Sandstorm

De: Joyce Yarrow

Narrado por: Jennys Nunez

Powerful urban fiction about a young grifter trying to find her way to legitimacy. Sandie Donovan is abandoned in her teen years by a neglectful father and it takes all her cleverness and resilience to survive and establish herself in New York City. Wiser than her years, her path toward the straight and narrow is circuitous as she seeks to take charge of her life.

GOLD MEDAL WINNER of the Cipa Evvy Award for Women's Fiction, "SANDSTORM is entertaining every step of the way.”—Independent Book Review

"Readers seeking solid urban fiction settings and the spunky but struggling character of a young adult who changes immensely through her experiences and choices will find SANDSTORM a worthy and intriguing journey.”—D. Donovan, Midwest Book Review

"Sandie Donovan is a charming and damaged character, and I rooted for her from the get-go.”—Jennie Shortridge, bestselling author of Love Water Memory

“A pitch-perfect, heartfelt and enthralling story of survival, coming-of-age and redemption.”—Penny Haw, bestselling author, The Wilderness Between Us.

©2021, 2023 Joyce Yarrow (P)2023 Joyce Yarrow

Growing up hard

Joyce Yarrow follows a young girl, Sandie Donovan, who makes choices partially based on circumstances of poverty, grief, temptation, and the influence of opportunistic individuals in this coming-of-age story. Her trip to Arizona opens her eyes and then rips apart childhood memories.

Readers and listeners will follow Sandie’s life as she matures following her father’s betrayal. Her survival instincts are honed to near perfection with people who cultivate her abilities to lie, cheat, and steal. An untypical female protagonist, Sandie is flawed but clever, imaginative, and loyal to a fault as she gets in and out of serious trouble in her adventurous journey called life. She becomes extremely relatable with her sad situation as she strives to overcome and change her destiny. Sandstorm is a compelling tale that tugs at one’s heart yet disturbs one’s sensibilities. Will her encounters in the theatre and with cosmetology provide salvation or ruin her forever?

The narration by Jennys Nunez felt stilted and slower than the tempo created by the author’s descriptions. In places, the voices were too similar to distinguish the characters easily. Some words had inconsistent accents. There were no technical issues with delivering the audio elements, but it took away from the story.

Fans of action and adventure will enjoy this story of the life and times of a young girl surviving along a path riddled with problems. It is relatable to people who make mistakes and eventually learn from them as they learn to stand independently. The ending was a surprise not to be missed.

Great writing. Great story.

I enjoyed the story and the writing. Following the protagonist along her journey felt real and believable. The author did a marvelous job with character development and moving the plot along. The characters were all multi dimensional and believable… some relatable.