Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Review and Giveaway: Twenty Boy Summer

 

Author:  Sarah Ockler
Review Copy Provided by:  Little, Brown

About the Book:  

"Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it."
"Okay."
"Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?"
"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie---she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

My Review:    The perfect summer, beach read.  Not just because it takes place on the beach or because summer is in the title, but because this book just screams summer: vacation with friends, California, teenage love, love lost, best friends, growing up.  What more could you ask for?  I really enjoyed Ockler's debut YA novel.

Anna, the main character is so easy to love and such a typical teenager.  She has a best friend, well two, but one's a boy, they live next door, and they spend ALL their time together.  Everything is perfect, until Anna's 15th birthday.  The best friend, who's a boy, becomes more and Anna has to hide it from everyone, including Frankie, her best friend.  Anna's conflict is with herself; should she tell, did Matt really love her, what would have happened with them, is she cheating on a ghost if she dates other guys?  That's more than one teen should have to deal with at a time.  But, Anna is strong.  She finds solace in her journal until she learns that even the journal can't bring Matt back.

Ockler unfolds a great story as two friends learn more about each other in 3 weeks on the beach than they ever thought possible.  Will this friendship survive the ABSE (Absolute Best Summer Ever) when everything backfires?  You'll have to read it for yourself and see.

5/5 stars for Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer.  Take it with you to the beach, and enjoy!

TBS was not due to hit shelves until June, but someone let it out early and it's being spotted in bookstores all over the states.  To see TBS on the map, make sure you stop by Sarah's blog.  She is hosting the Put Twenty Boy Summer on the Map contest on her blog where she's giving away a beach prize pack, and she's also giving away a copy on Goodreads.  Other bloggers have gotten in on the excitement and contests are popping up everywhere!  Here is the list:

Beautiful Creatures Book Club has an ARC and Swag Bag of goodies - ends 5/29
The Story Siren has 5 hardcover copies - ends 5/30
Reader Rabbit has 3 hardcover copies - ends 6/2

Well, I have one to add to that list.  Little, Brown has given me 5 copies to giveaway to my readers as well.  I know, you want to know how you can win one?  Well, it's easy; all you have to do is leave a question for Sarah in the comments.  You have until Friday May 29, at midnight (CST) to ask your questions.  After Friday, I will send all the questions to Sarah, she will choose 5 to answer on my blog, and those 5 people will win a copy of Twenty Boy Summer.  So, what are you dying to know?  Start asking!  Be sure you leave an email address so we can get in touch with you. Contest is open to anyone in the US/Canada; no PO boxes please.

26 comments:

Nely said...

I recently read this and loved it! Great review. No need to enter me in the contest though.

♥ Nely

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the contest! I've been wanting to read this one ever since I heard about it. My question would be When did you know you want to be a writer and what finally made you sit down and actually write the book?

dasuzuki at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

My question is: were any of these characters based on people you know/knew?

Thanks for the contest!

nbmars AT yahoo DOT com

Vanessa said...

My question is: What is your favorite thing about writing YA fiction?

Looking forward to the interview!

gypsyrover21@yahoo.ca

Reyna Meinhardt said...

Thanks for the giveaway! I would love to read this book! It sounds wonderfully good!

Here is my question: What were your reactions when you first saw the cover of "Twenty Boy Summer" and did you get a lot of say in choosing the cover?

Thanks again!
countrystars95@yahoo.com

Ann Diana Dinh, said...

My question is when you were younger, did you ever think you were going to be where you are today? With the whole writing career and what not.

behapppppppy(at)hotmail(dot)com

Jenna said...

Ahhh! I want to read this one badly. I can't help it, It just looks amazing! Books should not be allowed to look amazing when I am broke.

Great review! I am now even more excited to read this one.

My question for Sarah: Have you ever re-read a book that you used to love, and find that you don't like it as much as you used to. If so, why do you think that happened? Is it becasue your taste in books changed?

Thank you so much for the contest!

Jenna

jennapomme@yahoo.com

bermudaonion said...

I just got this yesterday, so don't enter me. I'm glad to see it's a good one!

JJ said...

Do you own a Wii or Xbox? :)

gahome2mom at gmail dot com

Pam said...

