Twenty Boy Summer

Review: Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler
Released: June 2009
Pages: 290
Publisher: Little, Brown and company
Grade: A-

Anna, Frankie, and Matt have been closer than close since they were little babies running around in diapers. The three have been inseperable. Frankie and Matt are brother and sister and Anna is their next door neighbor. For years Anna has had harbored a love for Matt that she has kept very secret. But on her fifteenth birthday alone with Matt he kisses her. After that kiss the two are swept up in a whirlwind of love. Matt doesn't want to tell Frankie until their Summer trip together to California that their family always takes. Anna agrees to keep their relationship a secret.

Before Matt has the chance to tell Frankie though he dies suddenly, and Anna swore to secrecy so she isn't about to tell Anna about her and Matt now. She decides she'll keep the secret forever because she promised Matt she would.

Just a little bit over a year later Anna goes with Frankie and her parents to California. Anna's parents thought it'd be good for them to take a trip as a family again even if Matt wouldn't be there. Frankie being the crazy girl that she turned in to not long after Matt's death decides this will be the Summer that Anna loses her virginity. To make it fun she makes a game she calls "twenty boy summer" the goal being to talk to at least 20 boys during their 3 week vacation. Anna isn't too pysched about the idea but wanting to keep Anna happy she goes along with it. But she has no idea what she's gotten herself in to.

WOW. That was my first reaction. I had heard people raving about this book for a month before I actually got a copy. From the first page I was hooked. I knew from reading other reviews that this was a sad book but I didn't realize how sad! I found myself tearing up every so often over the smallest things. Sarah Ockler truly has a gift for writing. The words just flow together so nicely. One minute you could be sad and the next you're laughing. To me that makes an amazing book. When I can feel two completely different emotions so close to each other I know that I'm reading an amazing story. There were a couple of things that got to me that made me a little frustrated but I still enjoyed the book very very much. I also liked how it ended. I'd definitely recommend picking up this book if you don't mind crying every so often. It's really a heartwrenching story but it has it's funny moments and I just think it's well worth the read. I hope Sarah writes something else for us very soon!