First Kiss (Heavy Influence #1)

I wasn't sure I would make it through this book early on.  Jake, Aly, Nadine, and the rest were like a train wreck of poor training, emotional neglect, and overindulgent parenting.  I couldn't look away.  I was desperately trying to feel some sort of connection with Jake and Aly.  His protective intincts and her open communication (with Jake at least) gave me hope for eventual redeeming qualities.  I began to root for these two despite myself.   Educators, mentors, parents take notice!  These kids did not come to these disturbing (yet pervasive- Brava Frohoff  for writing the truth about what our kids think, say and  do.) conclusions about sex, love, and relationships on their own.   Mr & Mrs Montgomery (Aly's parents)- fostered rebellion by failing to communicate the reasons for their rules Kate (Jake's mom)- refused to be honest about her own shortcomings and wrongdoings.  If we ask our kids to forgive us when we screw up, we do two important things: 1 we teach them WHAT is wrong and that knowing the difference btwn right and wrong is crucial to this next step- 2 we teach them how to take responsibility for their actions and make reconciliation.
Rachel's mom- for apparently prizing good event planning skills over the law, child safety, and her daughter's emotional well-being Young adults will identify with the characters, but I would not recommend it for their pleasure reading.  They'd need to discuss the themes and think through the bad choices these high schoolers make.  I think some will identify with the "heavy influences" of drugs, alcohols, and peers.  However, as a parent, I really only lamented the fact that if the mentors and parents involved would have had heavier influences for good instead of allowing or in many cases leading these teens to destruction, then the social pressures would have been an easy weight for our young characters to manage and throw off.

"While books have music as the theme, Frohoff takes it the next level by having a soundtrack with original music tied directly to the main character. Bringing the characters to life in a unique way. The music is the soul of the book. 

There's so many situations in this novel that if taken to the next level.. it would be unbelievably horrific. I am not sure readers get the severity of how dire these situations are. Actually, no. I don't think they fully realize. But the staff and Admin at TWLOHA does, because that's the kind of people they deal with and try to help every day of their lives. 

I not only hope this book and soundtrack will bring pleasure to many, many people all over the world. I also hope that it raises awareness and maybe just maybe it might help save someone's life."

I actually really liked this book and thought it seemed pretty realistic. Some parts could use a little more fine tuning to make it seem a little more pulled together but it really kept my attention and I'm about to seek out the sequel.

OK I want to start by saying I know this was a YA book and I did totally adore Aly and Jake and How much They truly loved Each other  and even though they had all Odds stacked against them they wanted to make it work this cliffhanger killed me so I'm here waiting for the four of five books to be released!.

Although,  I've heard a lot of positive things about the heavy influence series I couldn't quite click with it. Being able to vividly recall how many of my peers were at 14 and seeing 14 year olds act immaturely on a weekly I felt really weird and uncomfortable reading about a 17-year-old so perhaps I'll give this a retry a couple of years down the line.

Great story well writing

I simple loved this book. It tore me apart, made me cry and then made me cry with happiness. Highly recommended and so worth reading.

After I finishes this book I instantly logged onto amazon.com and purchased the second book! This is the story of Jake and Aly and the roller coaster relationship they have. Jake is on his way to stardom with his band before he has even graduated high school and Aly is his next door neighbor who is just starting high school. The author did a great job of showing the 3 year age difference and the difference in their lives. This book also shows how we have all made poor decisions in the name of love. I cannot wait to read the next book!

Jake is a coming rock star and his dreams of become a big star are starting to happen. Aly, Jake's neighbor is an innocent young girl that it has drawn the attention of him.
Could Jake be the good guy in order to be near her?

In my opinion, the age of the characters were perfect although I went to the high school many years ago but I can easily relate to them.  I felt that the story had a Deep connection with Romeo and Juliet’s story but in a modern way, so I really love that. For that main reason I couldn’t stop myself from devouring First Kiss in less than two or three nights.
So If you are a NA or a mature YA genre (like me)  I recommended this novel. This one leaves me begging for a second part.