Amanda Howells

This novel is exactly the kind of book I want to read, but my sister never picks up. Romance, friendship, coming of age...however you want to categorize this book, its my kind of book. I used to devour the teen romance novels my sister picked up in the mid to late 90's, Lurlene McDaniel, "Teen Romance Stories" series, Cameron Dokey...I read them all and was always ready for more. In a lot of ways The Summer of Skinny Dipping reminds me of those novels. Except where those were pretty thin on character development, plot development or originality Skinny Dipping excels.

At first Mia seemed very melodramatic to me, but then that's being a teenager right? Stereotypical or otherwise, all those hormones make everything seem that much more important. So her misery over losing her ex was understandable. I've definitely been there before. I liked that she didn't take what her cousins said about Simon on face value, that she didn't judge him simply because of what he did over his last girlfriend's infidelity (which, by the way, completely understandable why he was upset).

Simon reminded me of a friend I have. Also very artsy, also prone to quick flares of temperament. How he and Mia developed their relationship was sweet and I felt the emotional connection between them fiercely. Howells grasp of teen emotions--the push and pull of them, one extreme to the next, the certainty that what you are feeling right now is all that matters--was deft. From Mia's off the wall friend Evie, to her cousin Corinne's changed attitude and Simon's personal pain--I believed in them fully.

I know I'm not alone in this sentiment, but I was unhappy with how the ending turned out. Not in how it was written, but that it went in that direction is perhaps better. This would make a perfect summer book to read with friends or at the beach or even while sitting in a car or plane waiting for your vacation to start. It almost perfectly encapsulates what is so perfect about summer--and also the pain when it ends.


reviewed by: Tegan
Cleaned, formatted and Spellchecked by: Lexie… (plus d'informations)

"The rest of the girls out here are just shooting stars,"Simon whispered into my ear. "They're on a crash course to nowhere. But you, my lady friend, you're a black hole. You've sucked me in, and now there's no escape..."

Okay, so i was told that this one's gonna be a real heartbreaking read but i didn't expext to fall for it.
The Summer of Skinny Dipping was a sweet, heart-wrenching book, that will keep you hooked once you get to the romance between Mia our 16 years old insecure, witty, smart and realist protagonist and Simon the boy next door she gets the chance to meet on a party organized by her cousins.
What i liked most about their relationship - beside the late in the night swims- is the fact that it wasn't love-at-first-sight, it was slowly builed up, taking time to know each other. And the book wasn't entirely dedicated to the romance, it was about teenagers' issues, how your body change, the fear that you won't fit in anywhere unless you think, speak and behave the same way that people do.

I think that i'm not being all coherent here, so i'll just report writing this review another time!… (plus d'informations)