Review by Alex: Twenty Boy Summer

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

"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.

I don’t really know what to say about this book, as every other blogger has pretty much said it all. It’s a really excellent read, absolutely. The characters are all wonderful, sure. I’m a little unhappy about the message on sex being given. I didn’t feel much connecting to Sam. Etc.

Really, what’s left for me to say? I’ll try my best anyway.

It takes place on this beautiful beach that really made me wish I had something like that. Instead I have two disgustingly polluted beaches in my city. Frankie gets an idea to meet and flirt with twenty boys during their trip, and Anna reluctantly agrees. However, the idea of twenty boys kind of drifts away when Frankie and Anna meet two particular guys

The book may seem to be on the light side, two girls having a contest filled with boys on a beach, but the book’s really more than that. It’s about loss and recovery and love. Frankie, Anna, and everyone close to Matt are affected by his death. It’s really sweet that even though Frankie and Anna go through a lot of rough patches in their friendship after Matt’s gone, they ultimately will always be there for each other.

All the characters are real and the emotions portrayed could be either heart-warming or heartbreaking, but always extremely well done. It was believable- one family dragged down and undone by a death of a member and the effects on close friends such as Anna.

I loved the writing. It’s smooth and simple enough, but still really wonderful. It’s probably some of my favourite writing that I’ve read in a while. And from a debut author! Really, Sarah Ockler is an author to look out for.