Antony has it pretty good. He's home-schooled, lives in a nice apartment in Manhattan and often gets to travel around the globe when his mother is on a reporting assignment for NBC. When she tells him her next one is too dangerous for him to accompany her, he does his best to talk her out of sending him to live on a houseboat in Seattle with his father. No luck, so off to the west coast he goes, dreading the change. His dad writes quick-read novels, but has never been as successful as Antony's mother. They split when he was much younger and Antony really has no clue what to say or how to feel when he arrives. His new living arrangement becomes even stranger when he discovers that Amber, the very attractive girl who lives on a nearby boat and is also home-schooled, is the daughter of his dad's girlfriend. He's intrigued by her, but unsettled by her manner, the guy who wants to be her boyfriend and the thought of having a relationship with someone whose mother is kissing his dad. He's in the process of working to get his head wrapped around all this when he receives news that his mother has been killed in a plane crash. Totally grief-stricken, Antony feels really lost. Amber understands some of what he feels because her father has never even given her the time of day and when she tracked him down, he rejected her completely. Readers get to follow along as these two teens learn how to break walls of pain and mistrust, partly through snarky exchanges that dissolve, in part when Amber has a chance to read some of Antony's writing about kids he's met in third world countries when he was with his late mother on assignment. Healing for them and their parents isn't easy, but is very satisfying to experience. Antony finds a project that will not only honor his mother's memory, but will help him reach the end of his grief. Unlike a lot of YA stories, this one is wrapped up quite nicely. There is strong language in the story, but mature teens won't find that any more upsetting than what they hear while walking down high school hallways. It's a good book for those who like a nice edgy romance or who have experienced a major emotional loss. This book came unexpected. It came along with another one of Jolene Perry's books and I'm so happy I got it. Antony is a rich spoiled 17 year old who has traveled the world with his mom who is a famous news reporter. Even though Antony has everything and can have pretty much anything he still seems mellow and cool (not a snob). His mom gets an assignment in Africa for 3 months and isn't taking Antony. Instead she is sending him to his dad's in Washington who lives on a boat. As you can imagine he isn't thrilled about leaving his past pace life in NY to live on a boat with a man he barely knows. As Antony tries to adjust to his new life on the boat he meets the beautiful and sweet, Amber. Amber doesn't give him any kind of hint that she is interested which Antony isn't used to. They slowly become friends and study partner's since they are both homeschooolers in their final year. In the mist of this whole new world Antony finds out that something horrible happened to his mother. Now he has a whole new thing added to his shoulders that he can barely swallow. I'm a fan of words. If you can evoke strong emotions from me through your words, than you win my heart. This was one of those books. I felt every emotion Antony felt. I can't imagine going through what he went through but he still came out so strong and I think I fell in love with him. Amber was so strong. She didn't let anything get in her way. She was determined and didn't let anything slide. I loved that she knew when to just be there for Antony and when his old ways showed their ugly head she still stuck to ger guns. I also loved the relationship he had with his mom and then later on built with his father. He learned to see past his hurt and hold on to the good. Great story. Everyone should really give this book a try.
Do You like book Spill Over (2012)?
The language was a big turn off. The book had a lot of promise, so this was disappointing.
—LanaMarie
very cute story. I was sold on the cover; love it. Will review soon.
—Andy
