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    Paradise
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    Paradise
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    Paradise
    Ebook252 pages3 hours

    Paradise

    By Jill S. Alexander

    3.5/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Paisley Tillery is the drummer for a country rock band. If they can make it to the stage at the Texapalooza music fest, then Paisley will be closer to her dream of a career in music and a ticket out of her small Texas town.

    Drumming and music are what Paisley has always wanted. Until the band gets a new lead singer, the boy from Paradise, Texas. With Paradise in her life, what Paisley wants, and what she needs, complicate her dreams coming true.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherMacmillan Publishers
    Release dateJul 5, 2011
    ISBN9781429995474
    Unavailable
    Paradise
    Author

    Jill S. Alexander

    Growing up in her rural East Texas hometown, JILL S. ALEXANDER went to work at age 12 bussing tables at the local truck stop. There, she met folks from all walks of life whose eccentricities color her work today. Jill has survived a tornado and being caught on fire. She hates whining but loves fancy shoes, muscle cars, and Johnny Cash – preferably all three at once. Jill taught high school English and Spanish before deciding to take a chance on writing full-time. A native of Texas, she lives in Tyler, Texas, with her husband and son. Her books include The Sweetheart of Prosper County and Paradise.

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    Reviews for Paradise

    3.5/5

    27 ratings9 reviews

    What did you think?

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    • 4/5
      This is an engrossing book by Jill S. Alexander, with what I considered a surprising culmination of events.

      Paisley is the spirited teenage protagonist who desires to be a drummer. A boy from Paradise, Texas threatens to come between her and her dream.

      This is definitely a page turner. I read it in an afternoon. I liked Paisley and the other characters. I didn't think anyone was painted as a stereotype, which is nice because writers thrusting stereotypes to be foils happens far too often in fiction.

      I also liked the fact that while it is obvious that Alexander is a devout Christian, I didn't have that thrust in my face as I was reading. It was there, but not pushy.

