 days. I haven't read like that since college. I haven't been moved to read like that since before then. Excellent character development and the story just keeps bringing you in deeper until finally you tell yourself it's time for bed...after just one more chapter. At first the chapter layout strikes one as interesting and unique, but as the book continues the stories interweave with one another in ingenious fashion. An excellent and thrilling read, I'm excited to see what more develops from the mind of Ms. Carter.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Holiday Chick October 26, 2010

By Roz B.

Format:Paperback

I really enjoyed Holiday Chick. It was a little slow in the beginning, but once Aden moved home, it became a page turner. The story really kept my interest, it was not predictable. The author made me keep asking is this really fiction? It felt like a story written from real life. I am looking forward to a sequel or other events of Aden.

More About the Author

I grew up in Red Wing, MN. Although I have attended many universities, I have yet to graduate from any of them due to just not liking being tied down to showing up to stuff, man. Instead I traded in formal education for life experiences in exotic locales such as India, England, and Iowa. I have since settled in Minneapolis, MN, and am currently engaged in a domestic partnership with a man, a boy, a cat, a dog, a Dyson, and a nearby doughnut shop. It's incredibly glamorous and every day I have to deal with haters who want my life, but I handle it by tweeting positive, meaningful messages like, "Be comfortable in your own skin" and "Who gonna check me, boo?"

My first novel, "Holiday Chick" (published in June of 2010), was my last-ditch effort to make something of myself. It kind of worked. It will work more if you buy it. I'm also currently hard at work (not really...more like "leisurely at work", but saying "hard at work" tends to sound better to people) on my second book, which will be out when it's done. I also like to write about my feelings on the blog "An Amber-Colored Life". When I'm not talking about myself, I'm working as the Director of Creative/Social Media for Groucho Sports Supply and going undercover as the girl behind Cyber Dating Sidekick. I am a lover of campfires, night skies, folk music, knee-high boots, ice skating to Air Supply, large bodies of water, Fair Trade coffee, independent bookstores, pine trees, and this crazy thing called the internet. I've heard it's going places.