Thursday, July 3, 2014

Review: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Publish date: 2009
Source: library
Format: Hardcover
Length: 290 pages
"According to Anna’s best friend, Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie–she’s already had her romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

TWENTY BOY SUMMER explores what it truly means to love someone, what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every beautiful moment life has to offer.
" (Goodreads)

I don't remember why I had Twenty Boy Summer on my TBR list. It doesn't really seem like a me book, especially since I am not into beach books as much as the typical YA fan. Don't hate me, but I start to feel like they are all the same after a while. Anyway though, I've been on a contemp kick lately and was going through my TBR list on Goodreads and seeing what my library had and thus...Twenty Boy Summer.

First of all, ignore the title. Yes, it's part of the book, but I think it's really misleading to use that phrase as the title. You know immediately by getting to know Anna (who I liked) that the title doesn't fit with her and I wish they had picked something else. I liked the beach setting more than usual, although I thought there was a little too much description of it, but not a huge deal.

I appreciated that this was more than a summer at the beach story. It was about dealing with grief and friendship with the convenient backdrop of a California beach and local boys. I also liked some aspects of the ending and if you've read it, you probably know what I am talking about. While I didn't love the book, I did like it and would recommend to contemp fans.

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