Promises Left for Dead

by Beckham Lawre

"You should have killed me when you had the chance. Now I will be your downfall. For the sake of the people you lied to, I will restore the promises you left for dead."

Legacy Westbay, age 17, is about to be executed for treason. Her only crime -- giving aid to those persecuted by their power-hungry dictator. She has one last chance to prove her loyalty to KEDNA by becoming a soldier for the government that took everything from her. But when her second chance at life sparks a fire in the heart of the nation, could the changing of the tides be just coincidence, or is it fate?

Teenage author Beckham Lawre presents their debut novel, Promises Left for Dead.

382 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 12, 2018

About the author

When I was around eleven years old I decided I hated reading. School had forced me to read books I was uninterested in or had a hard time understanding. I wondered what had gone wrong, as I had loved books as a younger child, and decided I just needed books I was interested in.
I whipped out my brand-new Kindle Fire and opened the bookstore. After a moment of pondering, I searched a subject I was passionate about: Minecraft. Most of the books were quick, easy to understand, engaging, and quite frankly painless. After reading a few of them I decided it was within my capacity to write my own.
So I did. I wrote my first book at age 13 on my mom's laptop. It was published later that year and became available for worldwide electronic distribution shortly after I turned fourteen. Today that same book had sold upwards of 600 copies. For a time, it was even among the top ranks of its category.
Since then I have continued to create and publish work (poems, short stories, and novels) throughout my middle and high school career. At age 15 I began taking college classes at a local university and graduated with my associate degree before I ever graduated high school. Now I am going on to study English at a private school in Salt Lake City.
My message to the youth, those who aspire to greater things: never forget to have diligence in the pursuit of excellence, and if you want it then by all means go get it. Arete, fellows!

Reviews

[Chansey · Rating 4 out of 5]

First and foremost, I wish I could give her a 4.5.

I first picked up Lawre's book at the Dickens Festival and I felt drawn to her. I spoke with her and she seemed very enthusiastic about her book. I left the festival with a book in hand and I felt excited to start reading.

When I first started reading the book, it felt familiar, but at the halfway point I realized the plot felt like The Hunger Games. That's not a problem, though, because Lawre was able to weave into her novel a good balance of suspense, action, romance, and plot twists. Where her relationship development is lacking, she makes up for it with Legacy's personal development. I adored Legacy from the beginning because she felt realistic to me. She's only a teenager and she is expected to become the leader of a revolution. I definitely could sympathize with her. Her first-person POV style was different for me, but it was nevertheless still fun to read. Overall, I certainly did enjoy reading Lawre's book and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in a dystopian YA.

[Khris Pfeifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually get bored with first-person dystopians because I never feel like I'm reading anything that hasn't been covered in the thousand other books about not so distant dystopian futures, but I was VERY pleasantly surprised by how this story is still unique. I'm trying to pick out parts that I really enjoyed, but I don't want to give anything away. READ THIS BOOK. The action and hints of romance and funny moments were great at keeping me interested. A great read from a young, new author that I will be waiting to see more of in the future.

[Stephanie Gillis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have so many things to say about this and I'm quite shocked at the higher star reviews for this because it is blatantly stealing from Divergent and Hunger Games, specifically Mockingjay. This book was apparently written when the author was 14 and hardly anything changed from it when it was published years later. It literally has entire dialogue and scenes pulled from those other popular works. There is little world-building. Little character development. It's just not a book that should have ever been published. This is what my writing looked like as a teenager and I would be so embarrassed if I had published that stuff. This feels like one of those things where someone tells you you're good at singing and then you audition for American Idol only to be destroyed by the judges. This book is great in considering she wrote it at 14. She clearly has a passion for books and writing. That does not mean you should publish everything you write and I'm more mad at the adults in the author's life for letting this come to be. Share the story with your friends and loved ones but publishing it for the masses is not where this should have gone. There's so much stealing from popular books in this. It's just clearly the work of a teenager and while, yes, she's a skilled writer for a teenager, it's still a poorly developed work filled with theft and unoriginality. I feel like a jerk writing all this but I always promised honest reviews and this is my honest opinion of the book. I hope Lawre keeps developing her skills as a writer because the passion is clearly there, but I hope she does so with an actual decent editor who can help push her to better levels of writing.

[Rose Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lawre has written a pertinent Dystopian teen novel that could be a world not too far away. Legacy has been arrested and sentenced to death for aiding refugees in a world where the United States no longer exists and is now the Territory of North America with a dictator masquerading as president. Legacy's brother who joined the Warrior Division of the territory begs Legacy to consider joining the Warrior Division to escape her death sentence. Legacy is hesitant. She does not want to compromise her morals and become a cog in the government's wheel. She is sickened by the idea of having to kill for the same government she tried to help save people from. Legacy is a strong and likable female protagonist. She is devoted to her friends and family and holds steadfast to her morals. There are also a number of important side characters who are deeply likable in this debut novel. It is an action packed story of a nation sitting on the precipice of revolution that Legacy becomes a key ingredient for creating and propelling forward. Fans of the Hunger Games and Veronica Roth's Divergent Series would enjoy this novel and any future books in the series to come!

