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Sunday, May 1, 2016

Family and Forgiveness || #Review: Summer of Sloane by Erin L. Schneider

ARC via Netgalley and Publisher
May 3, 2016
Goodreads || Amazon

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.


"They don't deserve any of my time, and they sure as hell don't deserve me" (ARC).

Let’s just say (hypothetically) that your boyfriend for a year cheated on you with your best friend for practically ever (TWICE!) and is now pregnant with his baby. After that you broke his nose. While I never condone violence, I couldn’t help but to think that I would probably react a whole lot like Sloane did. She was able to rocket off to her Mom’s place in Hawaii with her twin brother. There she’s able to contemplate the value of family, friendship, and forgiveness.

There are so many highlights in my book. So. Many. Highlights. I mean, wow, looking back through it, I maaaay have gone a tad bit overboard. Just a little. But, goodness, y’all. This book. It was gorgeous and heartbreaking and frustrating.

Wait-what? Yes, frustrating. Snap decisions and quick judgments are a part of what make these characters who they are. They’re human, relatable, and alive. I mean, goodness, I was angry when Sloane was furious, and sad when she was, and hurt when she felt broken. I wanted to be her friend and just hug her and tell her that I’m so sorry that the world sucks, and that life isn’t super green on the other side, and that the lies will sting a little less a little later on. Or at least I hoped that they would.

This story was about family and forgiveness, and that was achieved through growth. It was set it a luscious Hawaiian back drop, with a family secret. It depicted a gorgeous friendship that bloomed as another one fell apart, and a brother-sister relationship that deserves all the stars. The relationships really build the books and I just want to say THANK YOU. For giving me the perspective of the girl who got cheated on, and the reaction of the family as followed. In a teenage light.

I loved this book. I loved the writing, and the characters, and the love, and the hate, and the relationships.

I honestly can’t think of a book that I’ve ever literally ranted about the familial relationships over as much as this one. But it’s worth it.

So worth it.

In this end I have this to say: Summer of Sloane is worth the read. And the re-read.

"You need to do what's best for you, Sloane. If that means moving on, then so be it--at least you can't say you didn't try" (ARC). 



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