Shelter Book Nerd Tour, Review, and Giveaway

Welcome to the Official Blog Tour for SHELTER by Patricia H. Aust

This tour has been changed last minute to a review only tour, as the author is not available for any interview type posts. 

May 11th Deal Sharing Aunt
May 12th Sabrina’s Paranormal Palace
May 13th Words To Dreams
May 14th Spiced Latte Reviews
May 15th Nightly Reviews (Heather)
May 16th Insane About Books
May 17th Book Cracker Caroline
May 18th Intoxicated by Books
May 19th Ink Berry Books
May 20th Books She Reads

Miguel’s dad is at it again—physically abusing his mom and sister and terrorizing Miguel for no good reason. But when Miguel’s mom and sister, who have been whispering to one another for some time, decide to stand up to the abuse and move to a women’s shelter, Miguel’s life begins to take turns he never expected. After the family moves out, it isn’t long before Miguel’s dad promises to change his ways before once again becoming abusive; leaving Miguel to summon the courage to stand up to the man he thought he loved. This emotional and stirring novel is told from the point of view of a young man who is torn between the love he feels for his abusive father and the responsibility to protect his family.

In memory of Patricia Aust, who passed away in June, 2012, a portion of the royalties from the sale of SHELTER will be donated to the women’s shelter where she volunteered.

PURCHASE THIS BOOKINDIEBOUND | POWELLS | B&N | AMAZON | CHAPTERS

My Review

Shelter is an intense story about a family dealing with physical as well as mental abuse, and their courageous decision to make a stand and make a better life for themselves.

Miguel's (Mike) father is a control freak.  Everything has to be just right, in a certain order, or the family suffers.  Sure, they have those moments where life is great, they even play ball in the back yard and have some laughs.  However, the bad times are out weighing the good times, and something has to change.

Without Miguel's knowledge, his mother and sister have already made plans to take action into their own hands.  This happens after his father physically abuses his mother, and also hurts his sister.  They take off, to the protection of a woman's shelter where they will live and follow a whole new set of rules.  The number one rule is to never give out the address.  Miguel has a difficult time of adjusting, and lies to his best friend what is going on in his life.

Shelter: It's a story about survival. Plain and simple.  The intense plot and excellent writing made me feel their pain.  There were even those times of frustration with Miguel's sister, that just made me want to scream at her and yell, "WAKE UP!!"  It's a moving story that brings to light the struggles some families endure, and what might be hiding behind your neighbors' doors without you even knowing.

It's emotional, but at the same time, liberating to see how this family sticks together to make a better life for themselves that they FINALLY realize that they deserve.

Please read about the Author, Pat Aust.  She past away in June 2012 right before her book was published.  She was an amazing soul.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline

HERE

In honor of Pat, I felt this was important.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Pat Aust’s life revolved around helping other people. She recognized that for as many children as there were in the battered women’s shelter where she volunteered as a children’s counselor, there were many more that still were being abused. This book was accepted for publication just before she passed away from cancer on June 12, 2012. Her hope was that this book might help victims of domestic violence to break the cycle.

After she retired from a career in child welfare and specialized foster care, and working for more than 20 years as a public school social worker, she served on various boards of mental health and learning disabilities as well as the Connecticut Task Force on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. She belonged to the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, played in her church’s bell choir, and edited Circuit, the newsletter of the Learning Disabilities Association of Connecticut. What she loved most, though, was writing middle-grade and young adult novels. A portion of the royalties from the sale of SHELTER will be donated to the women’s shelter where she volunteered.

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