Customer Reviews

Twenty Boy Summer

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Anna's best friend Frankie is determined to make this summer their Absolute Best Summer Ever. To the outsider, it seems like it will be perfect: Frankie's family is taking Anna on their annual vacation to Zanzibar Bay, California and Frankie schemes to meet twenty different guys while they're there so she and Anna can have the perfect summer romance. But really, Anna and Frankie are still reeling from the loss of their best friend and Frankie's brother, Matt. And what Frankie doesn't know is that Anna's already had her perfect summer romance--with Matt.

Though outwardly fun and flirty, below the surface Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer is a reflective and insightful story of loss and discovery as well. Ockler does an excellent job at characterizing each person in her novel, even the most insignificant characters, making Anna's world tangible and realistic. The different portrayals of each person's grief--Anna's retreat into her journal, Frankie's recklessness, and her mother's withdrawal--are all apt and serve as one of the most significant elements of the novel as it causes conflicts and also enables each character to grow. Ockler's simple use of juxtaposition is also a striking element, and is a detail that really stands out. Twenty Boy Summer is a fun-filled, romantic book containing every girl's dream summer vacation, but made more meaningful by the grief and sadness that Matt left behind. It's wonderfully detailed and sensitive as it exploes the bonds of friendship, first (and second) love, loss, and ultimately learning to let go. Twenty Boy Summer is a definite summer must-read.

Cover Comments: Love, love this cover! It's so beachy and fun. The sea glass is a really nice touch that ties into the book, and I like the look of the boards that make up the background. I can just picture the beach whenever I look at it. Though the font of the title isn't my favorite, I like how the white stands out. This cover definitely gets my seal of approval!

TWENTY BOY SUMMER by Sarah Ockler seems to be everywhere right now and so are the glowing reviews for it. In fact, I don't remember reading even one less than positive review. I actually read this novel a few weeks ago while I was with my family at the swimming pool, and I swore that I was going to come home right away and write my review. Famous last words because life has just gotten in the way (and a little old thing called BEA.)

So now, I'm writing my review about two weeks after finishing this book which I really don't like to do because I tend to forget details after a few days. However, this one time I think it's going to be okay. TWENTY BOY SUMMER is one of those books that has actually stuck with me -- I can remember this book like I just read it and the characters keep popping up in my mind. I think that says a great deal about the quality of this novel.

TWENTY BOY SUMMER is Sarah Ockler's debut novel, and I have to admit that I'm a little surprised by this. I found her writing to be so polished and real that it just seemed as if she's been writing books for a long time. Her prose and descriptions are just beautiful, but I also really appreciated how authentic her dialogue was. I can't say enough about how she developed the characters in this story, especially Anna; and I think she captured the devastating effects of loss on a family so very well. I really think Ms. Ockler is going to have a wonderful writing career ahead of her, and I'm looking forward to her future books.

Although I really, really liked this book (and maybe even loved it) I have to mention that I was a little surprised that the back cover of the ARC says that this novel is for ages 12 and up. My daughter is almost 10 years old and I realize that there is a lot of growing up between the ages of 10 and 12, but I don't think that I would let me daughter read this book until she is quite a bit older than 12. TWENTY BOY SUMMER deals with some mature issues including teenage sexuality. In fact, one of the major story lines is about Anna's attempt to meet twenty boys over the summer and lose her virginity to one of them -- they actually refer to it as "Anna's Albatross." I felt as if losing one's virginity was taken very casually in this story, and I kept hoping that there would be a big moral lesson at the end of the book. I realize that this casual approach might be reflecting reality in today's society, but I don't want my daughter reading about these things until she's much more mature.

Having said that, there are so many wonderful things about TWENTY BOY SUMMER and I do recommend it (just to adults or older teenagers.) I can not rave enough about how the author portrayed grief and loss as themes in this novel. My heart went out to all of the characters, but especially Anna. Not only did she lose one of her best friends in the death of Matt, but she also lost her first love. In addition, Frankie, who was her best girl friend, was dealing with the loss of her brother and the effects that had on her entire family. It was almost as if Anna lost both of her friends with Matt's death. And since Anna wasn't talking about her feelings for Matt with anyone, I think it made it even more painful for her to deal with this loss. My heart went out to her on so many levels.

