Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler Review

Twenty Boy Summer

Sarah Ockler

Source - Won
Summary 

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 everyday, 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, what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

It's been a long time since I've read a novel that made me say, "A new novelist wrote this?". Twenty Boy Summer was great, fantastic, and realistic. Normally, I'm really critical of novels by writer's I've never heard of, I'm always looking for what's wrong with their work. With TBS, I was looking for the greatness on every page.

Twenty Boy Summer is fresh, raw, and realistic. Anna's emotions really took this book to a whole other level, where every page felt like reading something personal. Ockler made me care about Anna, and believe in her character. The setting was wonderful too, Ockler's description was just right (never too much, never too little). Twenty Boy Summer is truly a story you should put up high on your To-Read list, because it's bound to become a favorite.

Highlights: The characters' were all very well developed. I felt Anna's pain, loss, betrayal. Frankie seemed like a realistic character, and her parents as well. I could see everything that happened in this novel actaully happen in life. It felt real, and the writing felt very Sarah Dessen-like. I enjoyed the growth of each character throughout the story.

Lowlights: I just wanted Anna to come clean with Frankie, but in the end, it all works out the best it could.

Rating: 5 out of 5