Amy Mason Doan

// RECEIVED AN ADVANCED READER COPY //

I am terribly sorry for the late review

“He found her. Smiling, he raised driftwood as if toasting her — and in that second, to her, after the long, lonely summer, he might as well have hung the moon”


I don't know what made me so nostalgic while I was reading this, if it was that everlasting summer vibe, the characters that made it all too real or the love and friendship I felt while reading this. This might be one of the easiest 5 star ratings that I have ever given. I did not know what to expect at the start of reading this book but I did not expect for it to be able to paint a picture in my head. Very little books do this to me and almost all the time it is what keeps me from giving that 5th star. So I was really pleased when the author's writing did it so easily for me.

It's written in a diary style and it was simple enough, which made it easy to follow the timeline of the events that were going on. The characters were written well, not at all one-dimensional and extremely relatable (Casey is that typical best friend though HAHA). The love story was very intriguing (HEHE). And overall it was a wonderful thing to read in the summer heat when you just miss your friends and want to feel a bit closer to them. It definitely made me want to call the squad and run away together and have our own camp on some jungle-beach.

It's not heavy and is very enjoyable, though you might not cry, you will surely feel something.… (más)

3.75 stars

Laura is 35-years old when she receives an invitation in the mail to come home. It’s from Casey, her high school best friend, though they’ve been estranged since Laura moved away to start college 17 years earlier. Laura decides she’s curious enough to see what’s going on, so she heads home. Turns out Casey didn’t send the invitation, and a scavenger hunt has been set up for them.

I enjoyed this. In addition to following the current scavenger hunt, the book backs up in time to when Laura and Casey were teenagers and the years that led up to the estrangement. There were additional chapters in italics thrown in that I didn’t find as interesting. At first, of course, you don’t know who these chapters are following, but after a bit I thought I figured it out, then a name was provided and I was right. It got a bit more interesting after I knew whose story we were following at that point, but I thought Laura and Casey had the better storylines.… (más)