The Demolition Daze

The Demolition Trilogy, Book 2

By: M. J. Padgett

Narrated by: Josh Goodman

Length: 4 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

Simon Pelletier is months away from aging out of the foster-care system. Stuck in a house with a family he doesn’t think cares much for him, he knows he must make a plan or end up living on the streets. When Simon meets Charlie, the spunky woman charged with helping him through the aging-out process, Simon starts to think things might be all right. That doesn’t do much to improve his generally sulky behavior, but at least he won’t be homeless.

Georgette St. Peters never has to worry about anything. The wealthy, beautiful, intelligent girl doesn’t know what it means to lose. She collects trophies, sits in the captain’s position of every team she joins, and floats through life without a care. At least, that’s what Simon believes until a chance encounter shows him that maybe life doesn’t care who you are when it's dishing out misery.

Simon and Georgette, opposites on the surface, find something in each other they haven’t found anywhere else - the ability to trust someone else with their deepest, darkest secrets. As their friendship grows, so do the demons that threaten their newfound relationship. When Simon’s world finally crumbles, will their bond be enough to help him pull through?

©2020 Melissa Padgett (P)2022 Melissa Padgett

Good follow up

This is a good continuation but a complete stand alone to the first. We do get some glimpses of Charlie and Knox but this is all Simon’s story. I really loved these characters and the development of the story. The narration is a little rough to get into but but overall good.

Magnificent!

This is a bittersweet (emphasis on sweet) story of a boy, becoming a man, and his foster family with all its highs and lows. It's also the story of a young woman, who seems to have the world at her feet. She always has a smile, is a success at anything she does, and has the kind of life that one could ever hope for. Simon Pelletier views himself as less than, someone who doesn't really fit in. His father's in jail and apparently doesn't really care what happens to him. The only thing he looks forward to is the chance to be around Georgette St. Peters, even though he tries to tell himself that he hates what she stands for. If he's honest, he admits that she triggers uncomfortable emotions in him. Now, it's 3 months before he ages out of the system and he is sure that his life is going to change. He's certainly right about that, but it's not at all what he expects. His foster mother is a sweet woman who dearly loves her children, but he has a bit of fear of his foster father with his nasty temper. When Simon gets into a fight at school, defending himself from a bully, he knows he's going to be suspended from school and will have to face the anger of his father. When he goes home, he sees a strange car in the driveway and it's the last person he expected to find at his house....Georgette St. Peters. This is the real beginning of their slow burn romance, as well it should be. They're in high school and all of their experiences will be firsts. I love this ultimately uplifting story and was happy to see some of the characters from previous books have a sizable storyline here. One thing about the Demolition series is that it's a reminder that not everything comes easily, but the achievements you accomplish and the friends you make are the real things that bring you joy.
Josh Goodman does a wonderful job with the narration by portraying the characters, bringing them to life and humanizing them with their emotions, attitude and personalities.