Want to spend the summer in Hawaii? | Summer of Sloane

Summer of Sloane by Erin L. Schneider

Published: May 3rd 2016 by Disney-Hyperion

Genre: young adult, contemporary

Goodreads summary: Warm Hawaiian sun. Lazy beach days. Flirty texts with her boyfriend back in Seattle.

These are the things seventeen-year-old Sloane McIntyre pictured when she imagined the summer she’d be spending at her mom’s home in Hawaii with her twin brother, Penn. Instead, after learning an unthinkable secret about her boyfriend, Tyler, and best friend, Mick, all she has is a fractured hand and a completely shattered heart.

Once she arrives in Honolulu, though, Sloane hopes that Hawaii might just be the escape she needs. With beach bonfires, old friends, exotic food, and the wonders of a waterproof cast, there’s no reason Sloane shouldn’t enjoy her summer. And when she meets Finn McAllister, the handsome son of a hotel magnate who doesn’t always play by the rules, she knows he’s the perfect distraction from everything that’s so wrong back home.

But it turns out a measly ocean isn’t nearly enough to stop all the emails, texts, and voicemails from her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, desperate to explain away their betrayal. And as her casual connection with Finn grows deeper, Sloane’s carefree summer might not be as easy to find as she’d hoped. Weighing years of history with Mick and Tyler against their deception, and the delicate possibility of new love, Sloane must decide when to forgive, and when to live for herself.

REVIEW

By now, you might have noticed that I don’t read many contemporary novels, because fantasy is the best genre of them all (at least, for me). However, because it’s now Spring, I’ve been more and more in a contemporary mood, which means I’m giving all the contemporaries on my TBR a shot. I was excited about Summer of Sloane mostly for the Hawaiian setting and let me tell you, it’s a perfect beach read!

Summer of Sloane tackled down so many important contemporary issues and I won't really talk about it because it would be spoiler-y for most of them, but it was eye-opening - I think it especially would be for younger teens - and thought-provoking. Indeed, in the first pages of the book, the main character learns that her boyfriend cheated on her… With her best friend. A few hours later, she is flying to Hawaii to spend the summer with her mother, which allows her to start fresh.

This book was a pretty quick read and I was definitely hooked from the beginning, I needed to know how it would end before I went to bed. It was still pretty predictable though, because thirty minutes after finishing it, I told my boyfriend what I thought would happen… And that's exactly what happens. Nevertheless, I liked the dynamics aspect of the book, as it focused a lot on family and friendship, as well as the romance obviously. It's all I ask in a contemporary novel, and it totally delivered.

I loved the setting of the book, it almost felt as if I was in Hawaii with Sloane, enjoying the tropical weather and being in the water all the time. Schneider definitely captured the feeling of this place, with her vivid writing, which pleased me to no end, as I wanted to read the book because it was set in Hawaii. Because of that, it's definitely the type of book anyone would like to read on the beach, or just outside in general. It felt like summer and holidays, which was perfect.

The characters were all pretty fleshed out, everyone had a backstory and drama going on, even secondary characters like Lucy, Finn's sister, who was younger than the rest of the cast. I really liked that aspect, because even though Sloane had so many problems of her own, the story wasn't that self-centred because it intertwined with her friends' and family's. Moreover, considering what she had been through, I would have reacted the same way that Sloane did, taking time for herself (for once) and trying to build something new. However, about the characters, I think that in the end, one of them was just being a drama queen, in order to make Sloane's decision look good. I might be wrong about that, but it seemed pretty easy…

The romance was pretty cute, I was definitely rooting for the characters, since they had so much chemistry. Moreover, it was a little funny as the first time they saw each other was a little… Intense? I was annoyed at the drama between the two of them in the last part of the novel, because once again, communication is the key and they weren't good at that, apparently. However, I liked the way the author built their relationship, they were confiding in each other and they were friends, before it evolved into something else.

Overall, if you're looking for a book you'll be able to read quickly while on vacation, Summer of Sloane is the book for you! It definitely felt like I was in Hawaii and it tackled down so many important problems we can face in our everyday lives. I was rooting for the characters and it ended quite well for most of them, even though they had been through so much.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? Do you read more contemporary novels in summer than the rest of the year?