I also think the author did a wonderful job of showing how Matt's death affected his entire family. Frankie's reaction to his death and her eventual acting-out seemed to be very realistic to me (albeit unfortunate.) However, I also thought Frankie's parents' actions seemed genuine. Even though the story was told through Anna's eyes, the reader could still see how devastating the loss of a child can be on a marriage and a family.

TWENTY BOY SUMMER is a terrific book that I highly recommend reading. If you are looking for a beautifully told story that deals with loss and grief, then you should really take a look at this novel.

Twelve months ago, Anna Reiley and her friend, Frankie Perino were having the time of their lives together. Anna has developed a crush on Frankie's brother, Matt. Matt is seventeen and about to go off to college. Anna has secretly been wishing that Matt would kiss her. That wish comes true on Anna's fifteenth birthday. The kiss is the most wonderful thing that could ever happen to Anna.

Matt and Anna made a promise to each other that they would not tell Frankie about their relationship. That is only because Matt plans to tell Frankie during their family vacation as that is the best time. Frankie is fragile. Unfortunately Matt never gets a chance to tell Frankie. Matt, Frankie, and Anna had all went out for custard and on their way back, they got into a car accident. Frankie and Anna were the only ones to survive. Everyone around them says that they are very lucky but it doesn't feel like it.

A year has passed since the accident but Anna still misses Matt. The worse part is that Frankie still doesn't know about her and Matt. Anna has thought about telling Frankie many times but no time ever seemed like the right time. Frankie and Anna are trying to put the past behind them and what better way to do so then to spend twenty fun filled days in sunny California. Frankie comes up with a contest. While out in California, Frankie and Anna will have a friendly competition to see who can get the most boys interested in them. Anna agrees. Will this be the summer that Anna finds love again?

Twenty Boy Summer is a perfect summer read. Though this book may be catorgized as young adult, it can still be enjoyed by older readers as well. I felt for Anna and Frankie and what they lost and gained. It was interesting to see how the car crash changed both Anna and Frankie in different ways. The contest that Frankie and Anna had is age approriate and fun. Sarah Ockler has made a name for herself with this book. I cant wait to see what Sarah comes up with next.

I admit it, I like a book that can make me cry. And this book did that.

Initially, I thought the romance between Matt and Anna was predictable and a little too "mushy." Actually I still think that, but I realize now that the book isn't about that romance. It's about Anna coming to terms with it, and its end, and being the one who's "not allowed" to be as upset as she is about his death. Her grief makes you look at grief in a different way. She's angry that nobody seems to care how Matt's death affected her, because he wasn't her brother. She was just the "neighbor kid." She's supposed to be the strong one. Nobody knows or cares that there might have been more to their relationship, and that she still writes letters to him and thinks about him constantly. She wishes she could tell someone, but she can't. She promised Matt she wouldn't tell. It makes you wonder, at what point are you allowed to break a promise to a dead person? Would doing so even make her feel better? If she tells, will they be mad that she didn't tell sooner?

Anna also feels guilty about her new fling with beach boy Sam, afraid that it will erase Matt. But also hopeful that it will. She doesn't want to be weighed down by his memory any longer, and Sam might be the perfect cure-- or the perfect storm. It was often hard to decide. Sam is completely different from Matt, yet Anna finds herself irresistibly attracted to him anyway. He's not a great character, but it's easy to understand why Anna would pick him: he's not Matt.

Frankie's way of dealing with her brother's death is different, but just as understandable. At first she cannot compose herself. The description of these scenes in the book were the parts that made me cry the most. You can just picture this character, practically attached at the hip to her brother for her whole life, suddenly feeling alone in the world without him. Eventually she snaps out of it and finds her Frankie way of dealing with it. She doesn't mention him often. She pretends to be an only child. Actually, she pretends a lot of things. She becomes a little rebellious because her parents don't pay attention anymore, and she wants to find that attention elsewhere. She focuses on her looks, messes around with boys, smokes, and basically becomes a completely different person. Anna refers to her two personalities as the "Old Frankie" and the "New Frankie." Ultimately we know that Frankie isn't what she seems, but she needs to come to terms with it herself.

The climax of the book, when all of the confessions are made, is emotional and gripping. These two characters have spent their whole lives together and suddenly they feel like they don't know each other at all. Discovering the truth forces them both to grow up a little, and helps them finally cope with Matt's death face-to-face.

