OR

Print List Price:	$19.99
Kindle Price:	$2.99 Save $17.00 (85%)
Sold by:	Amazon.com Services LLC

Promotions apply when you purchase

Read with our free app

You've subscribed to ! We will preorder your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.

Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your Memberships & Subscriptions

There was an error. We were unable to process your subscription due to an error. Please refresh and try again.

Follow the author

Debi V. Smith

Follow

Family Ties Kindle Edition

by Debi V. Smith (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

20

See all formats and editions

Sara Allison Parker spent the first fourteen years of her life living by strict rules and keeping her family’s secrets. Simon and Tibby, her parents, and her younger sister, Victoria, treat Sara as an outcast, leaving her lonely within the family. The elder Parkers maintain control over Sara’s life with rules, one of which is she is not allowed to make friends.

When Arissa Jericho moves in across the street and introduces herself to Sara, then Jason Waters befriends Sara at school, the carefully constructed world of the Parker household is threatened. As Simon and Tibby are forced to loosen their control to keep up appearances, Simon finds a way to assert a different type of power. Sara is convinced she will lose her friends if her secrets ever come to light because of her father. In a rare moment of daring, Sara stands up for herself. The next day, Simon’s recklessness reveals one of the secrets in an ugly, public display.

Sara learns the true meaning of family, bravery, and love when Arissa and Jason stand by her after witnessing Simon’s actions. Once Sara becomes comfortable, she lets her last secret slip out on accident, setting off a series of events that spins out of everyone’s control.

Print length

531 pages
Language

English
Sticky notes

On Kindle Scribe
Publication date

June 26, 2015
File size

2006 KB
Page Flip

Enabled
Word Wise

Enabled
Enhanced typesetting

Enabled
See all details

Report an issue with this product or seller

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00ZSKOK08
Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 26, 2015
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 2006 KB
Simultaneous device usage ‏ : ‎ Unlimited
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 531 pages
Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0996118217

Customer Reviews:
20

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Debi V. Smith

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Debi V. Smith is the author of the literary fiction novels Family Ties and The Downward Spiral. She earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Hawai`i at Mānoa and worked with children and adolescents for ten and a half years, then with adults for two years as a mental health professional.

Debi is a voracious reader of all things with an eclectic collection and love of music. She will drop earworms in conversations just for fun. She enjoys watching movies, engaging in creative activities outside of writing, and is a foodie who does recipe development when time and inspiration allow. She currently resides in Ohio with her husband Chaz, but Hawai`i will always be home.

Customer reviews

4.8 out of 5

20 global ratings

3 star

0%

2 star

0%

1 star

0%

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

N.E. Wilson

Raw and Authentic

Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2023

Verified Purchase

Read this book a few years ago (and was today years old when I realized I never left a review). The writing is fantastic, the story so relatable and authentic that I easily fell into this book and didn't realize I'd read it all until I was at the end. Very impressive debut.

Helpful

D B.

Powerful, Effective, and Emotionally Charged

Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2015

Verified Purchase

Debi V. Smith’s Family Ties is a book that is difficult to pin down. It takes place with characters that would fall into the age range for YA, but this book most definitely isn’t your typical YA. It’s full of scenes of love, hate, passion, and redemption, but it’s no weepy melodrama either. It is a story told truthfully and without fanfare, but one everyone should read knowing that the girl we meet in the first few pages is most likely someone you already know. Someone who smiles because she knows she should, but inside is struggling and broken.

We meet Sara Parker as she makes what is possibly her first friend. Arissa moves in across the street from the Parker home in a small California town. They bond, despite Sara’s parents’ rules against outsiders, and over the course of the book, we discover there are crueler rules and punishments than outlawing friends. Even still, Sara finds strength in her new friend and even more in a boy, Jason, who refuses to leave her side even after she pushes him away again and again.

