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Aimee Friedman

Författare till Sea Change

8+ verk 1,262 medlemmar 66 recensioner

Serier

Verk av Aimee Friedman

Sea Change (2009) 378 exemplar
Two Summers (2016) 184 exemplar
The Year My Sister Got Lucky (2008) 180 exemplar
A Novel Idea (2005) 175 exemplar
Breaking Up (2007) 136 exemplar
South Beach (2005) 93 exemplar
French Kiss (2006) 64 exemplar
Hollywood Hills (2006) 52 exemplar

Associerade verk

21 Proms (2007) — Bidragsgivare — 301 exemplar
Who Done It? (2013) — Bidragsgivare — 136 exemplar
Snow in Love: Four Stories (2018) — Bidragsgivare — 95 exemplar

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Flaggad
BooksInMirror | Feb 19, 2024 |
Selkies! One of my favorite legends growing up was about Selkie Maidens--they were always up there with mermaids and sea monsters for things I had to look for whenever I was at the shore (never mind I lived in NJ). And Sea Change manages to preserve the mystery of those mythical creatures quite well. We're not told, one way or the other, the truth behind the legend so like Miranda we can only guess based upon circumstantial evidence and our own fanciful thinking. It doesn't help that everything she imagines about Leo can easily be explained in a totally not mythical way--she's a scientist after all, so logical explanations for previously mysterious things should be first nature to her.

There's a sense of wonder to the book--not just because of the legend and the island itself, but about the society that Miranda suddenly finds herself in. These are not the type of people she is used to being around--these teens who act like they are college students and not in high school and who's parents are proud of such things as being able to hold their liquor at fifteen better then their friends. Miranda can logically explain away the occurrences with Leo, but understanding the signals and wordplay that CeeCee and her friends engage in...well that's a whole new science in and of itself.

The Selkie legend is more of an undercurrent to the story, then the actual driving force. Its always brewing in the back of Miranda's mind, but between her mother's shift in behavior (her sensible mother begins to act just like all the other society's ladies), her own pain over what happened with her first boyfriend and the attraction she feels for Leo, she is understandably distracted from obsessing over the matter. The narrative gives a good feeling of the frustrations she feels, the irritation she tries to keep contained and the growing separation she feels from her mother.

Some of the book took a bit too long to occur--Miranda's questioning Leo, the showdown she has with her mom--while others occurred quickly and were gone just as quickly. Also aside from CeeCee none of the other Summer Kids are given much depth. CeeCee fills Miranda in that squares them out a little bit, but overall I was left with a distinctly shallow impression and a need to shake them. CeeCee grows up a little bit, proves herself better then her original appearance predicted at least.

Leo...oh gosh Leo is kind of perfect. Not in the 'he has no flaws at all' way, but in the 'every teen girl wants one' sort of way. He listens, he cares, he gives Miranda thoughtful gifts, talks about their problems, is sweet, and saves her...I mean if you ignore his total evasiveness in regards to his family, where he goes when Miranda doesn't see him, how he just 'appears' when she needs him, his stubbornness about night time swims...he's the perfect summer guy.

Miranda is very mature for her age, but I couldn't tell if that's the product of being a scientist and keeping tight control on her feelings or if she is just that way. She remarks a few times that her older brother was the one who did all the wild stunts and she is happy to be the 'good' child. As we only have a two line conversation between her brother and her on the phone to go by, I can't say what that means. Pretty much her father and brother are non-entities as far as the book is concerned--they're off in California, and thus mentioned but not elaborated upon.

The ending is a left to interpretation. It depends on if you are a glass is half-empty or a glass is half-full sort of person on how you take it. Personally I'm a glass is half-full sort of gal when it comes to my romances, so hope blooms eternal for me.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
lexilewords | 26 andra recensioner | Dec 28, 2023 |
Did you ever see the movie Sliding Doors starrring Gwyneth Paltrow? It’s the story of a woman who loses her job, and what happens next is actually two stories, two parallel universes, based on which decision she makes. This is what happens in Two Summers by Aimee Friedman. Summer Everett is planning to spend her summer with her father in the south of France, leaving her small New York town, her best friend Ruby and her bumpy relationship with mom behind. Summer has mixed feelings about this trip since her dad pretty much abandoned the family years ago, and her mom keeps trying to convince her it’s not such a good idea. The storm with lightning flashing and thunder booming along with the cell phone buzzing with “unknown caller” is our critical moment - will she or won’t she go? And, her cell phone dies.

If/when she goes, she arrives in Paris, and finds that dad isn’t there to meet her. It seems he was the unknown caller, suggesting they postpone this trip as his art/work has him away for a period of time. After cabbing it to his home she discovers that there’s no dad there either, but a woman and her incredibly hostile daughter. She settles in and begins to explore this beautiful town, meets a cute boy, starts a romance, and begins to uncover who she really is and what her father has been hiding from her.

If/when she stays, things aren’t just like always. Her best friend Ruby is becoming friends with the awful Skye, who has always put Summer down. It seems Ruby has a crush on Austin, one of Skye’s inner circle, and that Ruby, while she loves Summer, feels constrained by the limits of their close friendship. Summer begins a photography course at the local college with her aunt, and ends up working on a project with Hugh, her secret crush from, like, forever! She explores her hometown, hangs with the cute Hugh to maybe start a romance, and begins to uncover who she really is and what her father has been hiding from her.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, although there are some things the author could have improved on. In the beginning, Summer is depicted as overly anxious, yet this doesn’t carry through the book (and what overly anxious teen would let her cell phone battery die?) The intro of the book is too quick - we need a bit more on who our main character is, and as a result it takes a while to develope empathy for Summer. Other than that, a great read for fans of teen coming-of-age and romances, appropriate for middle and high school readers.
… (mer)
 
Flaggad
mikitchenlady | 4 andra recensioner | Mar 29, 2018 |
This one surprised me a little, in that it barely had anything to do with mermaids. Seriously, next to nothing. Other than the protagonist terrifying herself with a book of legends, that is it on the finned folk. Still a decent bubblegum fluffy read, though.
 
Flaggad
thebacklistbook | 26 andra recensioner | Mar 20, 2018 |

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Statistik

Verk
8
Även av
3
Medlemmar
1,262
Popularitet
#20,333
Betyg
½ 3.5
Recensioner
66
ISBN
45
Språk
1

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