Publisher: Disney Electronic Content

Review: Summer of Sloane by Erin L. Schneider

Posted May 26, 2016 by Rowena in Reviews | 1 Comment

Review: Summer of Sloane by Erin L. SchneiderReviewer: Rowena
Summer of Sloane by Erin L. Schneider
Publisher: Disney Electronic Content
Publication Date: May 3rd 2016
Genres: Young Adult
Pages: 232
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three-half-stars

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 come by 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.

I came across this book on Netgalley and after reading the blurb, my curiosity was piqued. The best friend and the boyfriend cheating? Needing a summer away? A summer in Hawaii? Yeah, I was in.

So Sloane and her twin brother Penn spend their summers in Hawaii with their mother and the day before she’s to fly out, her best friend drops a bomb on her. The, “I slept with your boyfriend” bomb and it completely knocks Sloane on her ass because not only does her best friend Mick sleep with her boyfriend, she’s having his baby too. Talk about a shocker! When she lands in Hawaii, she’s got a cast from punching her ex-boyfriend in the face and breaking his nose. She’s also got a big ass chip on her shoulder that she’s hoping a summer away will help her get over.

Determined to make this summer about her, Sloane sets out to make new memories with her Hawaii friends..and a new boy named Finn.

Going in, I hadn’t read any reviews or read much of anything outside of the blurb so I didn’t really have any expectations. This was a very readable book, meaning it didn’t take me long at all to just jump right in. All that drama in the beginning had me turning the pages real quick to find out what was going to happen. There were times when I wanted to strangle each and every single teenager in the book but it wasn’t so mad that my enjoyment of the story itself was ruined.

I liked Sloane’s character and I really liked Finn as a love interest. Sloane was really put through the wringer and I liked that she took time to herself to figure things out. When stuff like that happens, when you’re betrayed by the people that are supposed to love and support you, time away is necessary. Sloane had every right to take time to herself, to not talk to both Tyler and Mick. I liked the support system she had in her friends in Hawaii and in her family too. She had great relationships with both of her parents and her brother. Maya was a great friend to her and the secondary stories surrounding Maya and Penn (and Shep) and Sloane teaching Finn’s little sister how to swim, finding out truths about her parents and just everything filled out this book really well and made the reading experience as a whole for me, a good one.

The story itself was well written and the characters were written true to their ages which I appreciated. It was a solid debut by Schneider and if I had any gripe with the story, it would probably be more Polynesian characters since they were in Hawaii. It would have been nice if Sloane or even Finn was more Polynesian than the tiny bit of Hawaiian that Sloane was, especially since the author is Polynesian herself. Still, it was a solid read with an interesting premise and great characters.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5

three-half-stars


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