Review: Compass (with bonus story: Awake) (Book #2) by Jennifer Gibson

Being a teenager is hard enough. To be hard of hearing on top of that is like being stuck in the middle of a never ending soap opera.

In Compass, the sequel to Sway, Jessie's life begins to change its course, sending her toward a new reality. When her world is suddenly ripped apart by an angry rival, the one person she trusted to stand by her side simply walks away. With her composure shattered, Jessie questions everything she believed about herself, and as her life takes her on a new path, it turns into a perilous journey full of surprising twists and turns.

Compass is book two in the life of Jessie, and I have to say I enjoyed this book a whole lot more than I did Sway. I know that sometimes a sequel is not always good but this one was for me.

Jessie is doing really good, life seems to be handing her a good one now a days. She is doing great in karate, she has a boyfriend, she has really grown a whole lot I feel. 

We start off with a prequel to the story and it was one that had me going what is going happen to Jessie? Dizziness and confusion had me wondering if Jessie was okay and of course made me want to read on to see what could cause this. I have to say I am proud of her for getting a trophy though!

As the story progresses there is time  while in the dojo and of course Ethan isn't there because of a tournament, one of the karate instructors takes it upon himself to treat Jessie like crap and I think she handled herself very very well the best she could. The outcome of is issue had me wanting to smack Ethan for not believing her when he asked her what happened. Yes he comes to his senses but he breaks her heart by not believing her he is so quick to judge when Jessie has never had a reason to lie about anything. 

Fast forward a bit and she ends up getting a summer job!!!

Her job is going to camp and not just any camp but a camp where there are kiddos who have some things going on. For example some kids my have ADHD, other's come from a broken home, as well as having ADD and of course they are treated differently because of this. And Jessie makes a perfect camp counselor.

We get to see how she interacts with children and you can tell she can understand what some of them are going through, I enjoyed the ideas she had to make doing karate fun while in camp for the kids.

Jessie doesn't let being hearing impaired get her down at all, yes it is difficult at times but she always tries to see the light at the end of the tunnel so to say.  

After reading this I am hoping Destiny is going to be just as good as this one. I want to know what else does life have in store for Jessie. Will she still get bullied at school? Will her relationship with Ethan stay going on? Will she even get her black belt?

Jennifer is an award winning photographer, freelance Illustrator, graphic designer and published author.
Her photography & graphic design has been featured extensively in many media formats including CHEX TV, National Geographic, SNAP magazine and Watershed Magazine as well as various local tourism/promotional materials. Jennifer's current line of work features professionally designed book covers for authors from around the world. 
Jennifer was selected as one of 12 winners for the prestigious 2010 Oticon Focus on People Award and the only Canadian to have won in this national competition (North America). She was nominated as an outstanding individual with a hearing loss and for the portrayal of a hearing impaired teen in her young adult novel entitled Sway.
The HearStrong Foundation has named Jennifer Gibson a HearStrong Champion! Jennifer's dedication to helping change the stigmas surrounding hearing loss makes her pretty amazing!