The story was really good. I enjoyed Anna and Frankie's story of their summer on Zanzibar Bay. It wasn't as light as a "beach book" normally is, nor was it too "teenager-ish" for me. I loved seeing the dynamics between Anna and Frankie, hearing about their adventures with the boys, the stories of long days on the beach, and the emotions Frankie, her family, and Anna have to process over Matt's death. And the stories of Anna and Frankie as they start to explore more intimate relationships with boys for the first(?) time.
If you are looking for a good summer read, I'd highly recommend this book.
If you are looking for a good summer read, I'd highly recommend this book.
Reviewed by Ashley B for TeensReadToo.com
It has been a year since the tragic death of Matt, Frankie's brother and Anna's best friend. Everyone is still mourning.
Frankie's parents think they are ready to go to their annual vacation spot in Zanzibar Bay, California. And this summer they are bringing Anna along with them.
Here comes the Absolute Best Summer Ever, code name A.B.S.E., for Anna and Frankie. Frankie has come up with the plan for she and Anna to meet twenty boys while in California, for the "perfect" summer romance.
Little does Frankie know, Anna has already had her perfect summer romance. It was last summer, with Matt. Before Frankie knew about it, Matt had died. He was to tell her on their vacation, and Anna had promised not to say anything.
And she has still kept that promise.
This story was amazing. It was so hard to put it down. It is a perfect read to start off the summer. I really enjoyed Anna's character, and by the end of the novel, you could really tell how much she changed. Frankie seemed so different from Anna; it was hard to picture these two completely different girls being best friends.
Overall, TWENTY BOY SUMMER was totally amazing, and a great start to my summer reading. I recommend it to all!
It has been a year since the tragic death of Matt, Frankie's brother and Anna's best friend. Everyone is still mourning.
Frankie's parents think they are ready to go to their annual vacation spot in Zanzibar Bay, California. And this summer they are bringing Anna along with them.
Here comes the Absolute Best Summer Ever, code name A.B.S.E., for Anna and Frankie. Frankie has come up with the plan for she and Anna to meet twenty boys while in California, for the "perfect" summer romance.
Little does Frankie know, Anna has already had her perfect summer romance. It was last summer, with Matt. Before Frankie knew about it, Matt had died. He was to tell her on their vacation, and Anna had promised not to say anything.
And she has still kept that promise.
This story was amazing. It was so hard to put it down. It is a perfect read to start off the summer. I really enjoyed Anna's character, and by the end of the novel, you could really tell how much she changed. Frankie seemed so different from Anna; it was hard to picture these two completely different girls being best friends.
Overall, TWENTY BOY SUMMER was totally amazing, and a great start to my summer reading. I recommend it to all!
The last book I read that dealt so realistically, so eloquently, with loss and grief was one by Jodi Picoult, and Sarah Ockler's debut novel is just as good, and more accessible by teens. After a shocking first page and interesting first chapter, the real action takes a couple more chapters to pick up, but then it cruises right along, throwing out insightful observations and quotable quotes about grief, healing, romance, and friendship. Once I got to Zanzibar Bay, I, like Anna, didn't want to leave it, so well-written and magical the place was.
Grief is never an easy subject to write satisfyingly about, and yet Sarah Ockler has managed to pull it off. She explores Anna's complex position of being the dead boy's sister's best friend while simultaneously being his secret love. This puts Anna in a position of never being able to fully express her grief, as everyone thinks it must be secondary to Frankie's.
How does one express the thoughts of a girl with guilty, repressed grief without falling into the deep end and becoming too melodramatic? I don't know, but Anna's grief, while raw, is also mature. I think that the juxtaposition of a difficult subject like grief with the magical summer land of Zanzibar Bay, combined with Frankie's determinedly happy-go-lucky mask of anti-grief, makes all aspects of this novel stand out more. All of the emotions and relationships are clearer without being too overbearing; TWENTY BOY SUMMER is simultaneously a study in post-tragedy healing and a fun summer love story.
TWENTY BOY SUMMER is the best blend of light and heavy, fun and learning. It is a great read for when you're craving comfort and resonance. I know that I'll be picking this book up again whenever I need a dose of healing.
Grief is never an easy subject to write satisfyingly about, and yet Sarah Ockler has managed to pull it off. She explores Anna's complex position of being the dead boy's sister's best friend while simultaneously being his secret love. This puts Anna in a position of never being able to fully express her grief, as everyone thinks it must be secondary to Frankie's.
