Traveling to Teens Tour: Twenty Boy Summer Review

Welcome to the Sarah Ockler Twenty Boy Summer Tour courtesy of Traveling to Teens!  Please be sure to check out the other stops on this tour.                                                                                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~                                                                                                                                                  

 

Sarah Ockler wrote and illustrated her first book at age six—an adaptation of Steven Spielberg’s E.T. Still recovering from her own adolescence, she now writes books for young adults. Sarah has a bachelor’s degree in communication from the University of New York at Buffalo and also studied creative writing through Denver’s Lighthouse Writers Workshop.

While nomadic at heart, Sarah and her husband Alex currently live in Upstate New York with an ever-expanding collection of sea glass (hers) and dinosaurs (his).

TWENTY BOY SUMMER is her first novel.

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Summary:  "Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it.""Okay."

"Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?"
"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in ZanzibarBay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, 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 and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

Review:  Twenty Boy Summer is THE must have book for Summer 2009!

Sarah Ockler is a literary artist.  She writes as though the reader is experiencing the events of the story along with each character.  Her writing is not only beautiful and original, it is genuine.

The one thing that really struck me with Twenty Boy Summer is the realism of the events and characters.  I found it so easy to relate to Anna, Frankie, and even Aunt Jayne.  Having suffered the loss of a dear friend immediately after my high school graduation, I felt that the grieving process of each of the characters affected by Matt's death was true to life. 

I do not know that I have ever been as emotionally involved with a novel as I was during the reading of Twenty Boy Summer.  This book made me laugh during some of the girls' adventures, yet cry during times in which they reminisced about memories with Matt.  Most importantly, this book reminded me of the importance of appreciating the time and memories you share with your family and friends.

Sarah Ockler has written a gorgeous, powerful, and fun debut novel.  I can't wait to see what she has for us in the future!

My Score:  10-Stop what you're doing...No, I'm not kidding.  Drop everything and read this book!