Twenty Boy Summer is not quite what you would expect from a summery contemporary read. It does have those light, fun in the sun moments that you would expect it to have but it also has a dark side to it. In it's essence, Twenty Boy Summer is a novel about learning to let go and appreciating the moments in life that people take for granted. Sarah Ockler's writing style with beautiful lines of imagery tell a heartfelt story of a sixteen year old girl named Anna and her best friend Frankie on their Zanzibar Bay (fictional California) vacation to have the "Absolute Best Summer Ever". While on this vacation, the girls have made a goal to meet at least twenty different boys, all in hopes of Anna finding the right boy to take her virginity. Underneath all of the summer vacation shenanigans is the reality that both girls are still struggling to grieve and move on from the passing of Frankie's older brother who passed away the previous year and was secretly Anna's first mutual love. Anna struggles a lot with letting go of what happened. She didn't have the opportunity to properly grieve and even though she wants to move on with her life, she feels guilty doing so. Especially when she and Frankie embark on their quest to meet twenty boys. Twenty Boy Summer definitely took a little patience to get into since the pacing was kind of slow in the beginning, but picks up after about halfway. It's definitely not your average summer read but good for when you want just a bit more out of your contemporary read. Despite what the title and synopsis suggest, this is a novel that is more about friendship and grief than it is about love. There is romance within it, but that is never really the purpose of the novel - although it is the intention of at least one of the main characters. I liked both Anna and Frankie as characters, though they both had their annoying flaws. I found Anna's reasoning behind not telling Frankie about Matt flawed - for whatever reason it just didn't sit rightly with me - and Frankie's tendency to lie and be outrageous just wasn't something I could connect with. However, I still enjoyed this book and would happily recommend it. Just don't expect a whirlwind all-encompassing summer romance. This is not that kind of book. This is a novel about friendship and love, grief and happiness, truth and lies - and so much more!
Do You like book Die Sterne Leuchten Immer Noch (2011)?
Can't believe I finished this book. God! So annoying, dull and boring.
—blondie
Sweet, but didn't feel complete. The Matt memories were killer.
—xayamacaq
