When i first came across the book Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, I'll be honest...I expected to read a book about fake love-otherwise known as lust, boys, and just stupid teenage girls. However, I was quite wrong... Fifteen year-old Anna Reilly, otherwise nicknamed as "Anna Abby from New Yawk", has fallen in love with her neighbor, Matt. Her lifetime neighbor, he and his sister Frankie have been inseperable with Anna. Every year on her birthday, Anna makes the same wish as she blows out her candles: for Matt to kiss her. In the novel, we see the classic "friend falls in love with friend" scenario, with a twist...his sister is also friends with her.
On her fifteenth birthday, Anna's wish comes true. By the way, that was not a spoiler because it happened in the beginning of the novel, thank you very much. Anyway, Matt and Anna become entangled in a situation where they are absolutely head over heels over each other, but Frankie is completely unaware of the situation. Matt makes Anna promise she will not tell Frankie, and tells her that he will once he and Frankie are on their annual California summer trip. But...Matt dies in a car accident just before the trip. Suddenly, Anna is stuck with her secret forever, always remembering that she cannot tell Frankie.
Frankie's way of dealing with the death is by making a change-she transforms into an all-out diva. Unaware of how to deal with the situation, Anna just sits back and watches. The next summer, the girls get to go on the California trip together, calling it the ABSE (Absolute Best Summer Ever). They make a deal to each meet 20 guys on their trip. However, this is cut short when Anna meets Sam. She is afraid to move on past Matt, leaving all of her memories behind. She is forced with the choice to keep living in the past or move on. Eventually, her past with Matt begins to haunt her and spirals out of control. Will she ever be able to move on past the tragic history with Matt or will she continue to live in the memories of what she has left?
I thuroughly enjoyed the novel. I can't believe I'm actually saying that. I expected to read another mushy love book that just will not win me over. But I found a novel that truly knocks me off my feet, that I could not put down. I loved it. It does have a little more mature content, possibly too much for anybody lower than the high school level. But the book was an absolute favorite of mine. Sarah Ockler has a way with words-she is a very personal down-to-earth writer. And I love it. I can't wait to see what she comes out with next. I recommend it for anyone who has ever lost someone, had trouble with friends, or has simply just fallen in love with someone unexpectedly.
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