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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Really sad... Extremely sad. Here I thought: Oh, this will be a fun, little summery quick read.... YEAH NO. So sad.
I thought this was cute! I wasn't sure what to expect, but I liked it a lot!
Book 20/75 (2018)
Book 20/75 (2018)
This book was warm and adorable. It was heartwarming.
First off, the cover was 100% completely APPROPRIATE. I love the cover. I love how much it relates to the story -- tying in sea glass, the notion of Matt's literally broken heart, Anna's figuratively broken heart, and the possibility of summer love.
I also loved how Anna and Sam's summer fling was realistic. They didn't try to prolong it or keep it for later. They knew it was short-lived, and appreciated everything they gained from the experience. And it taught Anna how to heal and move on from Matt.
Of course, the heart of the story focused on Anna and Frankie's relationship. Although tumultuous and with obvious cracks, I loved the timid reconciliation by the end. It left me so warm and fuzzy!
Overall, this book is the perfect summer read. No, it's the perfect BEACH read -- full of memories from soaking in the sun, late nights, and summer secrets (much lighter than the once carefully guarded ones of the past, mind you). If anything, I wish we got to see more of Uncle Red and Aunt Jayne, and their healing over the trip. You could see fractures and obvious disarray from the two of them... and that was left as a loose end, in my opinion.
Still, this book made me glad it's summer and made me wish I was vacationing in California too!
First off, the cover was 100% completely APPROPRIATE. I love the cover. I love how much it relates to the story -- tying in sea glass, the notion of Matt's literally broken heart, Anna's figuratively broken heart, and the possibility of summer love.
I also loved how Anna and Sam's summer fling was realistic. They didn't try to prolong it or keep it for later. They knew it was short-lived, and appreciated everything they gained from the experience. And it taught Anna how to heal and move on from Matt.
Of course, the heart of the story focused on Anna and Frankie's relationship. Although tumultuous and with obvious cracks, I loved the timid reconciliation by the end. It left me so warm and fuzzy!
Overall, this book is the perfect summer read. No, it's the perfect BEACH read -- full of memories from soaking in the sun, late nights, and summer secrets (much lighter than the once carefully guarded ones of the past, mind you). If anything, I wish we got to see more of Uncle Red and Aunt Jayne, and their healing over the trip. You could see fractures and obvious disarray from the two of them... and that was left as a loose end, in my opinion.
Still, this book made me glad it's summer and made me wish I was vacationing in California too!
Less than 50 pages in and I already dislike the main character Anna:
- Matt, her best friend Frankie's brother died a year ago and Anna is convinced that her pain and grief is bigger than Anna's because she and Matt were secretly dating a couple of weeks. Just no.
- Anna sees Frankie as a superficial, vain person who is kind of desperate when it comes to guys.
- It is shown in a non-subtle way how stupid Frankie is compared to Anna because she missused the simplest words.
Also, the writing is all telling and just not that good.
- Matt, her best friend Frankie's brother died a year ago and Anna is convinced that her pain and grief is bigger than Anna's because she and Matt were secretly dating a couple of weeks. Just no.
- Anna sees Frankie as a superficial, vain person who is kind of desperate when it comes to guys.
- It is shown in a non-subtle way how stupid Frankie is compared to Anna because she missused the simplest words.
Also, the writing is all telling and just not that good.
A young adult novel that's more about shared grief than a "twenty boy summer." None of Matt's dialogue or notes to Anna felt realistic, but Anna's complicated friendship with Frankie very much did.
I wanted so much to like this book and instead was vaguely disappointed by the lack of depth and inner dialogue at several critical points.
This is the story of three friends, Anna, Frankie and Matt (Frankie and Matt are siblings, Anna is the girl-next-door), and how Matt's death changes things. Just before he died, Anna and Matt had started a clandestine relationship while Matt waited for the right moment to tell Frankie. After his death, Anna keeps it all to her self, writing letters/journal entries and "talking" to him, while outwardly portraying her grief as that of best-friend-to-sister-of-Matt.
Matt's death wasn't due to carelessness, drunk driving, or anything "teachable": he had a heart defect and was unlucky enough to be driving (with Anna and Frankie) at the time. This was one of those could have happened anywhere/any time events, and so is glossed over. The majority of the book takes place a year later, as his family heads to California for their annual vacation and Anna comes along to help Frankie get over her grief.
You see glimpses of what Frankie's going through (dressing more provocatively, smoking, grades going down, acting out) but you never really get a sense of what Anna thinks about this or what she has tried to do other than be there for Frankie. She even goes along with the "20 boy summer" idea without a lot of internal process.
Most disturbing was the almost blase way in which Anna's losing her virginity was handled. Dubbed "Anna's Albatross" (and the reason for the 20 boy idea - surely one of them will Do the Deed) by Frankie, you never get how Anna feels about it. When she finally does have sex, any thoughts or emotions are swept away by the drama of Frankie finding out about Matt/Anna.
