Mia is your typical 16 year old girl who has just had her heart broken for the first time. She wants nothing more than to escape the pain of being dumped by the first boy that she ever "loved". She is eager to spend her summer filled with beach days and laughter with her cousin and BFF Corinne. Unfortunately, upon arriving at her aunt & uncle's home in The Hamptons she finds out that her cousin is not the girl she once knew. She is now a distant, slightly bi-polar, shallow version of herself. Mia is your typical 16 year old girl who has just had her heart broken for the first time. She wants nothing more than to escape the pain of being dumped by the first boy that she ever "loved". She is eager to spend her summer filled with beach days and laughter with her cousin and BFF Corinne. Unfortunately, upon arriving at her aunt & uncle's home in The Hamptons she finds out that her cousin is not the girl she once knew. She is now a distant, slightly bi-polar, shallow version of herself and Mia suddenly feels out of place. She has nothing in common with this girl.
They are soon joined by Corinne's friend, Gem who is equally shallow but with an even more vicious tongue and crude habits. After a night of partying while the parentals are away, Mia realizes that she doesn't belong among the cream of New York's crop. She's not poised or rich, she's not vain or self-centered and more importantly, she doesn't have luxurious blond hair or a model figure.
Then one night she meets a boy. A boy who will not only change her summer, but change her life as well.
Mia is such a realistic and very likable character. She is your typical teenage girl: insecure and uncertain, stubborn, rebellious and desperately wants to fit in. She is also loving, supportive and ambitious. I admired Mia though because no matter how much she wanted to feel accepted, she never changed to please the others and she remained true to herself.
Her cousins, Corinne and Beth, were obnoxious and completely self-serving. The kind of girls that you want to punch and then walk away from. Yet despite the negative, you sense that there is something beneath the surface and that these heinous personality traits are masking something bigger.
Simon (aforementioned life-changing boy) was a little more difficult to figure out. At first he comes off as a bit strange with his unique sense of style and humor. Like Mia, we're not sure whether to trust him at first because he could be just another jerk. However, with each passing page, we all start to fall for him just a little more. He was sweet, fun, equally ambitious and full of energy.
Amanda Howell did an incredible job setting the scenes for us. She made it easy for us to close our eyes and just envision ourselves lying on the beach, swimming in the ocean or running through the rain in The Hamptons.
**Warning** Around page 200 or so, I started to get this feeling like I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. I sensed that something big was going to happen and did it ever! I can't say what happened or to whom it happened but it changed the entire feel of the book. What became a story of summer love became a story of acceptance and growth.
This is the kind of book that I wish I could have read when I was 16 because it's not just a story, but a lesson. Things are not always what they seem and we cannot make judgments simply based by what we see on the surface. We are all insecure and cowards at one time or another, but we all possess strength if we just force ourselves to tap into it. Life is meant to be enjoyed and cherished because you never know when it will change or be taken away all together.
