Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Genre: YA
Copyright: June 2009
Pages: 290
Book Source: ARC copy passed on by Jenny @ Jenny Loves to Read

“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 Anna’s best friend, Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every 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 her romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

TWENTY BOY SUMMER explores what it truly means to love someone, what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every beautiful moment life has to offer. www.sarahockler.com

Twenty Boy Summer is a beautifully written debut novel with a lot more to the story than the fun title suggests, it's a moving tale of love and loss, of friendship and forgiveness.

Anna & Frankie & Frankie's brother Matt have been neighbours and friends for as long as they can all remember. Anna has been in love with Matt for almost as long and all her dreams come true on her 15th birthday when her feelings are reciprocated. Matt's sudden death before he tells his sister about their relationship leaves Anna holding their secret with an empty space in her heart. One year on, the novel focuses on Anna & Frankie's friendship, the highs, the lows and their plan to have the Absolute Best Summer Ever (ABSE.)

While my teen years are long gone and my own memories are of far less permissive and relaxed parents, I found Anna & Frankie entirely relatable. My teenage sons are a constant reminder of all that is real and believable in this story; the excuses, sneaking out, parties, under-age drinking, and the sarcasm and humour characteristic of teen years certainly gave me a few laughs but what I found most moving was the ease with which Ockler captures so many unspoken aspects of grief.

When someone you love dies, people ask how you're doing, but they don't really want to know. They seek affirmation that you're ok, that you appreciate their concern, that life goes on and so can they. Secretly they wonder when the statute of limitations on asking expires (it's three months, by the way. Written or unwritten, that's about all the time it takes for people to forget the one thing that you never will. (page 73)

Once Frankie's asleep, my best friend superstrength disappears. My breathing shatters, tears blur the stars in the overhead skylight, and all the old ghosts I tried to leave home float like dandelion seed wishes into our room. (page 85)

This was an emotional story about friendship and the journey over, around & through grief, knowing when to hold on tight and when to let go, creating new memories while not being afraid to remember and treasure old ones and while my eyes brimmed with tears a few times and there were quite a few tugs on the heartstrings, the ABSE storyline kept it far from depressing. I'll definitely be reading more from this author.

Sarah's next book Fixing Delilah Hannaford is coming out mid 2010. Visit Sarah Ockler's website and blog to find out more about this author.

To celebrate my 1st Blogoversary two lucky readers can take their pick from a choice of 6 books in this month's spookalicious competition. Check this blog post for details. International entrants welcome.