Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

I'm really slow to reviewing this, I KNOW.

[description from amazon]

"Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it."
"Okay."
"Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?"
"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in ZanzibarBay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever 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 that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

Review:

This is one of the only books I've read this year that has made me want to squee with joy. It's so sad and heartbreaking, but so hopeful and feel-good at the same time.

Because Anna and Matt's relationship is only shown a few times in the novel, it was a little difficult to see why Anna loved Matt so much and why she can't get over his death. She describes her feelings about him well, but I wanted just a bit more showing and less telling to make things a bit more believable. Similarly, I couldn't really see why Anna liked Sam, the boy she meets on vacation. Sure, they had a visible connection but their relationship lacked some depth that would have made it easier to see why she liked him so much.

Despite those problems, I pretty much loved the rest of the book. Her feelings of grief seemed incredibly real even if they didn't make as much sense as they could have, which made her easy to relate to. Her relationship with Frankie and the way she handles Frankie's questionable behavior are really what makes her believable- her feelings and reactions to Frankie's schemes are amusing because Frankie is oblivious to them and also show just how different Frankie and Anna are. By comparing the two girls, it's easier to see how each one is because they react so differently to things. I also appreciated that Frankie, especially near the end, was deeper than expected- I can't say why, but there were many things she hid that were revealed, and those things made all her actions make sense.

A few events that occurred were predictable, but there were also plenty of hidden things that caused twists to happen. And I must mention that the writing in the book was positively lovely. So beautiful and emotional. (:

If there's anyone out there who hasn't read Twenty Boy Summer, they definitely should (but really, who hasn't read it yet?). It's a wonderful, heartbreaking, uplifting, novel that will be adored by many. I cannot wait for more from Sarah!

8.5/10

Links: Sarah's website, blog/twitter/video where Sarah talks about the book/Twenty Boy Summer collab/my interview with Sarah

Little, Brown/Hardcover/$16.99/Amazon/B&N/Borders/Indiebound