Given that there was a lot of Anna "hearing" Matt's voice, talking to him, thinking about him, I expected something more in the way of self-reflection and internal conflict at times. Anna seemed too passive in places, which didn't ring true. Perhaps as an adult I expected more, and younger (eg, teen) readers will not.
This is the story of three friends, Anna, Frankie and Matt (Frankie and Matt are siblings, Anna is the girl-next-door), and how Matt's death changes things. Just before he died, Anna and Matt had started a clandestine relationship while Matt waited for the right moment to tell Frankie. After his death, Anna keeps it all to her self, writing letters/journal entries and "talking" to him, while outwardly portraying her grief as that of best-friend-to-sister-of-Matt.
Matt's death wasn't due to carelessness, drunk driving, or anything "teachable": he had a heart defect and was unlucky enough to be driving (with Anna and Frankie) at the time. This was one of those could have happened anywhere/any time events, and so is glossed over. The majority of the book takes place a year later, as his family heads to California for their annual vacation and Anna comes along to help Frankie get over her grief.
You see glimpses of what Frankie's going through (dressing more provocatively, smoking, grades going down, acting out) but you never really get a sense of what Anna thinks about this or what she has tried to do other than be there for Frankie. She even goes along with the "20 boy summer" idea without a lot of internal process.
Most disturbing was the almost blase way in which Anna's losing her virginity was handled. Dubbed "Anna's Albatross" (and the reason for the 20 boy idea - surely one of them will Do the Deed) by Frankie, you never get how Anna feels about it. When she finally does have sex, any thoughts or emotions are swept away by the drama of Frankie finding out about Matt/Anna.
Given that there was a lot of Anna "hearing" Matt's voice, talking to him, thinking about him, I expected something more in the way of self-reflection and internal conflict at times. Anna seemed too passive in places, which didn't ring true. Perhaps as an adult I expected more, and younger (eg, teen) readers will not.
I read this book during Banned Book Week. It was challenged in the Republic, Mo. schools in 2010 for being “soft-pornography” and “glorifies drinking, cursing, and premarital sex.” I guess there is no quicker way to get me to read a book than to have it appear on the banned and challenged list.
It is Anna’s birthday. She gets the best present ever. A kiss. From the one guy she has loved forever. Matt. Her best friend’s older brother. It is an awesome few months of the two of them sneaking glances and out at night to talk, look at the stars and kiss. They aren’t sneaking around just for the fun of it, but Matt is worried about how Frankie will take it. How will she feel about her best friend and her brother dating? Tragically, they never get the chance. Matt has a heart attack causing him to have a car wreck. Dies. Big Giant Tears.
I so feel for Anna. She lost her true love. She has to heal her broken heart all alone. No one knows about her and Matt. Matt wanted to tell Frankie first. Now Anna isn’t sure if Matt would want her to tell anyone or if she can after all this time. Sobs. Not only does she have to conceal her mourning to that of a friend only, but she feels like she has to try to save Frankie from herself. Matt’s family is refusing to handle it. His mother is a walking zombie and Frankie has developed a bad girl reputation for herself. Smoking. Parties. Boys. Losing her virginity.
The heart of the book is spent at Zanzibar Bay, California. This is where Matt and Frankie’s family goes for months during the summer every year. This will be the family’s first trip back after the death. Emotional. Frankie has raised the stakes. She is challenging them to meet twenty boys over the summer and for Anna to lose her virginity. Or course, it isn’t that easy. Grief will interrupt, erupt and heal on the trip. Anna isn’t the only one with secrets.
This book isn’t anything I expected. One, it is called Twenty Boy Summer. I pictured Girls Gone Wild. Two, it is on the ALA Banned & Challenged list. So again, I pictured Girls Gone Wild. Not the case. This book was an unexpected treasure. It kept me emotionally raw the entire time. I really connected with Anna. I was in love with my best friend’s brother growing up. We spent a lot of time together and everyone thought we would end up together in the end. But we didn’t. I think we were both afraid to mess it up. So I really could imagine how it felt to lose that person you grew up with and hoped to grow old with. Like Anna, I also feel like I should swallow my own sadness for the sake of others. Anna isn’t promiscuous and she doesn’t take moving on lightly. I laugh out loud at the idea that this book is “soft-pornography” and “glorifies drinking, cursing, and premarital sex.” I don’t have a problem with someone not wanting their child to read it, but “glorifies” is little too much. There is a party and there is some drinking, but never is any of it focused on drinking. Yes the goal is for Anna to lose her virginity, there is some heavy petting and someone does have sex. But it isn’t glorified. The heavy petting scene is more described that the sexual encounter. In the end, I don’t feel that Anna or Frankie feel that these actions are solutions to their grief. But that this game is a catalyst for both or them to come clean and heal.