While there were things about this book that I didn't like (such as Anna's inability to decide whether she wanted to remember Matt or forget him, tell Frankie or keep her secret forever, etc.), I would definitely recommend it if you're considering it. It's not a waste of time or money.

This book broke my heart! The grief is accurate and honest and pure.

Twenty Boy Summer follows Anna's journey as she makes attempts to shed the weight of the grief of losing her boyfriend, even though she can't help but cling desperately to it for fear of erasing what once was. She must also wrestle the guilt that comes along with surviving and continuing on with your life even though that person cannot experience it with you. And she attempts to do this alone, since she is the only one who knows about her relationship with Matt.

I liked and sympathized with Anna's character. At times I found the best friend, Frankie, to be a bit much, but not unrealistically so. She's just the type of girl which I find a little annoying, so it's good that her character was able to annoy me in the same way as a real person would. And it made me admire Anna that much more for still seeing the good in her friend no matter how ridiculous she could be at times!

The writing was beautifully done and captured the essence of grieving really well. I laughed. I cried. And by the end of it all, I was left feeling hopeful though not entirely healed, which, I think, is how it should be.

I've had Twenty Boy Summer sat on my shelf since June 2009, and every now and then I'd think about reading it. I'm kicking myself for waiting so long, because it's amazing. Seriously, it's like a sunny summer day captured and preserved on a page, always there for everyone to see. It's the most moving book I've read that deals with grief and loss, aside from Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur. I started the book in tears and I ended it in tears, and that's all thanks to Sarah Ockler's beautiful way with words.

The fact that Anna had this sweeping romance with best friend Frankie's older brother, Matt, is heartbreaking in itself, but it's made even worse when you realise she hasn't told a soul. How anyone can keep a secret like that is beyond me; even if I promised someone, I know I wouldn't be able to do it. A secret like that would eat me up until I couldn't keep it for a minute longer, but to Anna, it's the one thing she has to do. Because she promised Matt she'd look out for Frankie.

Ockler writes about Anna and Frankie's grief like she's experiencing it herself, like she is those characters. Three chapters in and I felt like I already knew these people inside out, and by the end I felt like they were old friends, passing through for a fleeting visit before leaving for another adventure. Her descriptions of Zanzibar Bay, where Anna and Frankie holiday for 3 weeks in the summer, made me want to jump on a plane and go hunting for sea glass, even though I'm terrified of flying. I wanted to run my toes through the sand and see seals in the distance, while surfer boys sauntered past looking like magazine models. It sounds like the perfect way to spend a summer.

Although Twenty Boy Summer does sound like it's about 2 girls and their adventures with 20 boys, it really isn't. It's about how families and best friends deal with a huge loss in their lives, and how they move on without forgetting. The backdrop of sun and sand gives it a more lighthearted feel, though there's always an underlying current of something deeper. Matt's presence through memories and flashbacks lets you know him just as well as Frankie or Anna, and he's as much a part of the story as Zanzibar Bay. Like Anna, you'll fall in love with him, and you'll see his life forever etched on Ockler's pages.

The title and cover to this book do not do the story justice. What would appear on the outside to be a simple lighthearted romantic comedy is actually a touching heartfelt portrayal of loss and the time it takes for hidden wounds to heal. In "Twenty Boy Summer," Sarah Ockler has crafted a poignant story that gets straight to the readers heart within the first few pages, not letting go until the inevitably bittersweet end.

Twenty Boy Summer is told through the first person point of view of Anna Reilly a year after the death of her best friend, Frankie's, brother, Matt, who also happened to be her first love, unbeknownst to Frankie. As Anna embarks on a trip to California with Frankie and her family to a vacation spot that holds memories for them all, Anna and Reilly finally start to deal with the absence that Matt has left in their lives, while overcoming the sadness that has plagued their past year. In doing this, they embark on a misguided attempt to meet twenty boys over the course of their three week trip - hence where the titled of the book comes from.

In the end, the story was overwhelmingly bittersweet, and really got to the root of how thoroughly death can effect relationships between young and old. Ultimately, the tragedy of the novel was not the Matt himself had died, but rather the effect it had on those who cared about him. This is a great novel for anyone who is currently suffering the loss of someone close to them, or would just like to read a book filled with authenticity.

