Emma has everything she wants. Good friends, family who loves her and the boyfriend of her dreams. She’s also finally rid nemesis Bianca Smythe from her life.But life is full of twists and turns. The first is a phone call from her mother, the one who abandoned her twenty years ago. Suddenly she wants a relationship, to patch things up with the daughter she dumped. Will Emma let her in to her now … to her now happy life?
The second is a chance encounter with Bianca in the school library. Their conversation will plant seeds of doubt about the only man Emma’s ever loved. Could Bianca be telling the truth? And if she is, will Emma ever be able to forgive Zach?
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My Question To Emma: Is It Worth It?
Format: Kindle Edition
Do you ever want to jump inside the pages of a book and set some of the characters straight? That’s exactly how I felt about Emma, the main female character. That young, naive, inexperienced girl we fell in love with, ached for and rooted for in the first book, has changed. She simply doesn’t know a good thing when she sees it. Zach, her hero, her protector, her shield, is and always has been there for her. He was the main reason she survived her bullies in the first book, The Senator’s Son. In ‘This Much Is True’, we still have the emotion. The drama still is there too. The characters have matured and while love takes center stage, doubts and questions are rampant.
Zach fights fire with fire and knows how to keep Emma’s bullies at bay. We learned in book one, a very risqué video starring Bianca is in Zach’s possession . He uses it to keep Bianca in line and Emma safe. Bianca is the type of person that has absolutely no scruples. She’s a prima donna that will do anything and everything to get what she wants, regardless of who it hurts. Zach has to play hardball and threaten to release the video if Bianca steps out of line.
Emma no longer is that insecure, depressed young woman. It seems her insecurities have turned into stubbornness. During a weekend stay at that infamous cabin where it all began, Emma is conveniently approached by one of Bianca’s friends. Of course, this friend brings up the video making sure Emma knows about it. She leads Emma to believe Zach not only used the video to blackmail Bianca into ‘playing nice’, but also indicates that Zack had Bianca blacklisted. Bianca has lost her social status …. no more party invites, no more sorority membership and very few friends. All it took was Bianca’s friend planting a seed in Emma’s mind to get her wanting to know what is on that video and what was Zach’s role.
Here is where I’m very, very disappointed in our girl, Emma. No longer is she that innocent girl our hearts went out to, she’s now way too stubborn and self-righteous for her own good. Yes, Zach used that video to hold over Bianca’s head. That was the only way to keep Emma safe from Bianca’s mental, emotional, and yes, physical bullying. Zach is and always will be Emma’s protector. He truly loves her. But Emma gets all upset, demanding to see the video and wants to hold Zach accountable for what she sees. Remember, this video was taken way before Zach even knew of Emma’s existence. It was a video that was required to get into their sorority/fraternity… no video participation, no membership. Bianca wanted in at all costs. She willingly compromised herself.
So here’s my gripe with Emma. How could she not see Zach was protecting her from Bianca’s evil clutches? Had Zach released that video, it would have damaged him as much, if not more, than Bianca. However, he loved Emma enough to do that if necessary. Why blame Zack and feel sorry for Bianca. Bianca was not naive and willingly chose to play the starring role in the video.
Zach truly is a changed man, no longer that young teen needing a fraternity to build his ego. He’s grown up into a respectful young man. How is Emma so blind to this? And if she doesn’t cool in down a notch or two, she’ll lose him. My question to Emma: Is it worth it?
OBSERVATIONS:
Emma needs to wake up and smell the roses. Bianca is not and never will be a friend. How could Emma even think about trusting her with anything, let alone something that could harm the one person who loves her.
Bianca never shows any remorse or guilt. She only feels sorry for herself, for the consequences she suffers for the horrific things she’s done.
Many vile things happen to sorority/fraternity initiates. Bianca wasn’t the only pledge having to perform in this way. As disgusting as it is, this video situation probably is a lot more realistic than people realize. College administrators need to find a way to clamp down on these things.
I read an Advanced Reader Copy of This Much Is True and am leaving my thoughts and opinions on it here.