A time travel book with a vivid setting but at times confusing | The Girl from Everywhere

The Girl from Everywhere (The Girl from Everywhere #1) by Heidi Heilig

Published: February 16th 2016 by Greenwillow Books

Genre: young adult, historical, time travel

Goodreads summary: Nix has spent her entire life aboard her father’s ship, sailing across the centuries, across the world, across myth and imagination.

As long as her father has a map for it, he can sail to any time, any place, real or imagined: nineteenth-century China, the land from One Thousand and One Nights, a mythic version of Africa. Along the way they have found crewmates and friends, and even a disarming thief who could come to mean much more to Nix.

But the end to it all looms closer every day.

Her father is obsessed with obtaining the one map, 1868 Honolulu, that could take him back to his lost love, Nix’s mother. Even though getting it—and going there—could erase Nix’s very existence.

For the first time, Nix is entering unknown waters.

She could find herself, find her family, find her own fantastical ability, her own epic love.

Or she could disappear.

REVIEW

I was anticipating so many debuts this year, and of course, The Girl from Everywhere was one of them, because it included so many elements I usually love in books, such as ships, maps and exotic places.

I think that in the time travel subgenre, this book was quite unique (at least compared to the others I read), because the characters were relying on maps to time travel, and not their unique abilities, which is the case most of the time. Also, they were time traveling on a ship, so it gets bonus points for that reason. However, I would have liked to see more of the time travel? In the beginning we saw it a little and then they stayed at the same place for a <b>looooong</b> time (like, the whole book). But, I liked how everything was intertwined, how everyone's actions had consequences on everyone else's lives. For example, Nix practically helped her mother to exist, like wuuuut?

The plot was interesting, but I think it dragged a little in the middle and that's why it took me three days to read it, when I'm on summer break. I don’t think I was completely immerged into it. I liked the story, but the pacing felt a bit off at times... And I would have liked more action scenes here and then. Furthermore, sometimes it got a little too confusing for my tastes, I had <b>no idea</b> what was going on. I still liked the plot though, because it was about a heist so it was quite fun, and there was a party at some point! The ending was totally open, I don't really know what will happen next, but I'll definitely be reading it.

I loved the setting of this book, I had never read a book set in Hawaii before and I was so excited about it. I feel like the author totally grasped the atmosphere of this place, the descriptions were pretty vivid and I could feel like I was there. Moreover, this book was full of myths, some of them being about Hawaii, some others about other places, and I really liked learning about them.

This book had a cast of diverse characters, Nix being half-Chinese and Kashmir being Persian. By the way, I'm just going to scream for one second: when Kashmir spoke French, it was accurate! I could have said these sentences myself! It's like... The third time it happened in a book written by an American author, so <b>I am pleased</b>. The author totally did her job when using foreign languages. While I liked the characters, especially the main ones, I found that some members of the crew were pretty unmemorable, as I wasn't able to distinguish them for one another for the whole book.

I wasn't entirely sold on the romance in this one, I didn't have <b>the feels</b> and there's a possible love triangle coming? Um, I don't want that... Nevertheless, this book explored relationships, which I really liked, especially Nix and her father's. In the beginning, I hadn't actually understood she was Slate's daughter, because she didn't call him her father, so I was a little confused, but it was because their relationship was so complicated. He basically kind of wanted to erase her entire life, just to be with her mother again. I could understand his motives, but it was still selfish and he took such a long time to understand it. Still, in the end, this book was more about their relationship, which I really liked.

Overall, it was a good debut, but I never completely emerged myself into the story, because I expected more from it. The setting and some elements of the plot definitely made up for it though. I liked the main characters, forgot about the secondary ones every two pages and wasn’t sold out on the romance, but I really enjoyed this book anyway. I’m excited for the next one, especially because we’ll have more time traveling, but I have no idea what will be the plot, this one could definitely be a standalone.

Have you read The Girl from Everywhere yet? What did you think of it? Do you love time travel books?