      I suppose that a lot of readers might only give this a three, but I am a sucker for a book about music and especially if it's well written.
    • 3/5
      First, don't judge a book by the cover. Its a lovely cover but it didn't seem to fit the story. Paradise by Jill Alexander was more of following your dreams even when there are things that are making the journey laborious, seemingly impossible, or downright hopeless.(no spoilers here)Following dreams, to me, is something that requires two elements: fortitude and hope, and in regards to the later there need not be much of it. This tale could have easily ended with reinforcing these two elements with a wide-open road ahead. Full steam. Just reach for it. You can do it! Oh, the places you'll go, a la Dr. Seuss.Instead, the writer came out of left-field and blindsides the reader. I do have to give kudos...it was a pretty gutsy move for the author even though it almost felt like an afterthought to twist the story this way but who knows? Regardless, it didn't work for me and from reviews I'm not the only reader that felt this way.People remember the biggest impact of the book and the impact fails to tell the whole story here.This said, I very much enjoyed this book until the end. The writing was captivating: Music, young love, the banter, lovable and not so lovable characters - all in all, characters with depth.I will read Jill Alexander again. Her writing is good. I will be a bit reluctant though, unless I read a review or two of her next book, at least for this Pollyanna.
    • 3/5
      I had heard great things about Paradise before I started reading. This was one of those books I purchased a long time ago, but never really got around to reading until a few days ago. I am glad I read it--it was a great book--but it also pissed me off quite a bit. I'll get to that part in a few moments, but first I'm going to talk about what I really liked. The writing was absolutely gorgeous. I'm not a big fan of the state of Texas (I have my reasons) but seeing the state through the author's eyes made me really want to visit. The sensory language was pretty fantastic. There were times when I felt I was right next to Paisley. The imagery really worked for me. Especially some of the musical performance scenes. I enjoyed the description of the setting: the woods, the Tucker barn, the airplane hangar, etc. I also really appreciated the tone of the book. I tend to really like the follow-your-dreams-and-screw-everybody-else type of book. I did find the characters to be a little flat. It was the story that shone here, and while I thought Paisley was written fairly well, I found the rest of the characters kind of one-dimensional. Yes, even Paradise. I had to giggle that the two daughters were named Paisley and Lacey, and it had me wondering if their parents were a husband-wife Wal-Mart design team. I know some southern names can be a bit ridiculous, but c'mon, really?Before I get to the big thing I took issue with, there were a few minor things that bothered me. I found it kind of weird how they went from one rehearsal with a new lead singer to a live performance right away. That was not very realistic at all. Did the author actually expect me to believe Paradise learned all of the songs and and lyrics that fast? Either she really did or the editor screwed up. Bad, editing, bad. Also, I really didn't get the reason for sticking in some of Cal's song lyrics between chapters. From reading them I gathered that he had feelings for Paisley. But that never came into play in the story. So I found it to be kind of useless. I know it was there as a plot device to raise readers' spirits because of what happened in the ending, but to me it didn't work. At all. And to be honest, some of the lyrics were pretty terrible.Now. The ending. Talking about this will be tricky without spoiling anything, so I'm going to say STOP READING HERE if you haven't read this book or think you may want to. I'm not going to give away any plot details, but you will be able to figure things out if you think too hard about it and I don't want to end up spoiling it for anyone, so STOP HERE.As much as the ending had an emotional effect on me, I found it entirely unnecessary. It was gimmicky and done to make the book different from other books, but sometimes simpler is better, and because of the way this book ended, I am extremely wary of reading anything else written by this author. The ending was shocking and emotional, but it didn't need to be that way. The writing was stunning up until that point and then I got really angry. I put off writing this review for a few days because I needed to stew over this and sever my emotional connection. But although my anger dissipated, I never really forgot about how much the book ticked me off. So keep that in mind. The ending, in my honest opinion, sucked. Everything up until that point was absolutely wonderful. It may have even gotten a 5 star rating from me. Favorite Quotes:Under a center spotlight, she pulled the horse to a sudden stop. The horse reared up on its hind legs, first to one side of the audience then to the other. Dad and I and the rest of the crowd jumped to our feet clapping and whooping. I watched the face of Miss Rodeo Texas. I wanted that smile, the ear-to-ear grin of a girl living her dream.He took the drum and knelt down beside me. "Hold it between your knees." He placed his hand on my knee and gently pushed my legs open, placing the drum between my thighs. My throat tightened. The air thinned. I wished the hangar had fans. "I've got it." I pushed his hand away. "I've got it." I squeezed the drum, holding it tight between my legs.HOT.
    • 5/5
