Reality Bites! Let's Get Lost!: Givewaway, Review & Tour: Undeclared by Jen Frederick

3 Hearts

As a high school freshman, Grace starts writing to a Marine as part of a school assignment. Her and Noah end up exchanging letters for four full years, way beyond the assignment that initiated their friendship. During those years, they become extremely important to each other. Grace is Noah’s support and really helps get him through his time in Afghanistan. When Noah all of a sudden sends Grace a “Dear Jane” type letter telling her is only interested in being friends, it ruins all their plans for seeing each other someday soon.

After not speaking for over a year, Grace is going to college and trying to live a normal life. When she starts seeing a man who she thinks looks like Noah, all her emotions and loss come rushing back. Noah has come to find her and try and win her heart, but he soon finds out that might not be so easy.

“I had never heard Noah’s voice before. We had never exchanged voicemails messages. Never Skyped. We had just written to each other – World War II style we had decided early on.”

This book is told in both Noah and Grace’s POV. As the story progresses we get letters from the past back and forth between the two. The reasons behind why Noah broke off contact with Grace are revealed. The issues seemed a little anticlimactic and it might have been because I wasn't super connected to the characters.

I had this idea that the letters and that part of the story would be really romantic, but it wasn't. The friendship is really the focus of their past and there's a trust and connection built. I was a bit disappointed that the romance wasn't there like I thought (through the letters). It does come later, don't worry, there are steamy scenes and everything! Either way I enjoyed their relationship building.

I really liked that throughout the story there is a theme of self discovery and the dealing with struggles of deciding what to do with your future. Taking risks, putting yourself out there, and the possibility of failures plague the characters.

“The Marines had made me a man but Grace had made me human. No matter what I told her in my letters, she accepted it and wrote me back something funny or sweet. She made me realize I could have more if I wanted it. And I wanted more bad.”

Jen Frederick lives with her husband, child, and one rambunctious dog. She's been reading stories all her life but never imagined writing one of her own. Jen loves to hear from readers so drop her a line at jensfrederick@gmail.com.

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Dear Grace

My biggest fear, huh? I don't think I ever told you about my recruitment experience, did I? So the AF reps show up at high school on career day. Bo has skipped and gone to somewhere to drink the day away. Lucky bastard. I would have skipped that day, but I had too many skips and was warned that if I had any more that they would withhold my diploma and make me go to summer school. Not going to happen.

Anyway, I end up talking with the Army and Marine recruiters. Their spiels are pretty similar. They ask me my interests. I tell them getting the hell out of Nowheresville. The Marine recruiter nods as if he gets me and says he felt the same way. He tells me that I can earn money, get my college paid for, and make a lot of friends. The first one sounds interesting, the second intriguing, the third I could care less about. Turns out that the last one is actually the biggest benefit of joining.

Later, the recruiter follows up with me. Gives me a huge laundry list of awesome things about joining. I tell him he doesn't have to sell me anymore, that I'm ready to sign, only I'm debating between the Marines and the Army. Then I make my biggest mistake ever. I admit that I am not a fan of water. The Marine recruiter laughs and says "you'll be infantry, son" and I sign.

I get to boot camp and am told that the Marines are a branch of the Navy. The Navy, Grace. The Marine recruiter must have noted that I had an aversion to water, because every punishment I ever received was water-related.

The moral of this story is that I can't go around telling you my greatest fear because someone will use it against me. It ain't water anymore.

~Noah