Book Jems: Blog Tour: Book Review: Forgiving Trinity by Liz Reinhardt

Today, Ed and I are happy to have Liz Reinhardt on the blog for an interview and review of her book, Forgiving Trinity!

A Little About the Lovely Liz:

I've been interested in writing since I rewrote the ending of *Romeo and Juliet* and killed them all off...every last one! My teacher loved it, and my inner writer came out kicking and screaming.

My writing passion is YA, the more verbal sparring, melodrama, and steaminess the better! In my real life I love my gorgeous daughter who makes me laugh and drives me insane, my awesome husband (who is the inspiration for many of my best bad boys...shh!), all the rest of my crazy family, plus travel, great books, good food someone else cooked, movies, and laughing.

Write me if you want! I'm at lizreinhardtwrites@gmail.com. I'd love to hear from you and am open to any questions/comments/hilarious Youtube video links. Oh, and check out my blog; www.elizabethreinhardt.blogspot.com. Sometimes it's very funny! (Sometimes I'm the only one laughing.)

Interview:

1.What was your reaction when you learned your first novel was going to be published?

Sweat and vomit. Equal amounts of each. It was ugly. And smelly. Very smelly. Hahaha! Honestly, it's one thing to have your work on your laptop or read by your friends. It’s another thing entirely to let people buy it and say whatever they think about it! Luckily, most people have been incredibly kind and respectful, even if my books weren’t to their personal taste.

2. Where did the idea for Forgiving Trinity come from?

Someone I love very much battled addiction. This person seemed to be in a pretty bad place, and I wasn’t sure there was going to be a happy ending. But there was! It was a long, hard process, and it was full of tears and occasional setbacks, but wound up being a very good, very positive thing. I used those experiences when I started thinking of Trinity and her battles.

3.What character in Forgiving Trinity was hardest for you to write?

Aidan’s mother was so stubborn and complicated. She gave me an incredibly hard time. I wanted her to like Trinity more. I wanted her to go easier on Aidan, and also to make peace with Mrs. McCabe. She wound up being a very good person who showed a little of her softer side by the end of the story.

4. Who was your favorite character to write?

I LOVED writing Ruth. I really love my sister and my girl friends, and it felt so depressing to me that Trinity had no one to confide in. Well, she had her brother and Aidan, but she needed a girl friend. I loved Ruth because Trin thought she had her all figured out, and then she realized she didn’t know her at all. And I think Ruth was surprisingly passionate and feisty. Very fun to write!

5. I cried a few times while reading the book. Was it emotionally tough for you to write?

Oh, no! I don’t want to make anyone cry, but I have to admit, I’m extremely flattered you said that ;)! It was very raw for me, because it was based on so much truth in my own life, and, at the time when I was writing it, I was still so close to what had happened to my loved one. Writing it was hugely cathartic for me, and I was a little bit of a wreck while I wrote it!

6. What do you like to think happened in Trinity's life after the end of the novel?

I like to think she goes on to go to college, do better, help other people get through what she got through. She and Ruth go on an amazing trip to Ireland. She and Aidan get closer. She learns to let go when Christian goes to college. All good stuff!!

7. What is in store for you next?

I am currently working on a paranormal called Inherit, and the first two chapters are provided as a sneak peek in the back of my newest release, Slow Twitch. I’m also working on editing Ruth’s book, titled Catching Ruth, and that one was amazing to write!

8.What do you prefer: Cats or Dogs/ Kittens or Puppies?

I’m a dog/puppy person myself! I love their loyal sweetness and open excitability! Maybe they just remind me of me!

9. What is your favorite word?

My favorite non-expletive is cake. I like the short, direct one-syllable aspect. I like the soft opening consonant juxtaposed with the harsh, sharp, ender. Oh, and I love cake! (But, really, who doesn’t love cake?)

10. Is there a television show you have to watch as soon as the episode is released? Are there any books that you have to buy as soon as they are released this year?

