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Summary
Summary
For fans of A Thousand Boy Kisses and You've Reached Sam , don't miss this emotional and beautiful novel about love, grief, and making the most of every moment.
"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 her best friend Frankie, twenty days in ZanzibarBay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever 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 that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.
Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.
Author Notes
Sarah Ockler wrote and illustrated her first book at age six-an adaptation of Steven Spielberg's E.T. Still recovering from her own adolescence, Sarah now writes for young adults. While nomadic at heart, she currently lives in Upstate New York with her husband Alex and an ever-expanding collection of sea glass.
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Matt and Francesca (Frankie) Perino and their neighbor Anna have been best friends since they were toddlers, but now Anna's feelings for Matt go beyond that. Then, on her 15th birthday, he kisses her. From that moment, their relationship flourishes-in private. Knowing Frankie will be upset, Matt wants to wait until his family goes on their annual summer vacation in Zanzibar Bay, CA, where he can talk to her alone. Anna promises to keep their secret. Tragically, Matt dies the night before they leave, and Anna mourns in secret while trying to save volatile Frankie from her grief and a never-ending streak of reckless behavior. One year later, Frankie and her parents return to Zanzibar Bay, taking Anna with them. Frankie declares that this summer Anna will lose her virginity. Anna is conflicted. Can she tell Frankie about Matt without breaking her promise to him? Does she risk getting involved with a new boy, Sam, or will that make her lose Matt all over again? Sex is regularly discussed, but never in explicit detail. The characters are richly developed; as the girls sneak out and meet boys, the differences in their personalities come through, and Frankie's parents' actions and reactions to their loss are well depicted. In the end, the lies that Anna and Frankie have told one another lead to an explosive confrontation. Often funny, this is a thoughtful, multilayered story about friendship, loss, and moving on.-Traci Glass, Eugene Public Library, OR (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Anna was best friends with Frankie and her brother, Matt, until all three are in a car accident in which Matt is killed. A year later, Anna and Frankie, struggling to get past Matt's death, head to California with Frankie's parents for a beach vacation, determined to have "the Absolute Best Summer Ever (A.B.S.E)." But Anna has a secret: her friendship with Matt had become an intense romance shortly before the accident, and she cannot determine "the statue of limitations on feeling guilty for cheating on a ghost." Readers will be quickly drawn in and moved by the pain that strains Frankie's family, which ultimately threatens the friends' relationship. The plot takes too long to unfold, however, and teens might be surprised that the title's premise (referring to a bet the girls make that "whoever get the most prospects-wins") almost disappears among other plot points. Still, Ockler's debut is often poetic ("I've replayed the events of that day a hundred thousand times, looking for clues. An alternate ending. The butterfly effect") and the girls' friendship authentic, making for a poignant summer read. Ages 12-up. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Best friends Anna and Frankie are inseparable, even more so since Frankie's older brother, Matt, died the previous year. But Anna is keeping a secret that could alter their friendship forever, and the truth comes out during the girls' California vacation. This story of "befores and afters" is a sincere reflection of first loves, broken hearts, and summer flings. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Anna and Matt were keeping their new romance confidential to spare the feelings of Matt's little sister, Frankie, who is also Anna's best friend. But when an undiagnosed heart condition cuts Matt's life tragically short, Anna is left with a huge secret that robs her of her right to mourn. Now a year later, Anna is accompanying Frankie and her parents on their annual summer trip, their first vacation without Matt. Extrovert Frankie has challenged Anna to flirt with at least 20 boys, one of whom may relieve her of her pesky virginity. But Anna's heart is still burdened by the confidence she refuses to break. Though Matt's character often seems too good to be true, that's precisely what makes him such a swoonworthy object in this sincere, romantic tearjerker. Readers will easily relate to Anna's authentically depicted feelings of lust, longing, shame and fear as she cautiously embarks on a new summer love. The perfect beach read for teens who enjoyed a good cry over Gayle Forman's If I Stay (2009) or Jenny Downham's Before I Die (2007). (Fiction. 13 up) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
What is the statute of limitations on feeling guilty for cheating on a ghost? Anna writes in her journal, or rather, writes to Matt, her first true love and her best friend Frankie's brother. More than a year has passed since Matt's sudden death, and all that time Anna has kept her brief relationship with Matt a secret from Frankie. Matt had planned to tell his sister but died before he had the opportunity. Now, while on a beach vacation with Frankie's family, Anna finds herself falling for cute, sensitive Sam against her will if she can love someone else, does that mean she no longer loves Matt? Anna approaches this issue and other big questions with the insight and maturity that come when a young person loses someone he or she cares deeply about. Anna's authentic voice and some lyrical writing will satisfy fans of Sarah Dessen, while the mix of romance, drama, and tragedy will be a draw for teen readers of Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult.--Booth, Heather Copyright 2009 Booklist
