The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells--REVIEW

TITLE: The Summer of Skinny Dipping
Author: Amanda Howells
Published:  June 1, 2010 Source Books Fire
Genre: Young Adult--Contemporary
Special Note: Review Copy From Sourcefire Books

"Sometimes I still wake up shivering in the early hours of the morning, drowning in dreams of being out there in the ocean that summer, of looking up at the moon and feeling as invisible and free as a fish. But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the very beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start of something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before seem like it belonged to another life.


My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything...."

After getting dumped by her boyfriend, Mia is looking forward to spending a relaxing summer in the Hamptons with her glamorous cousins. But when she arrives she find her cousins distant, moody, and caught up with a fast crowd. Mia finds herself lonelier than ever, until she meets her next-door-neighbor, Simon Ross. And from the very first time he encourages her to go skinny dipping, she's caught in a current impossible to resist.

Timeless in feel, The Summer of Skinny-Dipping is a poignant, literary coming-of-age romance that will live on long after summer has ended.

My Thoughts:

I've read a TON of fluffy contemporary YA beach novels and they usually all have the same plot: Vacation, girl meets boy, they have a fight, and now they are back together, but The Summer of Skinny Dipping doesn't really fall into that mold. I found myself drawn into the main character's, Mia, world, totally absorbed with the family drama with her hoity-toity cousins. Their problems felt very real to me and kept me engaged the entire time and Mia's like the nice girl that's caught up in the drama. 

The love interest, Simon, is unlike most YA hotties. While he's flawed and seems to have a mysterious, outcasted past, there's definitely a sweetness about him and I can see why Mia is drawn to him. Simon pushes Mia to open up and take risks, like skinny dipping at 2am, and he seems to say just the right things. *SIGH* Where can I get a guy like Simon??? 

Now, I won't spoil the ending for you, but I will tell you it will shock you. It's one ending I didn't see coming, that's for sure, but it was realistic. Ms. Howells has written a beautiful novel and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!   

(PS: GOT YA (linky on my sidebar) is going to post a 5 minute book club on this novel soon, so be sure to check it out!)