OMG Cricket is so naive and romantic. Poor kid, reality is a hard pill to swallow.
'I'm so naive lalala...' I swear it's this kind of feeling! I'm not sure whether to be amused or horrified.

This is complicated. It does feel kind of odd, a bit different? Well, I like it. But, well.

So you go looking for one thing and find something else - something much better. What do you do? You fight! (Like there's a question about it, che!)

Well, this is likeable. Cricket has grown a lot as a person throughout the book.

FINAL VEDICT: It's good, but not particularly? ( )

A cozy and captivating summer beach read, "Nantucket Blue" takes us through the most pivotal summer of Cricket Thompson's life. The summer before her senior year of high school, Cricket's life monumentally changes when her best friend's mother suddenly dies. Nora, whom Cricket spent more time with than her own newly divorced mother, leaves a gaping hole, one that turns Cricket's best friend into someone that barely continues to talk to her. Determined to still spend the summer near her best friend, Cricket takes on a housekeeping job in Nantucket. What ensues is a summer full of falling for the ‘wrong’ guy and learning more about herself and her family than she had expected or hoped for.

Sarah M. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

( )

I've been in a bit of a reading slump lately, as in I would rather be doing just about anything else but read. Then I picked up Nantucket Blue, got completely sucked in and my slump disappeared for the two days I spent reading it. There really isn't a ton happening plot-wise, but the narration provided by the main character Cricket is just so spot on. Somehow, author, Leila Howland meshed the voice of Sarah Dessen with Phyllis Reynolds Naylor and produced this narration of a girl I could actually relate to and wanted to be friends with despite her silly name.

This is a book I think most women and teenage girls can relate to in some way. For me I found myself relating to the friendship, or lack thereof, found with Jules and Cricket. In the beginning of the novel Jules and her family receive some shocking news. It's pretty big time but Jules is a skunk all around. Have you ever found yourself in a friendship where it suddenly becomes very clear that the other person has randomly decided that they cannot stand you and you are no longer friends? That's pretty much what happens here and let's just say that Cricket is a saint in the way that she handles the situation. Luckily she finds other ways to occupy her time, one of which is a boy.

Who hasn't wanted to experience a summer romance in an exotic to you locale? This romance takes the book to a whole new level for young adult fiction. I daresay that it crosses over in into new adult land. It's exciting and occasionally fills the reader up with a butterfly or two.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my brief summer in Nantucket and I really hope Ms. Howland considers writing a second novel with Cricket. After all she is going to be going to college soon and that can be full of all sorts of fun. ( )

Originally published at Ruby's Books

When I first saw this book on Goodreads I thought "Man, I miss summer!" It took me a while to look at anything else besides the blue sea in the background or sand. It's true, the cover caught my eye. The story though, it made me fall in love.

Cricket reminded me of being a teenager (yes, it was a bit awkward, 'cause I was an awkward teen :P). It was all there: the endless conversations about the boy you're having a crush on, the plans you make for the future with your BFF, passing notes to one another or caring so much for your friend, you'd do anything and everything for them (even though maybe they don't need/want your help). I honestly couldn't help loving Cricket. She's honest, she's true, she's a loyal friend and she does the things you'd want any teenager to do. And if you take the Cricket from the end of the book and the girl we meet in the first pages, you can see she grew up a lot during the summer.

Some things that happened were a little predictable, but I think it was done beautifully. I loved the story about Cricket's mom and her life in Nantucket. It was very interesting and I think it helped Cricket understand her mother a lot more.

Yes, Nantucket Blue is a book about those famous summer loves, about friendship, growing up, finding out what really matters and what is or isn't important. It's about all that and more. But it's also about something much more important, about owning your mistakes and facing your fears. It's a very beautiful story and I enjoyed it very, very much.
( )

Seventeen-year-old Cricket has had a crush on Jay since 8th grade. He is going to Nantucket for the summer, so when she is invited to join her best friend Jules and her family there, she is overjoyed. She knows this will be THE summer for her and Jay to get together, and daydreams of their romantic summer life.

Read the rest on my blog: http://shouldireaditornot.wordpress.com/2013/07/07/nantucket-blue-leila-howland/ ( )