Review Detail

Reader reviewed by ReggieWrites


Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah
Ockler is UH-MA-ZING! Almost all aspects of it are flawless. Again,
there is so much to say about this book so I'm going to break it down
for you:

The Cover.
Have you seen the cover? It's so vibrant and eye-catching. The red
glass stands out above all of the other sea glass. They were extremely
significant in Twenty Boy Summer.
I loved it. The book has a lot of references to sea glass. It's pure
genius and completely original. The only thing I didn't really like was
the title. I didn't think that Twenty Boy Summer was an appropriate title, but don't judge a book by it's title!

The writing.
Ockler's writing all throughout this book was beautiful and smooth. Not
once did I find a flaw in her writing. The words just flowed, seemingly
effortless. There's no other way to explain it. Ockler described
everything with detail but it was never boring. Her writing was like
discovering everything all over again...full of wonder and awe.

The characters.
Every single character in that book was well-developed and realistic.
Even though I couldn't relate to most of the characters (because I
haven't experienced that type of love yet), I loved them all. Anna and
Frankie were my favorites. Anna was so intent on not forgetting Matt,
and on keeping her secret from Frankie, that she wasn't able to let go
yet. The way Ockler was able to depict Anna's emotions was beyond
impressive. But the character that Ockler did the best job on, was
Frankie. Ockler was able to change Frankie's character and personality
so completely. At first, I thought that the sudden change in character
was random, but as the ending neared, I was able to gain more insight
into her character, her emotions, and how she dealt with them. I was
able to understand how it really felt like to loose a sibling.
Character-developement is definitely Ockler's strength in this book.

Layers.
On the surface, this is just another chick-lit book. But underneath the
layers of flirt, angst, and love, lies the underlying message of what
it means to truly let go and what it means to truly be friends. I saw
through these layers and double meanings. This book made my heart break
and it made me laugh and smile.

The Bottom Line: Twenty Boy Summer is
an incredible debut. Reading this has made me more appreciative and
thankful for everything in my life, just a little bit more. No words
can explain it. You just have to read it yourself. Twenty Boy Summer is a book of friendship, first love, family, and ultimately, letting go. Ockler did an impeccable job. A+ :-)