I have so many questions - this book sounds really enjoyable and I'd love to read it.

I guess I'd like to know when you wrote your first book (whether or not it got published) and what was it about? Did you always want to write for young adults? Do you want to venture into another genre at some point?

melacan at hotmail dot com

Emily said...

Thanks for the great giveaway opportunity!

Did you ever have a summer romance/fling when you were growing up? What about a summer fling made it so special/unique that you were compelled to write about that kind of romance?

Thanks!

emily.wittenberg@gmail.com

Gaby317 said...

Your book sounds like such a fun read. How did you find yourself choosing to write YA fiction? Was it just that the story spoke to you and it belonged in the genre? Are you tempted to venture out into different types of writing or will you continue in this vein? What do you like best about writing YA fiction - how does it compare to other types?

gaby317nyc AT gmail DOT com

KR said...

Thanks..
Sarah,
what (if any) music do you listen to while you're writing?

mj.coward[at]gmail.com

Steph Su said...

Great contest! My question for Sarah is: How did you react when you found out that your book was going to be published?! What did you do to celebrate?

Thanks for the giveaway, guys!

stephxsu at gmail dot com

Sue W. said...

This sounds like a fun book to read.

Did you ever have an experience similar to the one that you wrote with a girl friend and another friend that happened to be a boy when you were younger?

roylsue(at)telpage(dot)net

Lori T said...

Hi Sarah~

Thanks for having such a great contest Shelly!

I am really looking forward to reading this.

My question for Sarah is: What are your summer plans this year? And what is your favorite summer memory from your teenage summers?

Michelle Kuo said...

Oh goodness, I want to read this book so badly! The plot sounds so incredibly intriguing.

My question for Sarah: When you were younger, did you ever try to plan a "perfect summer"? How did that work out? How does the cover relate to the book specifically? How do you choose the names for the characters of your book?
Oh my I asked a lot of questions haha.

michelle.kuool(at)yahoo(dot)com

♔ jessica.marie said...

This book looks oh so amazing! I would love to be entered! ^_^

Ever since I learned that author's don't pick their cover art, I am curious as to what their reaction was when they first saw it. So my question to Sarah would be "what did you think of the cover art for your book when you first saw it?"

lovejessicamarie [@] gmail [.] com

bloggytreasures said...

From the reviews I've been reading, your debut YA novel is getting rave reviews so I'd like to know if you'll be continuing in this vein and writing more YA novels! If so, what's next? Can you give us a little hint?

quelleheure4[at]gmail{dot}com

♔ jessica.marie said...

Ah so I just read through the comments and my question has been asked, so I have made another one lol ^_^

"Did you go to college to be a writer (major in English)? Do you think it would be beneficial to do so, or major in another subject that you would be interested in writing about such as History?"

lovejessicamarie [@] gmail [.] com

stargirlreads said...

Thought I entered but guess not.
enter me princessashley9 AT gmail.com

"Did you enjoy reading in high school or was it just a requirement?"

Nora said...

Hmmm, I can't wait to read this and I have so many questions!

What is the one thing that most makes you think of summer?

What is your favorite thing to do to find fresh inspiration while writing?

Have you ever had an idea that you loved and wanted to write about that just didn't work out?

I absolutely love your post on high school memories, want to tell us more about that prom-ditching grateful dead experience?

Or about some college memories?

Nora
wishonstars13@hotmail.com

L said...

How did you come up with the idea for Twenty Boy Summer and are parts of the book based on real events?

lovinfitch(at)aol(dot)com

Paradox said...

Do you like to read and write sf/fantasy or are you strictly into realistic fiction?

And are you working on another book?

paradoxrevealed (at) aim (dot) com

Melanie said...

I've had a question that I've wanted to ask for a while, but I didn't have anyone around who would know. I'm pretty sure you will. My question is-

Do authors write the summaries that go on the back of the book, or is it done by someone else to increase its "sellability"?

Thanks so much!

melanies--musings@live.com

Sue Jackson said...

Nice review, Shelly. I also reviewed this book recently (I enjoyed it very much also).

I like your style of writing and will sign up to follow your blog.

Sue

(no need to enter me in the contest)

 
site designed by aerin at insearchofgiants.com