I was lucky enough to share some classes with Laura at college and hear her read her own writing. She is an incredible talent and I have been looking forward to this book for a while now. ( )

Too bad I read this a year late. I would have loved to have put this on the list for Gateway consideration. I loved Anise's self discovery of home, family, friends, and forgiveness. ( )

4.5 Stars

This is the book you need for summer. It’s so absolutely perfect for a summer read. It’s got a really cute love interest and some great self-discovery as well. This book made me want to got to the beach SO BAD. I’m telling you, grab this book for the summer and you won’t be disappointed.

Things I Liked:
-I really loved the writing. It felt very fluid and natural. There was a rhythmic and almost poetic quality to it that drew me in without feeling like rambling fluff.
-There was great diversity in this book. We have multiple non-white characters, a lesbian couple, an adoptive interracial family, a disabled character. The inclusion of these character felt completely natural. The character’s were real people and their identities did not revolve around their diversity status.
-Lincoln Puk is such a vibrant and commanding presence. He is an incredible charming and charismatic person with such a positive disposition. His happiness is infectious and it was so easy to connect with him. I loved that he openly talked about his disability with Anise and didn’t shy away from her questions. I loved that he was so confident. Everything about his was great and you will love him.
-There is such a great sense of family in this book. Obviously Anise goes to Nebraska to help care for her Aunt and cousins, but the family relationships were all so real. I loved Anise spending time with her little cousins and filling that caretaker role. I LOVED everything about Anise and her dad’s relationship because it was so open and supportive and he is everything a parent should be. In contrast, Anise has to deal with her absent mom and deal with very conflicting feelings. I thought all of the family love and struggles were so relatable.
-The skating community was awesome as well. It was so uplifting and encouraging. Even when Anise thought she failed, they supported her and continually helped her improve.

Things I Didn’t Like:
-It took way too long to figure out what the deal was between Emery and her friends that by the time we finally figures out what had happened, I did not care at all. There was too much build up and back-and-forth is she going to tell or is she not that I was over it when we actually got the resolution.
-Anise completely withdrawing from her friends and putting no effort to keep in contact or return calls or texts was a little bit frustrating. I know she missed her friends and was sad to see them having a good time while she wasn’t there, but I felt like she made absolutely zero effort to keep in touch or talk to her friends at all. For such a close-knit group it was a bit weird. I also didn’t like how she decided to wait to apologize in person instead of actually starting to talk to her friends again.

This is the summer book you need in your life. You will smile, you will laugh, you will wish you could skate or surf. It was so easy to become enveloped in this world and fall in love with these characters. Highly recommend for fans of all YA contemporary!

I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. ( )

I was really looking forward to reading this one but in the end, it just wasn't for me. I could not get into nor could I connect with any of the characters. Quite the opposite actually. Anise annoyed me. I decided to DNF at 56%. Because I chose not to finish I will not be rating this book because I honestly have no idea what I would rate it anyways. 1 star is too low and 2 stars is too high.
I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Audiobook- good narration
YA
Young 17 years old surfer girl from California just starting to fall for her surfer pal Eric in Santa Cruz is forced to land loving Nebraska for her senior year summer. She suffers from culture shock, lose of friends, familiar grounds and activities. Her days once filled with waves and friends now are filled with, her cousins care after her aunt was hurt in and car accident. There she faces her fears of becoming like her mother who abandoned her and her dad. While in Nebraska she learn a lot about her self her family and the meaning of friendship.
I liked this story for the family tie theme most of all. It showed an unselfish dedication rarely seen in entertainment. Her struggles with her mother, boyfriends and friends was well written. It came across as a little to PC preachy at times to me, but might not to the younger crowd it was aimed at. There is a character with one arm that is danced around then faced honestly. I enjoyed it, but would recommend it for the preteen reader. ( )