It is Anna’s birthday. She gets the best present ever. A kiss. From the one guy she has loved forever. Matt. Her best friend’s older brother. It is an awesome few months of the two of them sneaking glances and out at night to talk, look at the stars and kiss. They aren’t sneaking around just for the fun of it, but Matt is worried about how Frankie will take it. How will she feel about her best friend and her brother dating? Tragically, they never get the chance. Matt has a heart attack causing him to have a car wreck. Dies. Big Giant Tears.
I so feel for Anna. She lost her true love. She has to heal her broken heart all alone. No one knows about her and Matt. Matt wanted to tell Frankie first. Now Anna isn’t sure if Matt would want her to tell anyone or if she can after all this time. Sobs. Not only does she have to conceal her mourning to that of a friend only, but she feels like she has to try to save Frankie from herself. Matt’s family is refusing to handle it. His mother is a walking zombie and Frankie has developed a bad girl reputation for herself. Smoking. Parties. Boys. Losing her virginity.
The heart of the book is spent at Zanzibar Bay, California. This is where Matt and Frankie’s family goes for months during the summer every year. This will be the family’s first trip back after the death. Emotional. Frankie has raised the stakes. She is challenging them to meet twenty boys over the summer and for Anna to lose her virginity. Or course, it isn’t that easy. Grief will interrupt, erupt and heal on the trip. Anna isn’t the only one with secrets.
This book isn’t anything I expected. One, it is called Twenty Boy Summer. I pictured Girls Gone Wild. Two, it is on the ALA Banned & Challenged list. So again, I pictured Girls Gone Wild. Not the case. This book was an unexpected treasure. It kept me emotionally raw the entire time. I really connected with Anna. I was in love with my best friend’s brother growing up. We spent a lot of time together and everyone thought we would end up together in the end. But we didn’t. I think we were both afraid to mess it up. So I really could imagine how it felt to lose that person you grew up with and hoped to grow old with. Like Anna, I also feel like I should swallow my own sadness for the sake of others. Anna isn’t promiscuous and she doesn’t take moving on lightly. I laugh out loud at the idea that this book is “soft-pornography” and “glorifies drinking, cursing, and premarital sex.” I don’t have a problem with someone not wanting their child to read it, but “glorifies” is little too much. There is a party and there is some drinking, but never is any of it focused on drinking. Yes the goal is for Anna to lose her virginity, there is some heavy petting and someone does have sex. But it isn’t glorified. The heavy petting scene is more described that the sexual encounter. In the end, I don’t feel that Anna or Frankie feel that these actions are solutions to their grief. But that this game is a catalyst for both or them to come clean and heal.
I mainly read this one because of the stories about it being banned at Republic High School along with Slaughterhouse-Five. Which I thought was ridiculous before I read the book, and now after reading the book I realize the true level of ridiculousness, because this book is incredibly tame. PG-level tame.
Two nice girls, Anna and Frankie, are best friends. Frankie has a nice older brother, Matt, who Anna is secretly romantically involved with. When Matt dies unexpectedly, the girls are both devastated. The year after his death, they go on vacation, and the girls (and Matt's nice parents) all come to terms with their loss. It's a book about grief more than anything else. There is some mild teen rebellion (sneaking out at night, flirting, just a touch of drinking). Anna meets a nice boy and falls a little in love with him, knowing it will just be a summer thing. They have nice sex twice. No body parts are mentioned, nothing is described. Anna, a nice girl, has sex with a nice boy. She enjoys this nice sex, and does not feel ashamed of it or suffer any negative consequences. And that, I'm sure, is what made the folks in Republic want to remove this book from the high school library. If Anna had died, gotten an STD, or felt sad and dirty as a result of having nice sex with a nice boy, I'm sure they would have been perfectly happy with this book. Good old fear of female sexuality, alive and well.
This is a good book about loss to recommend to teens. But seriously, Republic High School officials, have you never read a book before? Or seen television? If this kinda thing makes you clutch your pearls and worry about the children, you have serious problems. Perhaps I can recommend you some literature...
Two nice girls, Anna and Frankie, are best friends. Frankie has a nice older brother, Matt, who Anna is secretly romantically involved with. When Matt dies unexpectedly, the girls are both devastated. The year after his death, they go on vacation, and the girls (and Matt's nice parents) all come to terms with their loss. It's a book about grief more than anything else. There is some mild teen rebellion (sneaking out at night, flirting, just a touch of drinking). Anna meets a nice boy and falls a little in love with him, knowing it will just be a summer thing. They have nice sex twice. No body parts are mentioned, nothing is described. Anna, a nice girl, has sex with a nice boy. She enjoys this nice sex, and does not feel ashamed of it or suffer any negative consequences. And that, I'm sure, is what made the folks in Republic want to remove this book from the high school library. If Anna had died, gotten an STD, or felt sad and dirty as a result of having nice sex with a nice boy, I'm sure they would have been perfectly happy with this book. Good old fear of female sexuality, alive and well.
This is a good book about loss to recommend to teens. But seriously, Republic High School officials, have you never read a book before? Or seen television? If this kinda thing makes you clutch your pearls and worry about the children, you have serious problems. Perhaps I can recommend you some literature...