Saving Beck Read online

  4. The catalyst for the plot of Saving Beck is a fatal car accident involving substance abuse on the part of one young driver, distracted driving by another, and a potentially faulty seat belt. Ask your book club to defend the author’s decision to incorporate these narrative ambiguities into the novel. To what extent does the author’s implicit refusal to render judgment on her characters’ choices place the burden to do so on the reader? How does the author’s use of two narrative perspectives further complicate the reader’s assignment of responsibility?

  about the author

  AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPH BY CHRISTINE ARNOLD PHOTOGRAPHY

  COURTNEY COLE grew up in rural Kansas and now lives with her husband and kids in Florida, where she writes beneath palm trees and is still in love with the idea of magic and happily ever after.

  FOR MORE ON THIS AUTHOR:

  Authors.SimonandSchuster.com/Courtney-Cole

  MEET THE AUTHORS, WATCH VIDEOS AND MORE AT

  SimonandSchuster.com

  Facebook.com/GalleryBooks

  @GalleryBooks

  We hope you enjoyed reading this Simon & Schuster ebook.

  * * *

  Get a FREE ebook when you join our mailing list. Plus, get updates on new releases, deals, recommended reads, and more from Simon & Schuster. Click below to sign up and see terms and conditions.

  CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

  Already a subscriber? Provide your email again so we can register this ebook and send you more of what you like to read. You will continue to receive exclusive offers in your inbox.

  Gallery Books

  An Imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  1230 Avenue of the Americas

  New York, NY 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2018 by Courtney Cole

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, address Gallery Books Subsidiary Rights Department, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

  First Gallery Books hardcover edition July 2018

  GALLERY BOOKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

  For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Simon & Schuster Special Sales at 1-866-506-1949 or [email protected].

  The Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau can bring authors to your live event. For more information or to book an event, contact the Simon & Schuster Speakers Bureau at 1-866-248-3049 or visit our website at www.simonspeakers.com.

  Interior design by Alison Cnockaert

  Jacket design by Chelsea McGuckin

  Jacket image by Getty Images (Simone Mueller, joesayhello, Matthieu1975)

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Cole, Courtney (Novelist), author.

  Title: Saving Beck / Courtney Cole.

  Description: First Gallery Books hardcover edition. | New York : Gallery Books, 2018.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2017052962 (print) | LCCN 2017056113 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501184536 (ebook) | ISBN 9781501184529 (hardcover : acid-free paper)

  Subjects: LCSH: Mothers and sons—Fiction. | Drug addiction—Fiction. | Drug addicts—Fiction. | Domestic fiction. | BISAC: FICTION / Family Life. | FICTION / Contemporary Women. | FICTION / Literary.

  Classification: LCC PS3603.O42825 (ebook) | LCC PS3603.O42825 S29 2018 (print) | DDC 813/.6—dc23

  LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017052962

  ISBN 978-1-5011-8452-9

  ISBN 978-1-5011-8453-6 (ebook)