The Next to Last Mistake, Amalie Jahn

Heute mal zu meinem Geburtstag eine englische Rezi für euch :)

Hier der Klappentext:

Tess Goodwin’s life in rural Iowa is sheltered and uncomplicated. Although she chooses to spend most of her free time playing chess with her best friend Zander, the farm-boy from next door, her skills as a bovine midwife and tractor mechanic ensure that she fits in with the other kids at West Hancock High. But when her veteran father reenlists in the Army, moving her family halfway across the country to North Carolina, Tess is forced out of her comfort zone into a world she knows nothing about.Tess approaches the move as she would a new game of chess, plotting her course through the unfamiliar reality of her new life. While heeding Zander’s long-distance advice for making new friends and strategizing a means to endure her dad’s imminent deployment to the Middle East, she quickly discovers how ill-equipped she is to navigate the societal challenges she encounters and becomes convinced she’ll never fit in with the students at her new school.When Leonetta Jackson is assigned as her mentor, she becomes Tess’s unexpected guide through the winding labyrinth of cultural disparities between them, sparking a tentative friendship and challenging Tess to confront her reluctant nature. As the pieces move across the board of her upended life, will Tess find the acceptance she so desperately desires?

(Quelle: amazon)

Meine Meinung:
I love the calmness of the cover. It suits well to the story. Also the combination of the colors is very suitable. The big white writing of the title also fits well into the whole picture.

The writing style was simple and fluent to read. Through the personal perspective of Tess it was really easy to connect with her and dwell in her emotions.

When I started this book, I was not 100% sure what I should expect. I came across the book, liked the cover, thought the short-plot sounds not so bad and like something different for this time. Although I did not have a big idea, what I should expect, I was really surprised how much I've been drawn into the story. I could hardly but away the book. It was a really nice piece of art about real friendship. I specially liked also the end, where the author explained, that she made such great friends in real life. It makes hope, that real friendship is still out there.

The move from her beloved Iowa, her friend Zander and her cows, was really hard to stomach in the beginning for Tess. It was great to see her develop in the story and find her place in this new environment. From the beginning, she appeared like a really nice girl, but during the progress of the story, I was also able to get a glimpse of the strength of this character. Also the other characters were really nice and I liked them a lot. Leonetta was a really interesting character, it was nice to get to know her better. Also Zander was a great friend. One ncharacter, which I also liked very much, was Tess' dad. He was so loving and strong and always tried to do, what is best for his family.

One part, which was also really enjoyable and fascinating, was how much the sport of chess was interwined into the story and how much it suited it.

The end of the story came quite sudden. I must say, I was reading that part on the plane and probably got some looks because I started crying. However, it also held hope. That you are never alone and therefore can overcome a lot of bad things in life.

Fazit:
Fascinating drama including true friendship and a lot of emotions. I give the book 5 out of 5 stars.


Autorin:  Amalie Jahn
Verlag: Light Messages
Sprache: Englisch
Veröffentlichung: 19. März 2019
ISBN-10:  1611532647
ISBN-13: 978-1611532647
Seiten: 286

Thank you to the author and Netgalley for the review copy <3