      It isn't easy for me to coherently explain my feelings about Jill S. Alexander's sophomore novel, PARADISE. I really enjoyed Alexander's first novel, THE SWEETHEART OF PROSPER COUNTY, but I wasn't at all prepared for how much I would adore PARADISE. Not only does PARADISE feature a fantastic plot and engaging setting, the characters are phenomenal. The main character, Paisley, caught me off guard... The name Paisley seemed a bit pink to me. I literally pictured a pink paisley pattern when I first saw her name and that didn't seem all that appealing at the time. (Okay, I never find pink paisley appealing... I'll admit it.) Eventually I stopped picturing her as a pink psychedelic pattern and accepted her for the badass she is. I think her parents really wanted her to be a Paisley, she just refused to be one... She's spunky, direct, and a drummer. And the fact that she's a drummer was, in my mind, a key part of her being a legitimate badass. She wasn't up on stage do wear skimpy clothes and dance around, she was behind an entire drum set rocking out and being awesome. Love it!And then there's Paradise. Not only was he an interesting character on his own, he was a great match for Paisley. I liked that they challenged one another and didn't immediately fall madly in love. Paisley may have acknowledged his good looks early on, but she didn't fall for him for shallow, physical reasons, which sometimes happens and leaves the reader perturbed and not at all supportive of the relationship. I appreciated the banter between the two and the small moments that eventually led them to develop feelings for one another.And the ending... oh my goodness. I definitely didn't see it coming at all. Since I read this novel in one sitting, I actually reread the ending a couple times just to make sure I wasn't just getting a bit loopy and imagining things. After becoming so invested in PARADISE's characters, I may have cried a bit to see it end, especially so surprisingly. Okay, I'm lying, I cried a lot. Sobbed really. This isn't a bad thing though: if I hadn't cared about the characters, I wouldn't have been moved to tears... Especially not big, sloppy tears. I won't be forgetting about Paisley and Paradise any time soon.Alexander is one of those authors whose books are, for me, an automatic buy. I highly, highly recommend both her debut and sophomore novels.
    • 3/5
      I think my HS girls will really enjoy this novel!
    • 4/5
      Jill Alexander completely blew me out of the water with Paradise. Was expecting your typical quick, fun summer read. Something I could read in a day, be satisfied with, and not dwell over for long. However, that is not something that happened. Yes, Paradise started out as a cute summer romance with the mysterious and insanely attractive newcomer and the girl with a secret dream, but then it changed into something more. Paradise centers around Paisley, a girl who secretly wants to be a musician. However, she has to play in a secret band with some of the people her Mom disapproves most of, because her mother has very specific plans for her future. That is where she meets Paradise, the insanely sexy accordion player and singer who has Paisley and the rest of the band questioning the way they do things.I thought Paradise was only going to be important to Paisley, but instead he serves as sort of a driving force and a trigger to everyone else making changes for the better. Not only does he bring sexy vocals and a new twist to the band with his accordion, but he slowly pushes everyone else to be more confident and go for what they believe in. Over the course of the novel Jill Alexander uses Paradise to push Paisley and her sister to stand up to her parents, Waylon, the band leader, to grow more confident in his music, and several other big changes throughout the novel.Alexander does a great job of using all of the characters different problems to weave a storyline about dreams, perseverance, and independence. She also adds several different little spins on the story to make it even better than it was already. She adds spunky characters like Paisley's uncle who provides an interesting adult POV, and incorporates lyrics from one of the band members, Cal, into the story giving you a view from the outside.Overall, I really liked this book. It told a great story about going for your dreams and keeping your goals in mind. However, there is a reason I only gave it 4 stars. Jill Alexander completely throws you through a loop at the end of the novel. I still can't decide whether or not the plot twist at the end added to the story or just didn't make sense. I don't want to spoil anything, but at the end of the story Alexander pulls the story in a U turn, changes the plot entirely, and leaves you wondering why the heck she just did that.So... the story was fantastic. Heartwarming, enlightening, and extremely romantic, but I will give you fair warning that you might not like the ending. However, if you're feeling brave and also sort of romantic, give Paradise by Jill Alexander a try.
    • 4/5
      Awhile back, I saw some early buzz about Paradise on Twitter, in reviews, and such. The talk was mainly about the ending. I had to read Paradise for the book itself (of course) and to see what happens at the end. Oh yeah, and for the cowboys! Who doesn’t love a hunky cowboy…or a whole story full of ‘em?Jill S. Alexander can tell herself a story! I’m not a music fan myself, which I speak of all the time, but I was really engrossed in this story which is based on Paisley, Paradise (a gorgeous boy), and a band. I really felt like I was in Texas and in the band. Jill is descriptive with her writing, but not overly so, which can be a pet-peeve of mine. I enjoyed read the song lyrics and how they coincided with the context of book.Paisley I loved as a character. She’s strong, but still wants to be loved and accepted like the rest of us. Huge parts of Paradise (the book, not the boy) involve Paisley’s mother and her acceptance into the band and with playing drums. I initially disliked Paisley’s mom, but she redeemed herself eventually. I also can understand where she is coming from.If you’re a fan of cowboys like myself, I would really recommend this book to you. Paradise or Gabriela (a boy, not a girl) is described to be a super duper gorgeous boy! He’s super talented with singing and playing the accordion, yep an accordion…first time I’ve seen that. He also wears cowboy hats and boots, has gold hoops in is ears, and the whole bit!I’ll be honest. When I put Paradise down after reading the entire thing, all I could think was…WHY?! I don’t understand the need to have the book end that way. Maybe I was missing something. I’m sure Jill S. Alexander had a reason for her ending, but I personally didn’t see it. I will be looking out for more books from Jill S. Alexander because I adore her writing style.
