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Invincible Girls #1
Invictus: Shla's Story
Shla will never be the same again, but she's getting back on her metaphorical feet.
As a professional athlete, she’s prepared for the hours of relentless training. She’s been putting everything else off, her friends, her family and her studies, and her PT is coming along great. Nothing but walking again matters. Then she takes her first steps and realises she has to find somewhere to go.
A young adult story about getting back on your feet. Featuring romance, girls who don't give up, disability, other girls who don't give up and a lot of water. F/F. 15,000 words.
As a professional athlete, she’s prepared for the hours of relentless training. She’s been putting everything else off, her friends, her family and her studies, and her PT is coming along great. Nothing but walking again matters. Then she takes her first steps and realises she has to find somewhere to go.
A young adult story about getting back on your feet. Featuring romance, girls who don't give up, disability, other girls who don't give up and a lot of water. F/F. 15,000 words.
61 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2015
3 people are currently reading
39 people want to read
About the author
Aska J. Naiman
6 books7 followersAska J. Naiman read from the cradle, and started writing just a little later. She studied at a number of fine institutions in a number of countries (the quality of which does not need exploring at this juncture).
When she is not writing, she is engaged in a battle to the death with the Italian language or roller-skating around London, often under the rain.
She is primarily interested in transformation. The transformative power of fiction in people's lives, the transformations we all go through as we grow. What happens when you become a werewolf? And when you become a member of the opposite sex sometimes the same way other people sit or stand? We all want something safe, a name, an identity that we can call our own forever. What if the only constant is change? Then the only way to live is to accept it and try and make the changes be what we want them to be.
We also all want to be a little better, a little different than we are, a little more daring and sexier and braver. Maybe we can and maybe we can't, but in books everything is possible and there are no limits.
On her website, you can subscribe to her mailing list to be emailed when she releases her next book (free for the first few days).
When she is not writing, she is engaged in a battle to the death with the Italian language or roller-skating around London, often under the rain.
She is primarily interested in transformation. The transformative power of fiction in people's lives, the transformations we all go through as we grow. What happens when you become a werewolf? And when you become a member of the opposite sex sometimes the same way other people sit or stand? We all want something safe, a name, an identity that we can call our own forever. What if the only constant is change? Then the only way to live is to accept it and try and make the changes be what we want them to be.
We also all want to be a little better, a little different than we are, a little more daring and sexier and braver. Maybe we can and maybe we can't, but in books everything is possible and there are no limits.
On her website, you can subscribe to her mailing list to be emailed when she releases her next book (free for the first few days).
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 20, 2017
For a book that I randomly picked up through Instafreebie, this was one very satisfying short story. While I admit that there's a bunch of stuff that others might find 'wrong' with it (writing style, 'errors', etc.), I found the book very entertaining.
Told entirely through the point of view of one young woman, the story tells about this woman's recovery from some event that took her lower leg from her (it is never explained what occurred). She had been either Olympic caliber or on the way to being Olympic caliber in swimming, but now . . . now she's missing one leg. She'd put her entire life, ambition, purpose for being, everything into swimming. And now? Now she has to attempt to learn to walk again. Learn to . . . live again. Learn to find something more than just swimming to occupy her time (the passion for swimming is still there).
As part of that 'more', her parents encourage the young woman to expand her brain. She'd basically been 'average' in school. Somewhat because she spent hours swimming instead of studying, partly, possibly, because she is average. But, still, even 'average' people can 'improve' their mind. Train it. Expand it. Fill it. So a tutor comes over.
After many many weeks, the young woman admits to herself that she has a massive crush on her young female tutor. She's in a somewhat difficult position, though, because she doesn't want to scare the woman away by making advances or anything like that. So . . .
I should probably mention that both young women have dark skin. As Seda (the tutor) notes, when she first glimpses Shla (the POV character), 'I . . . I thought you were white.' (there are reasons for the comment, quickly seen after the comment is made). Oh, and one's British, while the other has a non-British accent.
Right, so.
If there was one thing I'd point out, not exactly a negative, but . . . , it's the part where the book ended and . . then there was a 'cut scene' just there. There should have been some greater indication that the book was over now before that scene, beyond titling the chapter "Cut Scenes" and assuming people would understand that this was a bonus scene. Since I wasn't sure, myself, if the story was over at that point or not. And if that 'extra scene' added anything. *shrugs* It probably should have remained cut.
Rating: 4.65
September 19 2017
Told entirely through the point of view of one young woman, the story tells about this woman's recovery from some event that took her lower leg from her (it is never explained what occurred). She had been either Olympic caliber or on the way to being Olympic caliber in swimming, but now . . . now she's missing one leg. She'd put her entire life, ambition, purpose for being, everything into swimming. And now? Now she has to attempt to learn to walk again. Learn to . . . live again. Learn to find something more than just swimming to occupy her time (the passion for swimming is still there).
