Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Release Date: June 1, 2009
Publisher: Little Brown
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 304
While on vacation in California, sixteen-year-old best girlfriends Anna and Frankie conspire to find a boy for Anna's first summer romance, but Anna harbors a painful secret that threatens their lighthearted plan and their friendship.
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.
First off, let me just say that I LOVE the cover for this book! And I love that the book has all these references to sea glass, just like the awesomely beautiful cover. Genius!
And the pages between the fantastic cover are just as awesome. This was undeniably one of my most favorite debut novels this year. Anna and Frankie were phenomenal characters. I totally understood Anna, I got her right away, but it took me the entire novel to finally get Frankie. Incredible. Ockler's depiction of Anna's emotions was beyond spectacular, I can't even begin to imagine how it felt to write that, because I know how it made me feel reading it. Wow.
And how fantastic was the writing! I felt like I was summering in California and I have yet to visit! It was that good. Absolutely captivating. If you pick up one book this summer and are looking for more than chick lit fluff (not that chick lit fluff is bad, because personally I love it) I would recommend you pick this one up.