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daringreader13's review
DNF- Could not get into this at all and will not be continuing with it or remainder of series.
_bookdreamer's review
4.0
I never write reviews but I think this book needs one. I picked up this book thinking it would be pure fluff, a good beach read, nothing more. I was SO SO SO WRONG. It was AMAZING! The story threw surprises at me at every turn. Right when I thought something was predictable, something cahnged, and I wasn't so sure anymore. Also just the plot of the different characters, would have NEVER expected any of it from the description on the back.
romanticizingbookshelf's review
3.0
Although I have given this book three stars I really enjoyed reading this as it was very fun to read and live vicariously through. In comparison to other novels and looking back, I had to give this three stars.
nataliesboooks's review
2.0
The girls:
Summer - I didn’t like her all that much. How is it possible to love 4 guys at once? She was all over the place.
Marquez - She was ok I guess, but she was weirdly unemotional.
Diana - why didn’t anyone get her help?? She’s been contemplating suicide every night for years and all anyone can say is, “oh, Diana is offish” but never tried to help her! Even her own mother was completely useless.
The guys:
Seth - ugh, completely unrealistic. What 17 year old guy is thinking about marriage and kids? Also, she kissed another guy AND lied to him AND got drunk and threw up in his grandfather’s house and he never really got mad at her. He just forgave her because twoo wuv.
Adam - a creep
Sean - also a creep
Diver - very odd. He was basically a squatter who lived on the roof of the house and no one cared about that?
JT - he was okay.
Summer - I didn’t like her all that much. How is it possible to love 4 guys at once? She was all over the place.
Marquez - She was ok I guess, but she was weirdly unemotional.
Diana - why didn’t anyone get her help?? She’s been contemplating suicide every night for years and all anyone can say is, “oh, Diana is offish” but never tried to help her! Even her own mother was completely useless.
The guys:
Seth - ugh, completely unrealistic. What 17 year old guy is thinking about marriage and kids? Also, she kissed another guy AND lied to him AND got drunk and threw up in his grandfather’s house and he never really got mad at her. He just forgave her because twoo wuv.
Adam - a creep
Sean - also a creep
Diver - very odd. He was basically a squatter who lived on the roof of the house and no one cared about that?
JT - he was okay.
padfootpuff's review
5.0
I honestly loved this book! I am so shocked by how much I enjoyed it! I loved Summer and all the characters from Crab Claw Key! There was so much drama and heartache, it was such an amazing book! I felt like I was reading a reality show or some kind of soap opera!
I bought this book back in 7th Grade, so 6 years ago, and I am just getting around to it now. I am actually glad I read it now instead of when I was like 13 because I don't think I would have been "mature" enough for some of the content in this book. Now that I am 19, I am much more mature to be reading books dealing with some of those topics.
I recently found a (not so good) copy of Tan Lines (the second book) at a Value Village, so I am picking that up right now!
I bought this book back in 7th Grade, so 6 years ago, and I am just getting around to it now. I am actually glad I read it now instead of when I was like 13 because I don't think I would have been "mature" enough for some of the content in this book. Now that I am 19, I am much more mature to be reading books dealing with some of those topics.
I recently found a (not so good) copy of Tan Lines (the second book) at a Value Village, so I am picking that up right now!
natlovesnovels's review
4.0
I wasn’t sure if I was gonna give this 4 or 5 stars. This book is a lot more than what the synopsis makes you think it is. I really enjoyed this one and it would be a perfect summer read. I’m glad I bought the next book in the series... gonna read that now. :) oh, its a 4.5 ⭐️ btw
jossgrace's review
2.0
I have gotten into a habit of rereading books I’ve liked from my adolescence and since this was the book I held to the highest standard for quite some time, I needed to take a little trip down memory lane.
This book was the first book I binged read so memorably that the paperback copy I had was in tatters by the end of it. The spine was broken in about 4 or 5 places, where the book seamlessly opened up to reveal the parts I read and reread countless times. It was the book I made my sister and best friends read with hope that it would make them feel even a fraction of what this book made me feel.
Now at least 12 years down the line? I cannot say this book made me feel the same way that it did then.
There are definitely some books that resonate more when you are a certain age. Books that were written for your level of teenage maturity and aren’t meant for cynics who’ve had their bubble bursted a few too many times. These books don’t become immediately bad just when you stop relating to them, but somehow lose their lustre all the same. These books become the ones you look back on with fond memories but you know are no longer meant for you anymore. And that is totally okay.
Other books however, hold true to the feeling you had the first time you read them. Sometimes even blossoming with your matured years. Those books are truly rare to find but are a lesson in brilliant writing. In the YA genre, this becomes even more difficult to find because these books rely on topics relating to a certain age group which may not remain relevant when their audience ages. Sarah Dessen has been a master in this genre, in my humble opinion, because many of her coming of age stories still hit their mark with me no matter how many times I read them.
