Amber Smith Books In Order

Publication Order of The Way I Used To Be Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Amber Smith is a New York Times bestselling American writer of young adult, fiction, romance, and contemporary stories. Her career is comprised of standalone novels like The Last to Let Go, Something Like Gravity, and The Way I Used to Be. The latter was her debut novel and it came out it 2016. This book was nominated for several prestigious awards, including the Nutmeg Book Award, Goodreads Choice Award, Eliot Rosewater Award, Bank Street Book of the Year award, etc. It was also selected for the TAYSHAS List. Amber’s second book came out in 2018 and has received starred reviews from VOYA, Booklist, etc. This book was named as the most-anticipated one by Elite Daily, Bookish, B&N Teen Blog, etc. Amber’s third book is scheduled for a June 2019 release.

Author Amber was brought up in Buffalo, New York; and currently resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. She lives with her partner and raises a number of rescued cats and cats at her house. Amber is said to have a lifelong passion for story, creative expression, and the arts. She completed her graduation from an art school and obtained a BFA in the subject of Painting. Later, Amber earned her master’s degree with a specialization in Art History. When author Amber is not busy with her writing projects, she usually loves to spend her time reading whatever pleases her. She also likes to indulge herself in making art in her studio or providing art consultancy as a freelancer. Besides writing young adult and contemporary romance novels, Amber has also put her mind on paper on the topics of modern & contemporary art and art history. Quite often, works towards increasing awareness among people about gendered violence.

The topics taken up by her usually include domestic abuse, sexual assault, intimate partner abuse, LGBTQ equality, etc. Amber hopes that through her writing she can help spark dialogue and foster change surrounding such issues. It brings her great joy to know that her books are labeled as powerful, illuminating, extremely realistic, well-crafted, honest, sensitive, and hopeful. Amber looks forward to writing many more interesting stories in the years to come and entertain her fans through her work. Until then, she hopes to reach out to as many readers as possible across the globe through her already published books.

The debut book written by author Amber Smith is entitled ‘The Way I Used to Be’. It was released by the Margaret K. McElderry publication in 2016. Amber has mentioned the central characters in this book in the roles of Eden, Kevin, and Joshua Miller. This book tells the story of a rape survivor, who goes through various struggles after the tragic assault on her and finally finds the strength to face the society. Initially, Eden is introduced as a fourteen-year-old girl. She was a good girl and liked to be happy like other girls in her school. Until high school, Eden did not undergo a change in her personality. But one fateful night, the best friend of her brother raped her and caused her world to capsize. Eden’s simple life turned into a complex one. She started to hate what she loved and who she loved. Eden begins to think that whatever she believed to be true were all lies. Nothing in her life seems to make sense anymore. Eden thinks of sharing the story of her brutal rape with someone, but she realizes she does not have the courage to do so. So, she decides to keep it to herself and, instead turns herself into a completely different girl.

Eden takes up the personality of a tough, mean girl and doesn’t let any other boy come near her. This novel’s story is told in 4 different parts, depicting the 4 phases of Eden’s life, the freshman year, sophomore year, junior year, and senior year. Apart from revealing the deep effects of trauma experienced by a rape victim, this novel also demonstrates the strength of a young woman as she navigates the unbearable pains and disappointment of adolescence, first love, first heartbreak, broken friendships, etc. While all this is going on in her life, she learns to embrace the power of survival that she was unaware she had hidden inside her heart. Eden’s character appears to be wonderful and fantastic. Her depiction of a girl going through trauma has been done very well by author Amber. The characterization looks authentic and powerful. Even her development throughout the story seems well constructed and effective. Overall, this novel describes a strong and beautifully written story.

Another exciting novel penned by Amber is known as ‘The Last to Let Go’. It was also published by the Margaret K. McElderry publication in 2018. This novel tells the story of the main character named Brooke Winters, her siblings, and her friends. Brooke is introduced as a teenage girl studying in junior year. It is expected that this year will more about change for her. Brooke looks forward to transferring school, making a fresh start, and making plans for her college so that she can finally move out of her hometown and leave her past and her family behind. However, all her dreams get shattered one summer afternoon when Brooke’s mom kills her abusive father and gets arrested. People begin to speculate whether the act was premeditated or it was the result of self-defense on the part of Brooke’s mother.

After this tragic event, Brooke Winters is left alone to look after herself and her siblings. Later, the year that was supposed to revolve around change turns into a year of many firsts. Brooke spends her first year without her parents, experiences first love and first heartbreak, and is forced to confront the shadows of the dysfunction and violence of her family. While Brooke Winters struggles to accept her real identity, she finds her real place and learns what it means to let go. This book is also filled with inspiring characters and a wonderful storyline. The readers felt more connected with the characters, which shows the level of improvement in Amber’s writing skills. Her writing seemed real and effective. Once again, Amber has done a great job at describing a story based on social issues and their impact on an individual’s life.