How does one express the thoughts of a girl with guilty, repressed grief without falling into the deep end and becoming too melodramatic? I don't know, but Anna's grief, while raw, is also mature. I think that the juxtaposition of a difficult subject like grief with the magical summer land of Zanzibar Bay, combined with Frankie's determinedly happy-go-lucky mask of anti-grief, makes all aspects of this novel stand out more. All of the emotions and relationships are clearer without being too overbearing; TWENTY BOY SUMMER is simultaneously a study in post-tragedy healing and a fun summer love story.
TWENTY BOY SUMMER is the best blend of light and heavy, fun and learning. It is a great read for when you're craving comfort and resonance. I know that I'll be picking this book up again whenever I need a dose of healing.
This book made cry, smile, and laugh. It was an emotional read from beginning to end. I don't know how one should or would act when losing someone in the situation Anna did. Here she thought she finally got her wish. She and Matt were going to be together. Yet when he died there were no words of love spoken and no true defition given to what they were doing. So here she is left with confusion. She has to be there for her best friend, Matt's sister, but at the sametime trying to figure out how to move on herself. Afterall no one knew about Anna & Matt so what's the appropriate grieving time for a secret relationship when you don't even know if it was a relationship or if you were loved in return.
Throughout the book we get Anna's memories. We get to understand the things that happened between her and Matt in those short weeks prior to his death. We get see how even before things progressed he always thought of Anna and Frankie. The author allowed us to understand that even though they weren't in a more than friends relationship long they were always in eachother's life. We got understand just how close she was to Matt.
Frankie and Anna go on vacation with Frankie's parents to California. Just what everyone needs. Only Frankie decides they need to meet 20 boys while their out there. Only Frankie doesn't know that in Anna's mind she met her boy but he died. So she agrees to this plan thinking it's what Frankie needs and keeps her secret to herself just like she promised.
Anna doesn't realize that during this adventure it might just help her to move on. She learns to let go. Perpahs not during this game but with the consequences of when secrets are revealed. The story is about loss, love, friendships, and moving on. Anna realizes at a young age that sad terrible things happen but it doesn't mean you stop living. You can still love the ones you lose but live on and find new love in places least expected.
Like I said this book had me crying. It was heart breaking to read at times. However in the end it was worth the emotional roller coaster. In the end the only person that can really let her know how Matt felt was his sister, the sister she promised to keep their secret from. I would have liked to have had a 5 years later kind of deal. I wanted to find out what happened to Frankie and Anna. How their lives ended up being after finally coping wiht Matt's death. I would have even liked to know what happened to Sam. We don't get to know him as well as Matt through Anna's memories but I liked him.
Overall I enjoyed reading the book and am a little disappointed in myself for having the book as long as I did without reading it.
Throughout the book we get Anna's memories. We get to understand the things that happened between her and Matt in those short weeks prior to his death. We get see how even before things progressed he always thought of Anna and Frankie. The author allowed us to understand that even though they weren't in a more than friends relationship long they were always in eachother's life. We got understand just how close she was to Matt.
Frankie and Anna go on vacation with Frankie's parents to California. Just what everyone needs. Only Frankie decides they need to meet 20 boys while their out there. Only Frankie doesn't know that in Anna's mind she met her boy but he died. So she agrees to this plan thinking it's what Frankie needs and keeps her secret to herself just like she promised.
Anna doesn't realize that during this adventure it might just help her to move on. She learns to let go. Perpahs not during this game but with the consequences of when secrets are revealed. The story is about loss, love, friendships, and moving on. Anna realizes at a young age that sad terrible things happen but it doesn't mean you stop living. You can still love the ones you lose but live on and find new love in places least expected.
Like I said this book had me crying. It was heart breaking to read at times. However in the end it was worth the emotional roller coaster. In the end the only person that can really let her know how Matt felt was his sister, the sister she promised to keep their secret from. I would have liked to have had a 5 years later kind of deal. I wanted to find out what happened to Frankie and Anna. How their lives ended up being after finally coping wiht Matt's death. I would have even liked to know what happened to Sam. We don't get to know him as well as Matt through Anna's memories but I liked him.
Overall I enjoyed reading the book and am a little disappointed in myself for having the book as long as I did without reading it.