[Karri Richardson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really want to give this more stars to support a local author. To me there just wasn't enough character development, I felt like Legacy had no personality. Most of the other characters there was enough to help build on but even Caelo was a little dull. The relationship aspect was bland and almost forced, didn't feel like there was any chemistry between them and then all of a sudden they're together. When legacy becomes the "leader" that also seemed forced. She just goes from being this weird clueless character who seems to just be going with the flow, to the person in charge and she had no drive or passion and seemed scared to be in charge but then just randomly accepts her role and takes over. I guess it just didn't flow well and felt rushed. Even though I am being extremely critical, this was a decent story, i will continue to read to support Beckham, she wrote a book series, published it for the world to see and that is more than I can say for my work in progress that isn't going anywhere any time soon. I just feel like there needs to be more connection to the characters and my fingers are crossed the next two have that!

[Tressa Eads · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was alright. I thought it had a lot of potential, but it seemed to turn out just like every other dystopian novel. The main character is wronged by the society and starts a revolution. However, they don't seem to actually want to lead the revolution that they started. They lead it anyone and no adults seem to have a problem with the fact that a teenager is making all of the critical decisions. They just follow the main character's lead. The main character falls in love with someone, but doesn't feel like they can be together. However, they overcome this obstacle, fall in love, and do anything to protect each other. In the end, the rebellion wins. It wasn't a bad story, but I didn't feel like there were a lot of original ideas in it. It was a one-time read for me.

[K.B. Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read!

I admit I am new to the YA Dystopian Future genre, but Lawre's book was a wonderful introduction. The characters were vivid, and the use of 1st person narrative really brings you along on the adventure.
The book is set in (the not so distant?) future, and all of North America has joined under one tyrannical government. A young Warrior comes along and haphazardly must unite her people.
I don't want to spoil the story's adventure with more details, but rest assured it is worth the read. I hope Lawre will continue this world - the ending was a cliffhanger!
Brava on a book well done!

[Alyssa Nichols · Rating 5 out of 5]

Promises Left for Dead is a beautifully written dystopian novel that incorporates governmental truths that are relevant today, tomorrow, and any time during the near future. It is clear that the author has a passion for her subject. Promises Left for Dead is a book on justice, government, freedom, and revolution. If you have a love for any of those, this book is for you. Lawre writes in a way that is riveting, exciting, and thrilling. The characters are well-developed, though I would have liked to see more of Legacy’s past. I can’t wait to read the next book in the series!!
I give this book a 9.5/10. My favorite character was definitely Runner. He’s the best. 😃

[Lauryn Dyan]

Expect Great Things!

A little bit Divergent, a hint of Clancy, a lot of twists and turns. Dystopian novels abound but there is a hint of truth here that this future may not be as far off as some of the other worlds created in this genre. What makes it more impressive is that it was written by someone so young. I don’t expect this to be the last, nor most impactful, time we hear from Lawre.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! picked this up at mile high con, was intrigued by the "young author" label, but then i read the blurb about it on line and was like, totally up my alley! So i picked it up and got it signed - squee.

Finally got to it in my stack - and wow. Such a great read! Great characters, great story, kept me turning the pages! I stayed up while trying to kill a cold and should have been resting cause i just had to know how it ended!

Excited to go get the next in the series!

[Nikki Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good debut novel

I picked this up after seeing the author at a recent literary con. Overall, I enjoyed the story and the concept. I would have liked to see a little more in-depth character and relationship development. I’m looking forward to reading more from them.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a little hunger games for me, minus the "games" part. I did enjoy it though. I'm looking forward to reading the other 2 in this series.
I'm really glad I saw her at the Dicken's festival in st. George this past year (12/21). And she signed it for me and I loved signed books!

[Saundra Martinez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely has hunger games vibes but I still loved it.

[Hannah Mastrangelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such an amazing book. It’s very action-packed and kept me interested the entire time.

[Nicola Hebron]

Beckham Lawre is a talented teenage writer with a huge career ahead of him. I don’t normally read dystopian futuristic books but this book caught my attention from the first line: ‘Tell me, America, how does it feel to be lied to?’ This line immediately gets you hooked into the novel as you want to know more about the lie that has been told. The first person narrative gives a unique perspective and really makes you feel like you are part of the book, rather than just following a story. The character of Legacy is fascinating and it is great to see her development, alongside watching her become part of the warrior program that she was about to be killed for objecting to at the beginning of the novel. It is good to see that she keeps her rebellious nature throughout the novel and is willing to take a stand. The character that I really adored was Legacy’s brother as it was lovely to see that he was willing to help his sister at the beginning of the novel and how he got Legacy into the Warrior program as he didn’t want her to die, even though they had opposing views on President Lamb and they had been separated for a number of years. Fans of the Hunger Games novels will go mad for this book and the sequel it is clearly lining up.