WHAT A BOY NEEDS ~ Q&A, Review, & Giveaway

Welcome to The Bookish Babe's stop on the WHAT A BOY NEEDS Blog Tour! Today I have a Q&A with the lovely and fierce, Pris. That is followed by my review of WHAT A BOY NEEDS and a GIVEAWAY!

Let's get started.

Q&A with Pris

(image taken from mockingjay.net)

Andrea: Was there one moment when you knew you loved Jaden?



Pris: Dios. You go straight for the punch! LOL. I’m not sure if there was one specific moment. I think there’s always been a part of me who knew he was special…not in same way Sebastian is special to me. Jay’s always been… different. I remember one time when I was fourteen. I had a bad day. I was upset with my parents and the four of us were hanging out and walking around town. Everyone kept asking me what was wrong and I didn’t want to talk about it. I told them I just wanted to go home. Aspen and Bastian asked Jaden if he wanted to go to a movie and the three of them walked over while I headed for home. We hadn’t been too far from my house. I was sitting on my porch because I didn’t want to go inside. My parents were gone at some function or something and I suddenly didn’t want to be alone anymore… I was lonely. It wasn’t five minutes later he walked up my porch stairs. I asked him what he was doing there and he told me Bastian and Aspen decided to see some stupid movie that he didn’t want to watch. I was so grateful that he was there—that I didn’t have to be alone. Grateful that they picked a movie he didn’t want to see. We just hung out and talked. Of course he’s Jaden so he was being a goof and making me laugh. It was perfect. I wasn’t sad anymore. Before he left he picked a dandelion and held it out to me and told me to make a wish. That I could have anything I wanted. I know that sounds ridiculous, but I think that’s when he went from special to mine. Anyway, the next day I was with Aspen and she mentioned offhandedly that she was surprised Jay bailed on the movie because he’d been wanting to see it forever. That’s Jaden. Silently noble.

Andrea: *melts*

Andrea: What's the one thing you wish you could tell the world about Jaden?

Pris: That’s a hard one because if people don’t take the time to really see who he is, it doesn’t matter what I tell them. I guess kind of what I said in the first question. He gives without wanting acknowledgement for it. He keeps it in and I think that makes what he does even more incredible. He’ll probably be mad if I don’t add something in there about how he’s a really good kisser too ;)

Andrea: I know Jay and Bastian love the Beastie Boys. But do you and Aspen have a favorite band?

Pris:Umm…we’re not as obsessed with anyone as they are with the Beastie Boys. LOL. We love Bobby Long. Red Hot Chili Peppers are incredible too. Oh and the Black Keys.

Andrea:What did you think about Jay and Bastian's graduation stunt?

Pris: *rolls eyes* They even kept it from us! We had no idea they were doing that! They’re so crazy. At first I was shocked and then I couldn’t help butlaugh. They’re nuts, but they’re pretty funny too. Just don’t tell them I said that.

Andrea: *dies laughing b/c it's still funny*

Andrea: If you had to choose one place to take Jaden, where would it be?

Pris: I wish he could have seen a Beastie Boys concert before MCA passed away. He would have loved that. Otherwise… I don’t know. Somewhere silly and boy-ish, I guess. LOL.

Andrea: Describe your perfect day?

Pris: Talking and hanging out with Jaden—blowing dandelion seeds but without making a wish because I already have everything I want. Holding one out to him, just so he knows he can have anything he wants too.

Andrea: Sigh...

**Thanks to the lovely Pris for the Q&A.**

Jaden Sinclair knows he'll never amount to anything...so why would he deserve a girl like Priscilla Mendoza? Since last summer, things have been screwed up between Jaden and Pris. He knows it's his fault, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting to go a few rounds with her new boyfriend. He also knows he’s the loser his dad calls him, but it doesn’t stop him from wanting her. After getting a huge bomb dropped on him, Jaden lashes out and lands himself in jail. Everything in his chaotic life is turned upside down and to make it worse, his mom kicks him out in order to side with his dad. Yeah, he’s totally a prize for a girl like Pris. Sebastian, Aspen, and Pris are all going places in their lives...and he knows he can't keep tagging along for the ride. The group has one last chance for The Epic Adventure they've been looking for: a road trip to New York, where Jaden's friends will be going to college. Unfortunately, the more time Jaden hangs around Pris, the harder it is to keep the carefully constructed walls between them so she doesn't find out what a train wreck he really is. When the trip ends, Jaden has to decide if he's ready to say goodbye to his friends, and the girl he loves. He knows what he needs, but will he be man enough to go for it? ~From GoodReads

Recently, I read a great book, WHAT A BOY WANTS (my review). I immediately fell in love with the story, the characters, and author Nyrae Dawn's ability to tell a great story and feel so much for her characters. So you can imagine how happy I was when I learned Nyrae was writing a companion book from Jaden's point of view, WHAT A BOY NEEDS. I received an advanced copy of this book and dove in whole-heartedly. I was thrilled to revisit the gang and to learn more about Jaden.

What I learned....broke my heart. Jaden's home life is so devastating. There were hints that things weren't good in WaBW. But to actually face it was wrenching. This poor, sweet boy who appears to be carefree and always up for a good time, he endures so much. The constant onslaught of verbal abuse, being told he's nothing, a mistake; it starts to play with Jaden's mind and causes him to lose himself. He begins to believe he's not good enough for Bastian, Aspen, and Pris.

Pris. She has loved Jaden for so long. But he didn't see her that way. Then, we he finally did, Jaden didn't think he was worthy of her love. It's easy to see why Jaden is so in love with Priscilla. The girl is straight-up intense. She's funny, fiercely loyal, strong, and does not care that her family has more money than sense. The girl who appears to have it all, is lacking the one thing she wants the most: someone to love her and put her first. She wants Jaden. Wants him to be open and trust her. Jaden loves her, but can't open up. Their struggle towards one another is intense and beautiful. And what I love about Nyrae Dawn's storytelling is that she uses the "quiet" moments to as much effect as the big gestures. The little things, like knowing which eyebrow ring they would like best, or making sure the person you love gets the right drink (Cherry Pepsi, sigh...), those are the pieces of the puzzle that make a great love.

So yeah, WHAT A BOY NEEDS is intense and dramatic. But it is also laugh-out-loud, hysterically funny. Exactly what you expect when Jaden and Bastian get together. Gah. I love those boys.  I'm not going to spoil it, because I honestly busted out laughing while reading it, but GRADUATION!! (I'm looking at you Autumn and Val!) Another big moment was packing the car. (DO IT HARDER!) I've seriously been tweeting that line to Autumn a lot. Classic.

I am so happy with WHAT A BOY NEEDS. I cried for at least thirty minutes after I'd finished. I was sad for Jaden's past, but hopeful for his future. I was sad that the story was over, yet thrilled beyond belief with how it ended. The story comes to a full, beautifully written circle. A true treasure that I will not soon forget. I loved WHAT A BOY WANTS so much. I loved Bastian and Aspen. I still love that story. It was funny and heart-warming. Believe it or not, I think I may love WHAT A BOY NEEDS even more. Just do me a favor and don't tell Bastian, okay?


Favorite Quote:

I chose two quotes; one funny, one heartbreaking.

" 'First of all, you're nuts. I'm way hotter than you and second, I'm being serious, man. We're like, Batman and Robin. Scooby and Shaggy. Acutally, none of those duos have sh*t on us. We're Sebastian and Jaden.' " (pg 36, eARC)

"Before he fell for Aspen, Sebastian didn't believe in love. I always wanted to - I just didn't know if I was worthy of it. But when she says it? This girl who can do anything? It's like a law. If she can love me, I must be worth something, right?" (page 124, eARC)


Expected Publication Date: June 12, 2012

Giveaway

I'm giving away an ebook of WHAT A BOY NEEDS. I will gift to either Kindle or Nook. If the winner has not read WHAT A BOY WANTS, I will give them the optioin of that book instead.

The Rules:

• Must be 17+ years of age to enter. I'm not into telling teens what to read. But I don't want anyone's mom mad at me.
• Must be able to receive ebooks from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
• Giveaway ends June 20, 2012 at 11:59 pm.

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