Oooh! I HAVE to watch the new episodes of New Girl, Community, and Mad Men. LOVE them!! I’m also a huge True Blood fan!

I cannot WAIT for Tammara Webber’s upcoming Mature YA, Easy, due out this summer. I am SO excited for Abbi Glines’s The Vincent Brothers (another mature YA). I am so excited to pick up Elizabeth Reye’s Gio (younger adult contemporary). Awesome, amazing authors, and there are many more I can’t wait for!

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The blurb as seen on Goodreads:

Release Date: December 23, 2011

At seventeen, Trinity McCabe has already made enough mistakes to fill a lifetime. Especially the one where she got high, drove a car, and almost killed a dog. And then let her friend Aidan take the blame.

She’s clean now and desperate to fix the messes she’s made, but first she’s going to have to get out of her pajamas.

As Trinity struggles to stop sleepwalking through life, she faces the painful, tingling sensation of waking up. It’s sometimes embarrassing (she really didn’t want to have lunch with Aidan’s mom), sometimes terrifying (group therapy is beyond intimidating), and sometimes, amazingly enough, pretty romantic (who’d have though Aidan would be such a great kisser?)

Trin is lucky, though—luckier than she deserves, she’s sure—and she doesn’t travel this road alone. Her family, her therapist, and her new friends are all pulling for her. And it turns out, some of them have made pretty big mistakes, too.

But before she can embrace her new life completely, Trinity has to be forgiven by the one person who is holding out the hardest: herself. It’s not easy changing everything, especially when you don’t think you deserve a second chance. Trinity might make an even bigger mess of things before she figures that out.

When the smoke clears on her latest disaster, will anyone still be standing there?

Review:

Every once in a while, you read a book that really speaks to you. The message is moving, inspiring and so deep that it makes your heart honestly ache. I've had a few of these novels so far this year and Forgiving Trinity by Liz Reinhardt is one of them. I couldn't relate to a lot of Trinity's situation, but I could understand her fears, self-consciousness and regrets. I love books that are able to draw me into a situation I've never been in before and really understand it. Forgiving Trinity does exactly that.

This book is heavy. The material is not for the faint of heart. It's nitty gritty. It's difficult. It's real. And it's completely inspiring. It has amazing ideas, a great plot and lessons that everyone needs to learn. I have no qualms with this book. There is nothing I would change or delete, it was utterly perfect. LIE! Actually, my only problem with the novel is that it ended. If it had been up to me, it would've been a perpetual novel.

The characters were amazing. I loved Trinity from the beginning. She was a scared, frightened girl who had gotten in trouble and was changing herself because she WANTED to. Many characters try to change themselves for others, but Trinity was strong enough to realize that being the person that everyone else wanted her to be wouldn't make her happy. By the end of this book, she's making decisions for herself and not letting what anyone else has to say affect her. The contrast of her character from the beginning to the end is phenomenal. Her maturity grows as the story develops. She's so strong.

She was not the only wonderful character in this novel. Trinity's friends and family were amazing. It was nice to see a group of people supporting our protagonist. Many books that deal with this subject make the main character deal with her problems alone. This is one reason that Forgiving Trinity will stick with me for a while. It goes outside the norm. Trinity's best friend and dad had to be my favorites though! Her dad reminded me a lot of my own and her best friend was amazing. Ruth was just what Trinity needed. I loved almost all of her characters! The only character that I never liked and couldn't like even by the end of the book, is Jules. That's probably just because I'm bitter and hold grudges for a long, long time.

The book was great. I don't know how else to state it. I really recommend it. It has a great narrator and beautiful language. It's a great length. Not too long, not too short. It's not too predictable and it's predictability does nothing to take away from the beauty of the book. I really enjoyed the entirety of it. If you need a book to really speak to you and move you, this is what you are looking for!

Ms. Reinhardt writes a great story. This is the first book of hers that I've read, but I can tell you after the great experience I had when reading this book, it will not be the last.

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