    • 3/5
      Before I start, let me just say that I am definitely a country girl at heart. The fact that I live in the northeast has no effect on me dreaming about cowboys and listening to country music exclusively. So a book about a country band was basically made for me. Especially one that has a boy with a mighty fine profile (I mean tell me he doesn't look gorgeous from the side!) Bias aside, this was a unique and fun read.Paisley has always known that she wants to be a drummer, and she's on her way to making those dreams come true by rocking out in a country-rock band heading for Texapalooza. The only problem is that her mother disapproves of everything in Prosper County, and certainly wouldn't approve of Paisley's dreams... which is why she hides them. When Gabe, a boy from Paradise, Texas, comes along as the band's new lead singer, everything starts to change. All of a sudden Paisley's dreams aren't too clear anymore. I liked many aspects of this book. One thing that I really liked is that when the boy comes to town, not everything just stops. Paisley's feelings for him progress and change drastically. It seemed much more real and likely to happen than alot of love-at-first-sight types of relationships often found in YA.I also really enjoyed that throughout the novel, after every few chapters, there would be song lyrics. It was as if Paisley was living in a country song (which if you appreciate country music, you would understand how cool this is). The lyrics would reflect on what had recently happened or what the characters were feeling in a new and interesting way. I found myself trying to put music to the words (didn't really work out for me) and I'd be really eager to hear those preformed. I liked how I didn't really see where the book was going. I mean on a really broad spectrum, maybe, but the details were not so easy to pick out. Paisley is a strong girl, and I appreciated that, she kept things interesting. One thing that I definitely did not see coming was the end, oh my goodness. If you're like me and you love everything country, you'd definitely like this book. The characters were funny, strong and real - making their story seem like it was really going on. Nothing was far fetched, and that was okay because the story was presented in a new way.
    • 3/5
      Paradise is a sweet teen romance, realistically portrayed, that will capture the attention of many teen girls.All Paisley wants to do is play the drums in her band. She’ll do anything she can to keep this secret from her mother who has other ideas about what Paisley should be doing with her life. Paisley’s mom wants Paisley and her sister, Lacey, to be able to leave their small Texas town and make something more of themselves. Paisley’s uncle lets her band practice in his airplane hangar on his farm. The problem is that the band doesn’t have a singer, so when the leader of the band, Waylon, advertises for a singer, Paradise enters the picture. Not only does Paradise sing, but he plays the accordion, which none of the band members are too thrilled with. Their goal is to play at the Texapaloosa music festival in Austin. As Paradise begins to practice with them, he begins to find his place and it seems their dream may come true. But Paisley is beginning to think she has more of a dream than just playing the drums....there’s a definite attraction to Paradise.The romance builds slowly and naturally, although there’s much more to the story than romance. Paisley’s mother may seem like she’s out of her mind trying to control her daughters’ destinies, but we’re getting this story from Paisley’s perspective, and it turns out maybe her mother isn’t as crazy as Paisley always thought. Alexander writes great, lovable characters that come to life. The other band members all have their own problems and hang-ups. Waylon is trying to live up to his father’s expectations. Levi is a baseball player who happens to be in the band (and happens to be crazy about Lacey). And Cal has a secret crush on Paisley. Lacey wants to go to beauty school, but her mom is convinced that she will have a singing career. Even Paisley’s uncle has a back story that adds to the motivations of these characters.Paisley is a good kid. She doesn’t like deceiving her parents, but she doesn’t have a choice. She’s crazy about Paradise, but she also has strong feelings about abstinence, which is somewhat lacking in teen romances these days. These characters are just struggling to grow up, as all teens do. The story is realistic and heartwarming. They make mistakes. They cover them up. They get in trouble. It’s all very natural and believable.The ending was unexpected and somewhat abrupt. You may just want to skip the last couple of chapters...but if that’s the way Alexander intended it, then I’m OK with it.This book will be thoroughly enjoyed by teen girls who are fans of romance, especially if they are interested in music. I’d probably categorize this book as a coming-of-age novel, but the romance makes it even more special.