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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
There were so many heartbreaking things in this story. A sister lost a brother. Two parents lost a child. But, it was Anna, who I really felt for. She and Matt had just moved from being best friends to something more, but he died before they had the opportunity to define it. She was left with a myriad of "what ifs", and she had to struggle with all that on her own.
This book may be called "Twenty Boy Summer", but it was really about love, loss, secrets, and grief, which filled me with equal parts warmth and pain, which I found very touching.
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This book may be called "Twenty Boy Summer", but it was really about love, loss, secrets, and grief, which filled me with equal parts warmth and pain, which I found very touching.
BLOG | INSTAGRAM |TWITTER | BLOGLOVIN | FRIEND ME ON GOODREADS
I loved this. It is beautifully written – the writing just flows and I found myself so absorbed I completely forgot I was reading. All the characters were three dimensional – including Matt who the author fleshed out enough for the reader to believe in the grief the characters felt. I really liked Anna and she had a great voice – very witty at times but you could feel her grief throughout the book. Frankie was suitably complex and I got a hint of how she used to be and understood why she acted the way she did – I can’t say I always liked her though.
The way everyone grieved felt authentic – the effect on Frankie, her parents and Anna – all of it felt very real. The ending also felt natural and believable, managing to end the story in a satisfying way.
Overall I really enjoyed this – so much I found myself savouring it and not wanting it to end. In fact, I think I could have read another 300 pages of her writing and not tired of it. Strongly recommended and I can't wait for her next book!
4.5 stars
The way everyone grieved felt authentic – the effect on Frankie, her parents and Anna – all of it felt very real. The ending also felt natural and believable, managing to end the story in a satisfying way.
Overall I really enjoyed this – so much I found myself savouring it and not wanting it to end. In fact, I think I could have read another 300 pages of her writing and not tired of it. Strongly recommended and I can't wait for her next book!
4.5 stars
Matt and his sister Francesca (Frankie) have been best friends with neighbor Anna forever. Anna’s been in love with Matt for about that long. But she hasn’t told Frankie. One day Matt kisses Anna. They start a secret relationship and Matt promises to tell his sister Frankie soon. But instead he goes and dies. Bummer, right?
There’s sadness and crying and loss. Anna still can’t tell Frankie the truth because she promised (the now dead) Matt she wouldn’t. Even though he’s dead. Because she promised. Okay, moving on.
What better way to forget about your problems then go on a family tradition month-long trip to the beach? To fill the empty space the now dead Matt left, the family invites Anna to join them. The girls (mostly Frankie) decide they will meet/hit on/be hit on by/make out with/have sex with at least 20 boys. Because Frankie lost her v-card already and now it’s time for Anna to lose hers. But Anna’s still hung up on Matt. But she can’t tell Frankie that because she promised Matt. Who’s now dead.
The majority of the book takes place during that month-long trip, so it’s not all sadness and gloom. There’s sun and sand a’plenty. There’s also tanned surfer boys. And therein lies Anna’s problem. If she likes cutie patootie Sam, does that mean she doesn’t love Matt anymore? Or that she never did? How long should she hold onto his memory? Because nobody knew about Anna and Matt’s relationship (big secret, remember?), Anna is not able to grieve in the way other people are. She has to worry about being there for her best friend who lost her brother. How can you get over a loss that you never really had?
The besties meet a couple of guys that they bond with and start spending most of their time with them. Despite Anna’s misgivings, she finds herself enjoying Sam’s company.
In our short time together, the four of us become the kind of impossibly close that only happens with people you barely know — people who live hundreds of miles and entire states away from you. People who don’t know your secrets.
The characters are all very real and well-developed. Their actions and thoughts are believable and honest. They speak to each other just like you or I would. They have depth and emotions that draw you right in. The girls do all the teenage things you expect, they act out, drink, make out and spend a lot of time worrying about how they look.
The writing is excellent (in fact, I’m surprised this was Ockler’s debut novel) and the pace is right on. There is a bit of a graphic sex scene (it’s honest and real graphic, not porn graphic).
Okcler does an amazing job of setting the scenes, you really feel like you are there with Anna and Frankie on the beach, with toes in the sand and sun on the face.
One of my favorite quotes comes as Frankie and Anna are angry at each other, but trying not to let Frankie’s parents know, as they play a game of paddleball on the beach:
After half an hour of forced family fun, in which I score fifty points and take out at least seventy-five percent of my anger trying to blast Frankie with the ball, our game is cut short. Princess gets stung on the top of her foot by a teeny-tiny newborn baby of a jelly-fish and carries on like some shark just swam away with her torso.
The entire book is peppered with fun visual images like this, little nuggets of snark and teenage angst.
The Sum Up: Twenty Boy Summer is a fantastic, fun read that will pass by so quickly you’ll wish it was longer.
There’s sadness and crying and loss. Anna still can’t tell Frankie the truth because she promised (the now dead) Matt she wouldn’t. Even though he’s dead. Because she promised. Okay, moving on.
What better way to forget about your problems then go on a family tradition month-long trip to the beach? To fill the empty space the now dead Matt left, the family invites Anna to join them. The girls (mostly Frankie) decide they will meet/hit on/be hit on by/make out with/have sex with at least 20 boys. Because Frankie lost her v-card already and now it’s time for Anna to lose hers. But Anna’s still hung up on Matt. But she can’t tell Frankie that because she promised Matt. Who’s now dead.
The majority of the book takes place during that month-long trip, so it’s not all sadness and gloom. There’s sun and sand a’plenty. There’s also tanned surfer boys. And therein lies Anna’s problem. If she likes cutie patootie Sam, does that mean she doesn’t love Matt anymore? Or that she never did? How long should she hold onto his memory? Because nobody knew about Anna and Matt’s relationship (big secret, remember?), Anna is not able to grieve in the way other people are. She has to worry about being there for her best friend who lost her brother. How can you get over a loss that you never really had?
The besties meet a couple of guys that they bond with and start spending most of their time with them. Despite Anna’s misgivings, she finds herself enjoying Sam’s company.
In our short time together, the four of us become the kind of impossibly close that only happens with people you barely know — people who live hundreds of miles and entire states away from you. People who don’t know your secrets.
The characters are all very real and well-developed. Their actions and thoughts are believable and honest. They speak to each other just like you or I would. They have depth and emotions that draw you right in. The girls do all the teenage things you expect, they act out, drink, make out and spend a lot of time worrying about how they look.
The writing is excellent (in fact, I’m surprised this was Ockler’s debut novel) and the pace is right on. There is a bit of a graphic sex scene (it’s honest and real graphic, not porn graphic).
Okcler does an amazing job of setting the scenes, you really feel like you are there with Anna and Frankie on the beach, with toes in the sand and sun on the face.
One of my favorite quotes comes as Frankie and Anna are angry at each other, but trying not to let Frankie’s parents know, as they play a game of paddleball on the beach:
After half an hour of forced family fun, in which I score fifty points and take out at least seventy-five percent of my anger trying to blast Frankie with the ball, our game is cut short. Princess gets stung on the top of her foot by a teeny-tiny newborn baby of a jelly-fish and carries on like some shark just swam away with her torso.
The entire book is peppered with fun visual images like this, little nuggets of snark and teenage angst.
The Sum Up: Twenty Boy Summer is a fantastic, fun read that will pass by so quickly you’ll wish it was longer.
This is I believe one of the first YA contemporary novels I've read. And it made me cry! Great start into this part of the genre! LOL
But it was a beautiful story, and I loved the friendship between the two girls. This books also got me hooked on Sarah Ockler, so yay for that. :)
But it was a beautiful story, and I loved the friendship between the two girls. This books also got me hooked on Sarah Ockler, so yay for that. :)
This book was your typical coming of age summer romance novel. I enjoyed it purely because it was easy to read and I could relate to all of the teenage angst over boys that i used to participate in. I recommend this book for young teenagers as a light read with not much message or preaching.
This book was okay! I had expected a really cute contemporary and in some points it totally was. The main character was awesome and I could totally understand how she felt in a way with Matt and if she had done something sooner would anything of changed! My two main problems with this book were:
A) Frankie was so opposite Mary-Sue that every good point was also her bad point and I mean each character has to have at least one good point about them that isn't used against the character. She was a shitty best friend, she really didn't care about her parents and she just was awful there was nothing amazing about her!
B) The major thing was that all the unexpected things about this book were not unexpected, I was ready for all of it to happen and the wow moments just weren't as wow as I thought.
I still really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people that like books where you can tell when something is going to happen sort of like a soap opera.
A) Frankie was so opposite Mary-Sue that every good point was also her bad point and I mean each character has to have at least one good point about them that isn't used against the character. She was a shitty best friend, she really didn't care about her parents and she just was awful there was nothing amazing about her!
B) The major thing was that all the unexpected things about this book were not unexpected, I was ready for all of it to happen and the wow moments just weren't as wow as I thought.
I still really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to people that like books where you can tell when something is going to happen sort of like a soap opera.
What a tight, lovely, sad, funny, sweet, cathartic book. Anna Abby from New Yawk is one of my favorite narrators in a long time, all stubbornness, insecurity, and wry humor. Definitely a book to keep on the shelf for re-reading every summer.
This was overall a good read (ha!) but I was ready and kind of expecting to like it way more than I did.
+++ Sarah Ockler's writing in general, and even more when she writes about the ocean. Seriously, she makes you feel like you're there, on that beach, with the wind in your hair, and salt on your skin; hell, she made me MISS Zanzibar Bay and I didn't even know there was such a place before reading this book. It's hard to characterize her writing, it's not terribly lyrical or sophisticated but it gives you ALL THE FEELS.
++ the depiction of grief. It rang really true to the point of being painful. Ockler really captured how grief can affect different people in different ways, and how unpredictable it can be. Great job.
= the romance (both with Sam and Matt) and the whole virginity thing were okay, but left me pretty indifferent. I've read that a billion times and it feels like it's often been better than in this book. I just appreciated the way losing your V-card wasn't such a huge deal for once, that was refreshing and realistic.
-------- Frankie. I JUST. COULDN'T. STAND. FRANKIE. I disliked everything about her. There's just so much you can excuse in the name of grief (besides, Anna had lost Matt too and it didn't make her awfully unbearable. I get being difficult at times but I don't get being so awful and such a shitty friend, let's face it). Also, what's with all the mangled words? She's 16, she's supposed to be quite smart, no kind of learning disorder or disability so why can't she use pretty simple words in her mother tongue? I'm ESL and I knew them all. It drove me mad, it wasn't cute, it added nothing to her character, it was just irritating.
I also disliked the way she treated both Anna and her own parents. Different shades of crappy behaviour, but crappy anyway.
I despised Frankie so much (until the very end) I'm fairly sure she's the main reason I didn't enjoy Twenty Boy Summer more.
This was my first book by Sarah Ockler, and I'll definitely try another one, hopefully it'll be Frankie-free and for that reason much more pleasurable, lol.
+++ Sarah Ockler's writing in general, and even more when she writes about the ocean. Seriously, she makes you feel like you're there, on that beach, with the wind in your hair, and salt on your skin; hell, she made me MISS Zanzibar Bay and I didn't even know there was such a place before reading this book. It's hard to characterize her writing, it's not terribly lyrical or sophisticated but it gives you ALL THE FEELS.
++ the depiction of grief. It rang really true to the point of being painful. Ockler really captured how grief can affect different people in different ways, and how unpredictable it can be. Great job.
= the romance (both with Sam and Matt) and the whole virginity thing were okay, but left me pretty indifferent. I've read that a billion times and it feels like it's often been better than in this book. I just appreciated the way losing your V-card wasn't such a huge deal for once, that was refreshing and realistic.
-------- Frankie. I JUST. COULDN'T. STAND. FRANKIE. I disliked everything about her. There's just so much you can excuse in the name of grief (besides, Anna had lost Matt too and it didn't make her awfully unbearable. I get being difficult at times but I don't get being so awful and such a shitty friend, let's face it). Also, what's with all the mangled words? She's 16, she's supposed to be quite smart, no kind of learning disorder or disability so why can't she use pretty simple words in her mother tongue? I'm ESL and I knew them all. It drove me mad, it wasn't cute, it added nothing to her character, it was just irritating.
I also disliked the way she treated both Anna and her own parents. Different shades of crappy behaviour, but crappy anyway.
I despised Frankie so much (until the very end) I'm fairly sure she's the main reason I didn't enjoy Twenty Boy Summer more.
This was my first book by Sarah Ockler, and I'll definitely try another one, hopefully it'll be Frankie-free and for that reason much more pleasurable, lol.
My heart is still broken over Matt. An absolutely great novel, but I kind of want to read the rom com version where Anna falls in love with Matt, her best friend's older brother, and how they somehow make it through him going off to college, her and Frankie making it big at a film festival, and Anna and Matt's beach wedding as they say their vows inside a circle of sea glass and They All Live Happily Ever After. Maybe Frankie hooks up with Sam after the wedding, where she stops at the smoothie shop he owns after seeing Matt and Anna off at the airport.... yes, I'm completely mental.
I had to rack my brain to figure out what exactly I didn't like about this book. It was well written, the story-line was interesting, etc. Finally I came to the conclusion that I didn't really care about the characters enough. That's the ONLY thing that kept me from giving it five stars and loving it completely. Something kept me from loving Anna and Frankie, and feeling their pain. Also, the love interest was pretty dull. I enjoy reading a book where I understand why the girl likes/loves a certain guy. I enjoy reading a book where I completely understand where the main character is coming from so that I can cry with them if they hurt. I was missing that connection with Anna.
I may sound like I'm totally criticizing this book but that's not my intention, really. It was a good read. I was just hoping to feel more. Maybe it's because I just got done reading a nice few books with characters I adored.
The best thing about this book is the writing. It's very beautiful and full of lovely sentences. Also, I loved the cover(it's just so pretty!)
I recommend this for anyone who likes Sarah Dessen or anyone who liked "The Secret Year" by Jennifer R. Hubbard.
I may sound like I'm totally criticizing this book but that's not my intention, really. It was a good read. I was just hoping to feel more. Maybe it's because I just got done reading a nice few books with characters I adored.
The best thing about this book is the writing. It's very beautiful and full of lovely sentences. Also, I loved the cover(it's just so pretty!)
I recommend this for anyone who likes Sarah Dessen or anyone who liked "The Secret Year" by Jennifer R. Hubbard.