However, this isn’t standard fiction. Jason isn’t a white knight in shining armor and Sara doesn’t evolve superpowers. This isn’t a fairy tale. This is fiction told without rose-colored lenses, but through a broken shard of glass. There is no meet-cute. There are adult themes and language, but don’t go looking for any bodice-ripping love scenes, because they don’t belong in realistic fiction such as this.

The prose is beautifully written, carefully crafted, and efficient in its description of scenes ranging from funny and sweet, to dark and traumatic. It is written in the first person, allowing the reader to feel what happens to Sara as it happens. There will be times, like there tends to be in all good literature, that the reader will not feel at ease. As a matter of fact, there may even be scenes that make the reader flinch as Sara is abused and mistreated. But there is no darkness without a dawn, and seeing this book through to the end, the reader will be rewarded.

The characters are drawn deftly and without caricature. Each of the main characters is a well-rounded, flawed character that remind us of friends (and enemies) we have come across in our daily lives. Debi doesn't paint in broad strokes, so for example, while we may develop a hatred for Sara's parents, we also see signs that they are broken themselves in the emotions and actions they display in between the lines of this book.

Be prepared. There is a lot of emotion in the pages of this book. You’ll want to have a box of tissues handy. Quite possibly two.
Kudos and congratulations to the Author, Debi V. Smith, for her debut novel and for writing a novel that will change lives for the better.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Katherine I. Sholty

Don't be afraid to tell

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2015

Verified Purchase

Debi Smith delves into the darker side of human nature, that the rest of us would rather not discuss. A child is caught at home with a Beast. A father is supposed to be loving and should protect his child at all costs, yet Sara finds herself stripped of all freedoms and inducing punishments that would break any adult.

Family Ties, is an eye opener into the world of Foster Care and Child Abuse, for those who have never encounter either situation.

This novel is like 86 snapshots of Sara's life and how she comes to terms with the horrid life has dealt her. Not all things are lost. It's about taking things one day at a time.

Family Ties will have you screaming at characters and making you feel every punch delivered. It isn't an easy or pleasant read, but it is one that everyone needs to read. Who are we if we cannot protect our children?

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Piratenationgirl

Tough lessons, resilient characters, a great read!

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2016

Verified Purchase

I truly enjoyed this first novel by Debi Smith. I won't lie, it's not an easy story to read (especially the first 1/3 of the book) it gives a grim picture of what living through abuse is like for a young teenager. Sara is a strong character who grows exponentially throughout the story. The language is strong, but often necessary for the context of the situations. I really enjoyed how the characters evolved through the book and how Debi shares what good therapy for do an individual. It's a fantastic book to demonstrate how people can mature and thrive even after great trauma. I hope it's something social workers and people who work in family services would be willing to read to get a better idea of how damaging choices can be without having a thorough understanding of the people they are trying to "help." Well done Debi!

Helpful

Preston Cooper

Family Ties is a must read!!

Reviewed in the United States on December 23, 2018

Verified Purchase

I’m still reading it, but if I didn’t have such a chaotic schedule I would have finished this book long ago. It’s a sad, but heartwarming story and I recommend this read to everyone.

Helpful

Katie

Excellent Writing from a Talented New Author

Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2015

Verified Purchase

Although 'Family Ties' is not an easy read - it deals with abuse and incest, among other things - the subject matter is portrayed with gritty honesty and compassion. You'll root for Sara Parker to come through the darkness and find happiness.

Helpful

Melissa Owen

Heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2015

Verified Purchase

This book was raw and emotional. It took you on a journey no one should have to endure while
Bringing you out on The other side a better person for having read it.

Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2015

Verified Purchase

Loved it and couldn't put it down! I haven't done that since reading JK Rowling's books. bravo Debi. I hope you keep writing. I can't wait for your next book.

OR

Buy for others

Buying and sending eBooks to others

Image Unavailable

Follow the author

Family Ties Kindle Edition

Product details

Videos

About the author

Debi V. Smith

Customer reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.