As part of that 'more', her parents encourage the young woman to expand her brain. She'd basically been 'average' in school. Somewhat because she spent hours swimming instead of studying, partly, possibly, because she is average. But, still, even 'average' people can 'improve' their mind. Train it. Expand it. Fill it. So a tutor comes over.
After many many weeks, the young woman admits to herself that she has a massive crush on her young female tutor. She's in a somewhat difficult position, though, because she doesn't want to scare the woman away by making advances or anything like that. So . . .
I should probably mention that both young women have dark skin. As Seda (the tutor) notes, when she first glimpses Shla (the POV character), 'I . . . I thought you were white.' (there are reasons for the comment, quickly seen after the comment is made). Oh, and one's British, while the other has a non-British accent.
Right, so.
If there was one thing I'd point out, not exactly a negative, but . . . , it's the part where the book ended and . . then there was a 'cut scene' just there. There should have been some greater indication that the book was over now before that scene, beyond titling the chapter "Cut Scenes" and assuming people would understand that this was a bonus scene. Since I wasn't sure, myself, if the story was over at that point or not. And if that 'extra scene' added anything. *shrugs* It probably should have remained cut.
Rating: 4.65
September 19 2017
May 30, 2017
I really enjoyed reading this book. A book about young women who are strong, determined and at the same time vulnerable in their own struggle. I love how the author manages to describe the universe of feelings that occur simultaneously, it fills his characters with humanity and that is why wile you are reading you feel as close to a complex subject like learning to live with disability, as to others like friendship, and regaining trust in one self.
May 11, 2018
Shla, a high school student in the UK, had been an Olympic level competitive swimmer until an accident (that is never described in the story) leads to the amputation of her left leg below the knee. This story, in large part tracks Shla's journey through her new reality, both the physical (how to deal with pain and her prosthetic) and the emotional (how to reconcile the destruction of her dreams and find new meaning in her life). The love story involves the student tutor assigned to help Shla catch up on her studies. Seda is a young immigrant (likely from a country in Africa) who is brilliant and an excellent tutor, but also angry at the racist attitudes she's encountered. Since Shla is also a woman of color, adopted by her white parents, Seda is able to relax and open up a bit.
The writing in this story, especially the interior journey of Shla, is very strong and specific. There are copy editing errors in the e-book that are distracting and a scene involving one of Shla's friends that is marked at the end as deleted, but should have been included in the story. The ending is a bit quick and abrupt as well. I hope this author keeps writing an improving. She's very talented.
The writing in this story, especially the interior journey of Shla, is very strong and specific. There are copy editing errors in the e-book that are distracting and a scene involving one of Shla's friends that is marked at the end as deleted, but should have been included in the story. The ending is a bit quick and abrupt as well. I hope this author keeps writing an improving. She's very talented.
June 28, 2017
Not to minimize the aspect that this is about a teenage girl, but Shla has so much to overcome and deal with. Even before the accident she was far from routine; she was a totally dedicated athlete, adopted into a family with different skin color, and had already become aware that she was attracted to other females. Now she's working through her anger over her appearance and having her life goals ruined irrevocably while dealing with the pain and frustrations of adapting to a lower leg prosthetic. And now there is that mutual attraction with her tutor. Very well done exploration of some very sensitive issues!
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January 7, 2023Lovely!
I really enjoyed this novel, the two protagonists had immediate chemistry but the romance was a lovely slow burn. Highly recommend!
I really enjoyed this novel, the two protagonists had immediate chemistry but the romance was a lovely slow burn. Highly recommend!
April 28, 2015
This is a gem of a coming of age story - structure and storyline are tightly controlled with a great deal of skill, and the characters beautifully drawn with a light touch. There's so much here to like: the struggle to overcome setbacks and the sudden derailment of a life goal, the skillfully portrayed characters and friendships, the spot-on voice of the narrator, the delicate touching on social issues and the concerns of the young vs the old, the slow build of the main relationship.
I smiled from start to finish with this book and I recommend it to anyone who's interested in a sweet, well-written story that still has a lot of depth and heart. Lesbian teen lit done well can be a hard thing to find, but this was a gorgeous short read that should definitely speak to its target audience.
Thanks for the read, and I look forward to reading more from this author.
I smiled from start to finish with this book and I recommend it to anyone who's interested in a sweet, well-written story that still has a lot of depth and heart. Lesbian teen lit done well can be a hard thing to find, but this was a gorgeous short read that should definitely speak to its target audience.
Thanks for the read, and I look forward to reading more from this author.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews