Aspiring social scientists Avery Shaw and Grayson Kennedy were required to keep detailed journals of all their exploits during The Avery Shaw Experiment. Only the participants of the 2013 Utah State Science Fair were allowed access to these records, but we're in luck because the ever-sneaky, privacy-invading author Kelly Oram has managed to get her hands on those journals and has decided to share them with the world. Today's featured entry has been stolen from the pages of Grayson's diary. Enjoy!
“Most Definitely A Real Date” (Grayson)
I’m taking Avery out on our first date tonight. I don’t really count New Years Eve because the girl was beyond messed up that night and she only stuck around for about fifteen minutes. That was more like an emergency rescue than a date. Tonight will be a real one—no matter what Avery says.
When I called to ask what time Aves wanted me to pick her up for our date, she immediately brought up the fact that this was a school project. Not a date. Whatever. She claims to be stuck between bargaining and guilt, but clearly the girl is still dealing with some major denial. We’re totally going on a date tonight. I think I’ll bring her roses just to prove it.
At first I thought about taking her out on a group date with a bunch of my friends, but I decided against that for several reasons. One, they’re all going to go see a movie, and after I nearly jumped Aves yesterday I don’t think taking her to a dark theater where the armrests between the seats can be lifted up is the best idea.
More than my lack of self-control, though, I want to have Avery all to myself for the night. Avery is so shy. She tends to clam up or fade into the background when she’s around my friends, and I want the opposite from her tonight. I want her to open up to me.
It occurred to me while we were studying yesterday that I don’t really know Aves very well. Of course I know her, but we’ve never hung out much before. In fact, up until she’d asked me to help her with her Aiden-purging, I’d never even been in her bedroom before.
I have this idea in my head of who she is, but now that I think about it, that’s mostly based on what I know about my brother. I can’t really picture her separately from Aiden any better than she can. Well, I don’t particularly care much for my brother right now. I don’t want to associate Avery with him anymore.
There’s got to be more to Avery than just the fact that she’s Aiden’s best friend. I want to see that side of her. I want to learn what she likes and doesn’t like, not what Aiden likes and doesn’t like. I want to see how she handles things when she doesn’t have him there to lean on.
Tonight for our date, I am going to take Avery to do something she’s never done before. I want tonight to be one hundred percent The Avery and Grayson Show. Aiden is so not invited—literally or metaphorically. Call me selfish, but I’m taking Avery out. Not Aiden. I don’t want him to be there in any way, shape or form. I want Avery’s thoughts and feelings to be centered on me. Not stuck on that stupid, selfish punk and what he did to her. I want her to smile all night long damn it. And I want her to laugh. A lot. Girl has such an adorable laugh. She needs to use it more often. In fact, that gives me a great idea. I just figured out what we’re going to do tonight.
Be sure to catch all of the entries from the Avery Shaw Diaries!
June 3rd --"I See London, I See France" (Avery) — Colorimetry
June 4th --"Purging" (Grayson) — Reading Teen
June 5th --"Too Hot To Handle" (Avery) — I Am A Reader, Not A Writer
June 6th --"Self Control, Or Lack Thereof" (Grayson) — Book Passion For Life
June 7th --"Most Definitely A Real Date" (Grayson) — Confessions of a Bookaholic
June 8th --"Post Shower Avery And Grayson Things" (Avery) — A Life Bound By Books
Giveaway
Have a soft spot for Grayson? Good news, you have a chance to hear from him personally! Avery loved the diary Grayson made her so much that Grayson decided to make another one for one very lucky fan. Enter the giveaway below for a chance to win your very own personalized Secret Grayson Kennedy Love Diary, complete with a personal letter/journal entry from Grayson himself! The winner of the diary will also receive some Kelly Oram bookmarks and a signed Avery Shaw Experiment mini-poster. (roughly 8"x11") Five other lucky winners will also receive signed Avery Shaw Experiment mini-posters.
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The Avery Shaw Experiment by Kelly Oram
Published: Bluefields (May 4th, 2013)
Reading Level: Young Adult
ebook: 278 pages
Summary:
When Avery Shaw’s heart is shattered by her life-long best friend, she chooses to deal with it the only way she knows how—scientifically.
The state science fair is coming up and Avery decides to use her broken heart as the topic of her experiment. She’s going to find the cure. By forcing herself to experience the seven stages of grief through a series of social tests, she believes she will be able to get over Aiden Kennedy and make herself ready to love again. But she can’t do this experiment alone, and her partner (ex partner!) is the one who broke her heart.
Avery finds the solution to her troubles in the form of Aiden’s older brother Grayson. The gorgeous womanizer is about to be kicked off the school basketball team for failing physics. He’s in need of a good tutor and some serious extra credit. But when Avery recruits the lovable Grayson to be her “objective outside observer,” she gets a whole lot more than she bargained for, because Grayson has a theory of his own: Avery doesn’t need to grieve. She needs to live. And if there’s one thing Grayson Kennedy is good at, it’s living life to the fullest.
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