*** RELEASE BLITZ AND REVIEW EIGHTEEN (18) by J A Huss

Eighteen (18) Based on a True Story

Published on 11-18-15 

Eighteen is hard.
And so is Mateo Alesci.
He’s hard to read, hard to predict, hard in every way that counts.
He wants things from me.
Dirty things, nasty things, forbidden things.
And I have to give in.
His attention is completely inappropriate, but I can’t say no. The way he looks at me… the way he watches me through my bedroom window… the way he drags me deeper and deeper into his completely forbidden fantasy just… turns me on.
He knows it turns me on.
He holds all the power. He holds all the cards. He holds my entire future in his hands.
And I have to give in.
Because Mr. Alesci is my teacher.
And I need everything he’s offering.

“You came,” he says, after a few moments of rest. His eyes open and he looks straight at me. “You came in my mouth.”

I just stare back. Unable to talk. Unable to comprehend what he’s saying. “You’re a liar.”

He smiles. “But I’m a good one, right?”

“What?”

“You believed me. And you know why you believed me, Shannon?”

“That never happened?”

He scoffs. “Please, how drunk would you have to be for me to suck you off and never wake you up? Do you know why you believed me?”

“You’re a psycho,” I say, floored.

“Because you want to believe me.”

I shake my head slowly. “I don’t believe you. You’re a very good liar, Mateo. And that’s not something to be proud of.”

“Right. So why are you so sure Danny Alexander is the nice one, and not me?”

“Because look at you,” I scoff. “You’re such a fucking freak.”

“I’m sitting here in a chair, masturbating as I tell you a fantasy, Shannon. It’s hot.” And then he laughs. “You know it is.”

“It’s weird,” I say. “I’m speechless with you most of the time because you’re blowing my fucking mind. You make no sense to me. You don’t follow the rules.”

“Whose rules? Your rules?”

“School rules, for one. You’re my fucking teacher!”

“Technically, no. I’m a subcontractor. But ethically, yes.”

“It’s the ethics that count, don’t you think?”

“So walk out. Report me to Bowman. Call the police. Do whatever the fuck you want.”

My thoughts are racing around in my head. “Maybe I will.”

“At least you’d be invested. At least you’d stop just sitting here, begging me to get you out of this.”

“Beg you!” Holy shit. “To get me out of what?” I just want to punch him in the fucking face right now.

“Life.”

“OK,” I huff. “I’m done here.” I push my chair back to stand, but his words stop me.

“You want to skate through school, you said, take tests and call it learning. You want the prize without the work that goes into it. You want things you don’t deserve.”

“You don’t know what I deserve,” I say quietly. “You have no idea what I deserve.”

“I know,” he says, nodding. “But I do know what you don’t deserve. And you can deny it all you want, it won’t change the fact that you didn’t earn it. I’m asking you to earn it.”

“Earn what, Mateo? You make no sense.”

“It.” he replies. And then he lifts his hands up towards the ceiling.

“What’s any of this,” I say, lifting my hands up in the same way, “have to do with sex?”

He just smiles. “Nothing at all. It’s got nothing at all to do with sex. I just like you and I want to fuck you, and tease you, and play you. Not like that,” he says, seeing the anger inside me building. “Not like a victim, Shannon. Like an instrument.”

He reaches over for a roll of paper towels sitting on the table next to him, rips one off, and cleans up the mess on his stomach. He throws it into the trash, stands up, and puts himself back together.

“If you want to walk away,” he says, grabbing his book from the table, “go ahead. Report me to Bowman, tell the police, do whatever the fuck you want. But I’m trying to tell you, I’m invested. So go date Danny Alexander if you want. You can quit this class and drop out of school. You can fuck everything up. You’re a grown woman, you can make whatever choice you feel is best. But when you look back in ten years and wonder where it all went wrong, don’t blame me, Shannon. Because I gave a fuck and you walked out.”

And then he walks out. He’s got that stupid book in his hand and he just walks out and leaves me there.

Stunned.

 

NEVER…NOT EVER…DISAPPOINTED 

when I read Julie (JA) Huss is the author of a book.   I grab it immediately.  She is one of those authors that tells a story in a way that every emotion, description, character jumps off the page into your heart, gut, living room, or, in other words, wherever the story goes the reader follows…completely.  Eighteen (18) is another one of her beautiful literary journeys that she shares with us.

Eighteen is written in the first person narrative of Shannon Drake an eighteen year old girl who hasn’t had the best life thus far.  She is now in another new school, ready to graduate, and told that she doesn’t meet all the criteria even though she has more credits than required for graduation.  Life sucks at this moment in time.

In walks Mr. Alesci to save the day.  He agrees to tutor Shannon to get her through the trig requirement that she needs for her final math credit.  Mr. Alesci is Hot with a capital H and twenty eight.  He knows how to turn her on and does just that to keep her focused on her lessons and him.  Shannon doesn’t always share everything with Mateo but Mr. Alesci has secrets too.  Secrets that can hurt Shannon to the core.

“Do you like taboo sex?” Mateo wants to know.

It is true that I don’t usually pick coming of age books because I have my own coming of age issues that I prefer to forget sometimes.  I rarely read high school teacher/student books and enjoy them (only two to date and one is 18).  However, I decided to trust Ms. Huss and I’m so pleased that I did.  The story held my attention for the first word.  I have moments of laughter, tears, shock, and hope. I love it!  I read it twice in as many days and I know I will read it again. 

So many books are a pleasure to read.  I rarely have a bad experience when I’m reading, however, they slip from my mind almost as soon as I pick up the next book.  That won’t happen with Eighteen (18).  I’m sure that every time I scroll through the books on my kindle and see this cover I will go back to the feels because this is one of those rare books that you can’t shake.  It is unforgettable and I couldn’t put it down.  (I might add that this is true of every book in my Huss library.)

Ms. Huss has written an absolutely beautiful novel.  It is the story of a young girl who is given choices that will impact her life forever.  Love the hero.  Shannon is very smart even if she does try to hide it.  She is believable at 18.  She thinks she is street smart but she is still naïve in many ways. 

Shannon is thrown into a situation where her only family is an infant niece whom she loves completely.  A brother-in-law who is a bad person and only a few friends who are more acquaintances than friends.  She doesn’t really know anyone in her life at the moment then WOW.  Mateo enters and gives her hope for the future.    

“Life isn’t all or nothing, it’s something in between.” (How true.)

After reading Eighteen I feel happy and hopeful for Shannon’s future.  I also want to give Julie a fist bump and thank her once again for taking me into a story completely.  I can’t think of any constructive criticism or negative comment.  I love everything.  I can’t think of anything that I want to happen differently; it is just a perfect story.   I’m happy I read this marvelous standalone novel.  I’m grateful for the stories she shares with her readers.  I recommend 18 highly and now sit anxiously waiting for her next book.  Once again a great story Ms. Huss. 

5 BIG STAMPS OF APPROVAL