I love, love, loved this book. From page one, Sarah Ockler had me falling in love with Matt, the boy Anna first fell in love with. Ockler did such a fantastic job appealing to the reader's senses and emotions. This is one of the few books where the author has had the power to draw me into the story so much that I felt like I was actually where the main character was. I felt all the pains and struggles of Anna. I felt the same love for Matt that she felt. I felt EVERYTHING.

Ockler did a great job of portraying how much Matt's death took a toll on their entire family. It even took a toll on Anna. It was beautifully written. So beautiful in fact, that it broke my heart and put it together again several times.

Reading great Amazon reviews of a book usually makes me place the book on such a high pedestal, that there's no room for the book except for failure to reach my expectations. TWENTY BOY SUMMER was definitely not like that. It exceeded my expectations, which is amazing. TWENTY BOY SUMMER has quickly captured my heart in the few hours that I read it, placing it as my favorite Young Adult novel.

I would love for there to be a sequel. The way Ockler ended the story makes the reader hope for one, which would be great! However, although the ending was a bit bittersweet, it was perfect for the book.

A year ago, Anna was best friends with Frankie and her brother Matt. However, the day before Frankie and Matt were planning to go on their annual trip to Zanzibar Bay, the three of them were involved in a car accident. The accident killed Matt. A year later, Frankie's family has planned another trip to Zanzibar Bay. This time, they are taking Anna. Frankie decided this would be a great way for Anna to have her first summer romance. They will meet twenty boys in Zanzibar Bay. Anna agrees, but she is hiding something from Frankie. Last summer, Anna and Matt had a romance...

Twenty Boy Summer is a heartfelt novel that YA readers should not miss. From the beginning Ockler had me entranced in a story of grief and most importantly, moving on. Each character had their own way of grieving, and because of Ockler's writing, I was able to sympathize with all of them. The novel had a great balance between heartache and light-heartedness. Obviously, there's grief from the loss of Matt, but there's also light-heartedness from the beach setting. At Zanzibar Bay, Anna meets someone else she really likes. Ockler did a wonderful job describing Anna's worries about forgetting Matt, but also wanting to move on.

Twenty Boy Summer is also a good story about friendship. Frankie and Anna have been neighbors and best friends since they were young, so as you can imagine, they have been through a lot together. However, this does not mean that their friendship was perfect. Anna and Matt never told Frankie about their relationship. They planned on telling her, but Matt's sudden death stopped this. A year later, and Anna still has not told Frankie. However, Frankie has some secrets of her own. All of this explodes into a big climax that will tear at heartstrings. Overall, an excellent debut novel, and I look forward to more by Sarah Ockler.

Twenty Boy Summer is a great story about friendship and grief. This is perfect for anyone looking for a beach read with substance.

In a word this book is wonderful simply and utterly exquisite.

Ockler has painted a most realistic portrait of a teenage grief. Demonstrating that such emotions are indeed unique to each individual she paints an intricately detailed portrait of differing coping mechanisms. Anna is the introvert who retreats into the solitude the pages of her journal provide all of her emotions expressed as swirls and strokes on the formerly blank pages. Frankie, on the other hand, is the outgoing boy crazy girlie girl interested in gossip and fashion and make up. None of which even remotely entertains her best friend.

Interestingly it is the changes in these girls since tragedy struck that resonates with the reader and derives the most meaning. This is where Ockler has really provided us with the truest picture. Prior to certain events Anna was more outgoing, fun and free-spirited while Frankie tended to be the girl that everyone took care of and watched out for. She was a girl who was far more reserved than the one we see in Zanzibar Bay.

Besides showing a realistic view of how these girls cope with life altering events the author handles the concept of teenage sex responsibly. Anna is seen to be struggling with the idea of losing her virginity while Frankie is more aloof. I imagine that in a group of giddy girls this is exactly how things would fall out amongst them.

Ockler shines most vividly in her portrayal of family dynamics and friendships as her characters navigate tension-filled and emotional circumstances. She shows the struggle to move past tragedy with realism focusing on parental concern, strained marriages and friendships, altered personas and the struggle to find one's place in the world after it's shattered beyond recognition. She does so with great feeling and compassion that the reader feels every inch of the struggle right along with the characters.

The subject matter of this book is not always light yet Ockler has written it in an entertaining and enlightening manner giving the reader a wonderfully poignant story they can relate to. I strongly encourage anyone to read Twenty Boy Summer it's well worth it.