Unfortunately, Beach Blondes happens to be part of the former category. Not to say the writing or the story itself was horrible (not that it was great mind you...), it just was no longer for me.
This book used to such a joy to read. Summer used to be this bubbly, energetic character I longed to be. Someone who had boys gravitating around her like moths to flame. Marques’ confidence and spunk made me want to be more forthcoming and tenacious. And Diana’s scepticism and strength, made my own teen angst feel justifiable.
This book reinforced my belief that friendship overcame everything. It made me feel happy and hopeful for the future...
...And then the future came around and therein lies the rub. Now when I read it, Summer’s bright personality is dulled by her naïveté towards life, Marque’s spunkiness is prickled with her distaste for other people’s ‘drama’, and Diana’s brokenness becomes overshadowed by her petty jealousies towards her cousin and angst towards her parents...which probably makes her the only real relatable teenage character in this book. The boys who used to make me swoon, now make me gag. They are all nauseating horrid...which isn’t all that surprising considering how prepubescent boys and their cheesy come-ons just no longer appeal to me (and thank god for that because this would be VERY problematic if they still did).
Honestly though, I could really break down and critique the areas where it lost me (insta love at the top of that list, followed shortly by Marques’ golden one-liners: “you like the sun huh?” Or “so you laugh huh?” WHO TALKS LIKE THAT?!) but I am worried that I’ll just end up tearing it even more to shreds than I already am, and only serve in making myself hate loving this book in the first place. You can’t rewrite history. I clearly had every reason to love this book what I was a teenager, and this may very well have been the book that started my love of the YA genre. If that is the case, then fuck it. This book deserves all the love and applause regardless of it’s shortcomings. We all have to start somewhere.
So I am going to stop hating on it and just let this one off with a bittersweet farewell. T’was nice knowing you, but your girl is no longer in Oz any longer. Back to the shelf you go.
This is getting a lacklustre 2.5 stars
This book was the first book I binged read so memorably that the paperback copy I had was in tatters by the end of it. The spine was broken in about 4 or 5 places, where the book seamlessly opened up to reveal the parts I read and reread countless times. It was the book I made my sister and best friends read with hope that it would make them feel even a fraction of what this book made me feel.
Now at least 12 years down the line? I cannot say this book made me feel the same way that it did then.
There are definitely some books that resonate more when you are a certain age. Books that were written for your level of teenage maturity and aren’t meant for cynics who’ve had their bubble bursted a few too many times. These books don’t become immediately bad just when you stop relating to them, but somehow lose their lustre all the same. These books become the ones you look back on with fond memories but you know are no longer meant for you anymore. And that is totally okay.
Other books however, hold true to the feeling you had the first time you read them. Sometimes even blossoming with your matured years. Those books are truly rare to find but are a lesson in brilliant writing. In the YA genre, this becomes even more difficult to find because these books rely on topics relating to a certain age group which may not remain relevant when their audience ages. Sarah Dessen has been a master in this genre, in my humble opinion, because many of her coming of age stories still hit their mark with me no matter how many times I read them.
Unfortunately, Beach Blondes happens to be part of the former category. Not to say the writing or the story itself was horrible (not that it was great mind you...), it just was no longer for me.
This book used to such a joy to read. Summer used to be this bubbly, energetic character I longed to be. Someone who had boys gravitating around her like moths to flame. Marques’ confidence and spunk made me want to be more forthcoming and tenacious. And Diana’s scepticism and strength, made my own teen angst feel justifiable.
This book reinforced my belief that friendship overcame everything. It made me feel happy and hopeful for the future...
...And then the future came around and therein lies the rub. Now when I read it, Summer’s bright personality is dulled by her naïveté towards life, Marque’s spunkiness is prickled with her distaste for other people’s ‘drama’, and Diana’s brokenness becomes overshadowed by her petty jealousies towards her cousin and angst towards her parents...which probably makes her the only real relatable teenage character in this book. The boys who used to make me swoon, now make me gag. They are all nauseating horrid...which isn’t all that surprising considering how prepubescent boys and their cheesy come-ons just no longer appeal to me (and thank god for that because this would be VERY problematic if they still did).
Honestly though, I could really break down and critique the areas where it lost me (insta love at the top of that list, followed shortly by Marques’ golden one-liners: “you like the sun huh?” Or “so you laugh huh?” WHO TALKS LIKE THAT?!) but I am worried that I’ll just end up tearing it even more to shreds than I already am, and only serve in making myself hate loving this book in the first place. You can’t rewrite history. I clearly had every reason to love this book what I was a teenager, and this may very well have been the book that started my love of the YA genre. If that is the case, then fuck it. This book deserves all the love and applause regardless of it’s shortcomings. We all have to start somewhere.
So I am going to stop hating on it and just let this one off with a bittersweet farewell. T’was nice knowing you, but your girl is no longer in Oz any longer. Back to the shelf you go.
This is getting a lacklustre 2.5 stars
saramarrinn's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts