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A review by bellesbooknook
Aquamarine by Alice Hoffman
4.0
I can't believe it took me until this moment in time to discover that one of my favorite early 2000s movies was based on a book! I was really curious how this would hold up to the movie, so I was really eager to read this. In some ways it very much felt like returning to the same story I know. The writing is so lovely and descriptive, and you really get a sense of the deep friendship between these two girls who've grown up with each other their whole lives. On the other hand, this didn't take long at all to read because it is verrrry short. You could basically fly through this in under an hour, and unfortunately this was one of its downfalls, as I just found myself wanting so much more!. It's basically a very stripped-down version of the movie in short story form. I think this would've benefited so much more if it had been novel-length and been given more focus on the growing friendship between Claire, Hailey, and Aquamarine in the same way as the film.
As it was, this was more or less the same story, but it didn't feel like Aquamarine was as fully developed of a character. We get none of her backstory with her arranged marriage or her wanting to stand up to her father and prove him wrong about love, or any of the personality that we saw in the movie. In fact, she comes across as much more of a bratty child and doesn't really even form a bond with Claire and Hailey at all. She mostly just wants to fall in love and refuses to go back into the ocean until she can go on a date with Raymond, but... there isn't really a deeper reason for her wanting this? So it just felt like there was a lot lacking in Aquamarine's character and in her relationship with Hailey and Claire.
Of course on its own it is a really heartwarming short story of two friends, but it didn't give me the same warm-fuzzy feelings that the movie does and I couldn't help but seeing so much more potential that this story could've been if it had been expanded upon. All in all a fun read!
As it was, this was more or less the same story, but it didn't feel like Aquamarine was as fully developed of a character. We get none of her backstory with her arranged marriage or her wanting to stand up to her father and prove him wrong about love, or any of the personality that we saw in the movie. In fact, she comes across as much more of a bratty child and doesn't really even form a bond with Claire and Hailey at all. She mostly just wants to fall in love and refuses to go back into the ocean until she can go on a date with Raymond, but... there isn't really a deeper reason for her wanting this? So it just felt like there was a lot lacking in Aquamarine's character and in her relationship with Hailey and Claire.
Of course on its own it is a really heartwarming short story of two friends, but it didn't give me the same warm-fuzzy feelings that the movie does and I couldn't help but seeing so much more potential that this story could've been if it had been expanded upon. All in all a fun read!