Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Summary:
"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 Zanzibar Bay 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:
I have been sitting here staring at the computer screen for five minutes because I can't put in to words how much I loved this book. In fact, I have been putting off writing it for a few days because I am not sure I have the words to tell you how much I love this book. But, for you, my devoted followers, I will try.

The story is told from Anna's perspective and her voice is so clear and honest that I often felt like I was reading her diary and it some times made me a little uncomfortable. Not uncomfortable in a bad way, but in a brutally honest way that I really enjoyed.

While the path that Frankie travels is a little predictable I really believe it is exactly how some people would react in her position and her character is beautifully written. When the girls are having fun together I actually found myself laughing out loud. The scene where they make sand angels had me giggling. But there are parts of the novel that had actual tears in my eyes. It is the mixture of both humor, sadness and brutal honesty that make this novel impossible to put down.

I strongly recommend you set aside some serious reading time for this book or it will keep you up until 3 a.m. like it did with me. I was a zombie at work the next day but it was completely worth it.

If the novel being awesome isn't enough for you the author is pretty awesome too. I have had the pleasure of chatting with Sarah on her blog and on twitter and she is really awesome so stop in and say hi to her! And if you are lucky you may get in to a super long twitter conversation about the best movies and music of the 80's and 90's and learn she really loves Naught By Nature.

Twenty Boy Summer will be released June 1 but I strongly suggest you preorder it NOW.

If anyone else has reviewed Twenty Boy Summer please leave a link in the comments and I will add it to the post.