Featuring Stacy Padula
Montgomery High series
5 books
Book 1 – The Right Person, June 2010
Chris Dunkin and his close friends have lived lives of
excessive partying since age twelve. At fifteen, Chris is drinking more often
and trying heavy drugs to keep himself high--but his dream of becoming a
professional athlete is slipping away as quickly as his grades. Chris feels
empty inside, bored with the partying scene, and incredibly attracted to
Courtney Angeletti--his best friend's girlfriend, the mayor's straight-laced
daughter. Courtney is equally intrigued by Chris' "life of the party"
reputation, and her hidden desire to rebel leads her and Chris on a quest for a
lot more than just romance.
This story of teenage acceptance and the resulting battle over moral
convictions will hit home with many teens looking for answers
e-Book $4.99
Print $11.50
ISBN-13: 978-1609114725
Book 2 – When Darkness Tries to Hide, January 2011
As the skies grow darker and darker over Montgomery Lake
High, not everyone takes the severe storm warning seriously. A day later, Andy
Rosetti--the popular class president--is in a coma, and his classmate Jason
Davids feels responsible for the tragedy. As Andy's friends and family cope
with the aftermath of the storm, Jason and his friends set out on a quest to
save Andy's life. Stopping at nothing, Jason begins to see that there are
forces stronger than nature at work in Montgomery--and more than one life in
need of saving.
e-Book $4.99
Print $11.50
ISBN: 978-1609768577
Book 3 – The Battle For Innocence, April 2014
Within a dimly lit hospital room, Chantal Kagelli peers at
her boyfriend Andy's blank face. It has been one month since he slipped into a
coma-one month since she last heard his voice. Chantal begins reflecting on
their journey, which began two years prior in seventh grade. The Battle for
Innocence flashes back to that pivotal year when the characters of Montgomery
Lake High were first introduced to the temptations, peer pressures, and
internal-struggles associated with adolescence.
e-Book $4.99
Print $12.00
ISBN: 978-1628577778
Others:
The Aftermath, October, 2013
For the past two years, Jason Davids has lived a charmed
life. Blessed with good looks, a popular girlfriend, quick wit, and a wealthy
family, Jason has everything he could want--but everything is not enough. There
is emptiness--something unsettled in his soul. Partying, drugs, sex, and alcohol
provide temporary relief, but the haunting emptiness always returns once he is
sober. He can't stand being sober. When a tornado strikes his town,
Jason's drug dependency puts one of his classmates, Andy Rosetti, in danger.
After Andy is taken away on a stretcher, the guilt and regret that Jason feels
lead him to a paradoxical place of darkness and illumination. Jason soon
realizes that there is more than one life at risk in Montgomery and a stronger
force at work than nature.
e-Book $3.99
Print $13.00
ISBN: 978-1628570571
The Forces Within, March, 2014
Last month, when a tornado wreaked havoc on my hometown, I
suffered a severe head trauma. I have since experienced something much more
disturbing. During my recovery celebration, I came face to face with a force
more powerful than any weather phenomenon—something darker than I ever dared to
imagine.
Twice this past month, I woke up in a world that I did not recognize. I heard
things that didn’t align with my memories—things that made me question my
identity, my beliefs, and my own thoughts. I still cannot fully comprehend what
happened to me or distinguish reality from illusion.
Am I, perhaps, discerning an additional dimension of life that I was too blind—too
jaded—too scared—to see before? Could the forces within these two worlds exist
as one?
I’m determined to solve this mystery and gain all of the insight that I can
from the haunting enigma that has recently become my life.
—Andy
The Forces Within follows Andy Rosetti and his friends’ chilling adventure at
Fallen Lake. Could Andy be stuck between two worlds, or have his eyes been
opened to see a deeper reality?
The story wrestles with spiritual warfare, moral convictions, and teenage
social issues.
e-Book $4.99
Print $13.59
ISBN: 978-1628578966
General Series Review by Lisa Lickel
Padula’s Montgomery High series is a hard-hitting look at
today’s teen culture. Fictional, yes, but as Padula notes in her biography,
based on current events. The books all feature a large cast of students who
assemble and reassemble in couplehood. They are from the typically popular
crowd, the faith crowd, and the straight-and-narrow group. Although it might be
best to start from the beginning, the winding story line throughout the five
books currently available are written so a reader can step into any of them. It
will take time to get to know the different cliques, but they are fleshed and
real, facing angst, fear, and joy. I did not read them in order, and wasn’t
bothered.
Each story is told in multiple viewpoints and are mostly
daily activities, behind-the-scenes events at school, home, church, sporting
events, or activities. One of the stories, The Forces Within, is one of the
character’s first-person accounts of a strange dream-like adventure with the
friends lost in an evil-laced mansion. Lies, experimentation, angst, and
self-discovery are explored.
The series is written about high schoolers. Even though the
intent is to encourage kids to see that that godly faith and lifestyle is the way
to overcome temptation and vice, the stories contain pervasive drug use, sexual
content and innuendo as well as suggestive sexual language and situations. As a
parent, I would recommend checking these stories out first or at least at the
same time your children read them so healthy feedback and conversation can take
place. You might need to take notes.
About Stacy:
Stacy Padula, a native of Pembroke, Massachusetts, has accrued years of experience working with adolescents. She has been a mentor, life coach, youth group leader, and private educational consultant with extensive experience in the fields of college counseling, tutoring, standardized test preparation, and Christian counseling.
Stacy wrote the Montgomery Lake High books in the hopes of preparing teens to face the “war zone” that is high school–to help kids deal with the stress and peer pressure, and to encourage them to “steer a straight path, pursue God, and not fall for the false promises of the world.”
In her spare time, Stacy enjoys skiing, going to Bruins games, reading about Psychology, taking her dogs to the beach, and spending time with her family, boyfriend, and friends.
