Seventeen-year-old VERONICA SMITH has it all: a loving family, a funky car named Jezebel, and a plan to go to college after graduation.
On the first day of senior year, she meets DIMITRI GLENN–a mysterious transfer student with gray eyes and a mischievous smile who seems determined to win her heart. But there’s something odd about Dimitri, leading Veronica to wonder if there’s more to him than meets the eye.
Before long she finds herself in a whirlwind romance that seems too good to be true–until a series of devastating events leaves her questioning everything.
It’s not until she chooses to think with her heart instead of her mind that she can rise from the ashes to learn the truth of their connection.
Dimitri’s face is peaceful and angelic as he rises to help me put my coat on. “Thanks for coming over tonight, Ronnie. You don’t know what it meant to me. I feel like this is the first time I’ve been able to breathe in months.” He lifts his hand, but hesitantly stops just short of brushing my cheek. He smiles and lowers it. “Can I walk you to your car?”
My heart is soaring and my palms are sweaty. “I’d like that.”
We walk slowly down the long driveway, our bodies so close that our arms brush against each other. I think back to the first day of school and smile; personal space is so overrated.
He opens the driver side door and stands behind it at a safe distance so as not to make the situation awkward. I throw my bag through onto the passenger seat and stand with one hand on the door and the other on the steering wheel. When I look up at him he’s staring down at me. His eyes glitter in the streetlight.
It’s at that moment that my life comes into focus, like flipping a switch. The entire world tilts back onto its axis. Call it an epiphany; the rare type of realization that changes your life absolutely. I need this man in my life. I need him like I need air and water. He is part of me—my past and my future. Since the day we met I’ve given my heart to him ... piece by piece. And it’s at this exact moment that I realize he has all of it. My heart is no longer mine; it belongs to him and always will.
I can’t help but smile.
He returns the smile—his beautiful smile. “What?” he asks softly.
“Thank you for being you, Dimitri.”
Not much escapes him and I know from the look in his eyes that he understands. He nods humbly. “You’re welcome.”
I duck down into the driver’s seat and look back up at him. “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.” I don’t know if it’s a question or a declaration, but it’s hopeful.
He winks. “You can count on it.”
Slowly he shuts the door and moves to the sidewalk. I wave and pull away, watching him in my rearview mirror as he begins to fade into the distance. He stands there glowing under the streetlight like an angelic statue. When I turn the corner, he’s gone.
Life is sometimes … an epiphany.
I first fell in love with the Kim Holden and her novel Bright Side. Here I thought that was her debut novel. Boy was I wrong! Little did I know she wrote this great YA novel, All of It, which will pull at your heartstrings and make you believe that love is ever lasting. It will make you believe that fate and destiny are real and there is nothing more powerful than the power of love. I fell in love with the story and the way Ms. Holden spins her tale. This is a complete novel but I would love to see another novel from secondary characters point of view.
It’s the first day of her senior year in high school and Veronica has decided to get some volunteer hours by being a buddy to a new student that just transferred. What she didn’t expect to get was the handsome Texan that is Demetri. She has always had more guy friends as she is more athletic than most girls but there is something different about him that stirs deep inside her. She has never experienced anything like this and he puts her on edge.
“I’ve been around guys my whole life: I should be able to control myself a little better. The problem is he’s unlike any other guy I’ve ever known. I get wild butterflies in my stomach when I think about him, when I look at him, when I hear him speak, even when I smell him.”
They start dating and Demetri could not be more perfect. He’s a nice guy, always the perfect gentleman, and for some odd reason, Veronica feels like he’s an old soul, like he has lived several lifetimes over to gain life experiences. With him always knowing what to do, saying the right thing, or doing the right thing, Veronica wonders if she is able to keep up with him. That he may be too good for her.
“He is simply, genuinely amazing. Perfect. For some reason this makes me incredibly anxious. He’s so perfect that he doesn’t seem real. I can’t keep up. And I can’t measure up.”
With the stress of a relationship, school, and friends, Veronica decides to break it off with him to get her life back in order. She feels like things are spiraling out of control and the only thing she can do is do let one drop. Unfortunately that conclusion is Demetri.
“I feel like a juggler who keeps adding more and more balls until there’s no option but some of them to drop. My boyfriend, my friends, my family, my future, my job… suddenly there are too many balls in my routine.”
When a tragic accident rips through Veronica’s life, Demetri is there to be the shoulder she leans on. He and his family and there to be her support system but unfortunately that is not always enough. The light that was one there is gone and Veronica starts to go through a deep depression.
“Depression is something different altogether- it’s destructive. It creeps up on you and strangles you and before you even realize it you’re paralyzed and nothing matter anymore. Its transforms entirely.”
Can Demetri and the love he feels for her be enough to pull Veronica out of the dark? Depression is something you cannot change overnight. Will he be able to stick by her when she needs him most? Or will she be pulled under by the dark cloud that hovers over her? Are they destined to be together? Will fate intervene and change everything? Can Veronica really have all of it??? You’ll need to read to find out! 4 huge stars for me!
Some of my favorite things: reading, writing, the two coolest guys on the planet (my husband and son), my bicycle (my husband built it for me), Facebook (I'm fairly certain it's an addiction at this point), iced coffee (hazelnut), and music (LOVE the 1975, Dredg, the xx, Haim, Manchester Orchestra, Teenage Bottlerocket, and 30 Seconds to Mars). I also love dreaming. Big. Writing a few years ago was an elusive dream until I grabbed ahold of it with both hands and refused to let go. Keep following YOUR dreams. Be brave and do epic!
