Twenty Boy Summer - Sarah Ockler

Ahh. Now, this was a book that I definitely enjoyed. It was quirky and real and just wonderful.

The plot detailed Anna and her best friend Frankie's vacation in Zanzibar Bay. Beforehand, Frankie comes up with an idea that they should shoot for meeting twenty boys during their vacation in the hopes of having A.B.S.E.- The Absolute Best Summer and possibly obtaining a summer fling to remember. While agreeing to the idea, Anna can't help but think of her love for Frankie's recently deceased brother, and how hollow she still feels because of it. While everybody is feeling the same way about Matt's death, they decide to press on with the trip in order for some "normalcy" and to finally have some fun. What Anna and Frankie don't expect is to finally come to terms with themselves and this tragic death, and learn how to move on.

Personally, I really enjoyed the plot and the story as a whole. Ockler really brought a lot of quirkiness and reality to her story, that I couldn't put the book down at all. Touching on the reality portion, do you know those books where you read it and most of the things that happen just seem so impossible and outlandish that it seems more like fiction than realistic fiction? Does that make any sense? This book was so full of intensity and love that it's almost overwhelming. There was just something about this book that struck me. 

Perhaps it was the characters. I could emphasize with nearly all of them, and I genuinely cared what happened to whom. I especially loved Anna, our main character, (which rarely occurs with most books) because she was so grounded and had depth. We witnessed her confusion and feelings and also how she dealt with everything. I find it really awesome when we get a main character who isn't all over the place and ridiculously oblivious. There were also many layers to Frankie, as well as Sam. I honestly have no negative comments as far as characters go.

The writing was nice and quirky. I know, how many times can I possibly use that word in one review. Challenge accepted. Just the way that Ockler had Anna describe things and situations left me chucking aloud, because they were phrased in such a way that felt relaxing and just cool. Twenty Boy Summer really isn't a difficult book to read. In fact, I almost guarantee that you'll finish it in one sitting. With that point, I didn't find the pacing of the story to be slow at all. Therefore, it's not too hard to charge through and still feel satisfied with all that you've read.

Other thoughts:

* It's refreshing when the male characters aren't bigoted or the ever-typical "tall, dark, and broody."

* I really adored the cover of the book and how well it tied in with the story. The sea glass aspect was really cool, and I'm glad that the designer arranged it so well with the story. Rather then having the typical mysterious girl or boy on the cover, we have something that actually had relevance in the book.

☆☆☆☆☆/5

Recommend?: If you want a fantastic and enthralling summer read.

If you want something cute and quirky.