This was the perfect beach read for teen girls eager for first love. Unfortunately, it was a bit too sweet for my liking, but still an okay read. ( )

I loved this story. It is probably the most genuine and true-to-life summer first love stories. It was simple and fun. Anna, the protagonist, is discovering her own beauty through her first relationship. Dialogue is hilarious and made me laugh out loud. On top of the romance aspect, Anna has a family and those dynamics along with her old friends, Caroline and Sam who are discovering romance themselves. The setting is unique - Georgia beach. The quandary is broached - what if it's only for the summer and not forever?

The story is much like my own story of summer love. There was no bodice ripping or sex or anything I'm embarrassed about years later. It was, like Sixteenth Summer, the summer someone I liked - really, really liked, liked me back. He told me I was beautiful. We had a lot of fun together. And the relationship changed me permanently and for the good. Like Anna and Will.

I loved the book because it reminded me of such a pivotal moment in my life. Like Anna and Will, I wondered what would happen after the summer. Would we still know each other? Would we keep in contact? Would we see each other again? Unlike Anna and Will, I found out the answers to these questions. Turns out, My Will (not his real name) became a good friend after proving to me that I was beautiful and interesting that summer. We were never close friends but I still love him for being where he was and who he was that summer.

We crossed paths every so often for the next 10 years. I went to his wedding reception. I'd run into his mother and keep up on the news. He went to Stanford and joined a prestigious law firm. He had three children then nearing his 40th birthday, had a fourth child at the same time as he was diagnosed with a rare cancer. I found his wife's blog and found her to be completely engaging and articulate. I stalked her blog whenever I could. I went to his funeral and grieved for myself and for his family.

I keep a copy of his obituary in my night stand and I still see what a gift he was to me - not only that one summer but years later when his widow became a very dear friend.

But before the grief and tragedy, there is the summer of sweet, innocent love. And that's what this book reminds me.

Loved it. ( )

Sixteenth Summer was just what the doctor ordered for me. When I started reading Sixteenth Summer, I was down about certain family circumstances happening in my life, so I knew I needed to read a fun, light book. I decided to read Sixteenth Summer because from the summary, cover, and title I concluded it was going to be great…Guess What?! It delivered!

Sixteenth Summer has the perfect mix of ingredients everyone craves during the summer: sand & surf, summer food, and gorgeous boys! Georgia in the summertime was a great setting for Sixteenth Summer, I enjoyed the area Michelle Dalton built for our characters to enjoy summer in. Michelle Dalton wrote in loads of Southern and summer food into Sixteenth Summer, I would almost consider the food to be a character. I was seriously craving sweet tea(with mint) and ice cream while reading this.

The gorgeous boy I speak of deserves his very own paragraph with Anna. Michelle Dalton describes Will, well perfectly. I wish I could write as well has she does in that department. Will is one of the sweetest boys I’ve ever come across in a story, which helped me get past his name. Anna is funny and witty. She’s also an over-thinker/analyzer which made Anna who she was. She was part of a very eccentric and a free-spirited family, loved it! Will and Anna together just worked!

Sixteenth Summer is the perfect summer love story, I could feel myself smiling while reading many passages. It contained just enough angst to make the story interesting. If you need a book that is going to lift your spirits or is great to read at the beach or while sipping a daiquiri by the pool, Sixteenth Summer is for you! ( )

REVIEW ORIGINALLY POSTED http://hobbitsies.net/wordpress/?p=3081

Okay – I’m not a big romance fan. Sure, I love a good romance substory, the drama and etc, as long as there’s another focus. But when everything is really just about the relationship? It usually grosses me out. I know, I’m a terrible girl. And summer romance? No thanks. But, strangely enough, I really, really liked Sixteenth Summer.

Perhaps because it wasn’t like all the summer love stories I’ve read. It was more realistic than most. Bittersweet, really. I loved the fact that the author didn’t try to give us a perfect ending, and that made the ending all the more perfect to me.

As for the characters, I really loved Anna and Will. I loved everything about Anna and her story and her family, and I especially loved Will and the glimpses we got of his brother and her mother and why they ended up on the island that summer.

Their relationship was a bit melodramatic at times and I kept wanting to whap Anna over the head, but I thought they really worked together, and he was a perfect first love for Anna.

Strangely enough, the part I probably loved most about Sixteenth Summer was Anna’s family’s ice cream store and the fact that they created their own ice cream flavours. I thought this was an absolutely brilliant aspect of their story and now I really want to retire on the beach and open up my own ice cream store, hah!

Overall, I thought Sixteenth Summer was a beautiful, bittersweet contemporary about a girl’s first love and all the things that come with growing up. I seriously recommend this book, especially if you like romance. There’s no fairytale ending here, just the open-ended possibility of reality. ( )

Originally Posted on Strawberry Splash Book Reviews

Sixteenth Summer was a book that I had been planning to read ever since it came out but I had never gotten around to doing so. After reading it, I don't know why I waited so long to read it.

The protagonist, Anna, lives on Dune Island which, as far as settings go, seems like a gorgeous place. I don't believe that any character in the book that I didn't enjoy as a character.

Her relationship with Will, even though it seemed almost fairytale-esque, I couldn't help but enjoy. I think Dalton did a good job with it even though it was almost unrealistic. (I realize that is a contradictory statement but if you read it, you will get it).

My favorite part of the book would have to be the Fourth of July party. The only way I can describe it is a real Christmas in July.

To sum up the book in a nutshell, it is a cute love story with well developed characters. I really enjoy her writing style and hope to read more of her in the future. ( )