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Sarah Ockler

Författare till Twenty Boy Summer

7+ verk 1,997 medlemmar 175 recensioner 3 favoritmärkta

Verk av Sarah Ockler

Twenty Boy Summer (2009) 865 exemplar
Fixing Delilah (2010) 337 exemplar
Bittersweet (2012) 283 exemplar
The Book of Broken Hearts (2013) 236 exemplar
The Summer of Chasing Mermaids (2015) 146 exemplar
#scandal (2014) 129 exemplar

Associerade verk

Dear Teen Me: Authors Write Letters to Their Teen Selves (2012) — Bidragsgivare — 112 exemplar
Defy the Dark (2013) — Bidragsgivare — 88 exemplar

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Allmänna fakta

Kön
female
Yrken
writer

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Recensioner

This book was okay, but I wouldn't say I loved it or would want to read it again. I can't say I particularly liked any of the characters, except Matt, and he died at the beginning of the book. Frankie was annoying, Anna was annoying in how she constantly worried about erasing Matt or "cheating on his ghost," and Red and Jayne just seemed too out of touch with their daughter. That being said, I did tear up a couple of times reading this, just because of the subject matter: parents losing a child, a sister losing her brother, a young girl losing her first love and everyone trying to cope in their own separate ways but nobody really asking how everyone else is doing. This being a book aimed at young adults, I can see a teenager reading this book and probably marking it as a favorite, with all of the talk of boys, beaches, clothing, make-up and young love. With THAT, the author does know how to appeal to her target audience.… (mer)
 
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thatnerd | 85 andra recensioner | Mar 2, 2024 |
Definitely a Contemporary Romance fan's dream book.

This book had total Sarah Dessen-vibes. Delilah felt so much like a Dessen main girl-- strained parental relationship (check!), slightly rebellious behavior (check!), touristy location setting (check!), super swoony/patient to a fault boy (check!). And I mean all of that as a compliment because Sarah Dessen creates stories that you can just sink into and become completely immersed, and this book was very much like that.

Drawbacks: I didn't LOVE Delilah. She had a tendency to be self-centered and make everything about her. It was like Patrick (the boy) and Emily (the friend) weren't allowed to have lives and problems because she was GOING THROUGH SOMETHING. There was also a lot of that kind of drama where if the characters just said 5 words, the misunderstandings wouldn't have happened-- and I tire of that. TALK PEOPLE, TALK!! USE YOUR WORDS!

In the end, I'm glad I read this, and I had a nice feeling reading it. It was like going home after I've been away for a while because books like these are my roots. I will always want to come back to stories that suck me in and aren't super plot driven. I will always want to read books that combine family and growing up. And you should too!!

OVERALL: It was so nice to read a Sarah Ockler book after so long!! This was one I had been meaning to read for years, and I'm glad I finally got to it. It had major Sarah Dessen-vibes radiating, but that's not a bad thing!! I liked getting immersed in the setting and characters, but I wished I liked Delilah just a tad more.

My Blog:

Pink Polka Dot Books
… (mer)
 
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Michelle_PPDB | 29 andra recensioner | Mar 18, 2023 |
I. Love. Sarah. Ockler. You should too!

Jude is spending her last summer home before leaving for college bonding with her dad... and taking care of him. He's sick and getting worse by the day. She gets the great idea to have his 1961 Harley restored hoping to get him to reconnect with his past and to keep him grounded for a little while longer. The mechanic that they can afford turns out to be totally crush-worthy... and a Vargas. Vargas is a dirty world in the Hernandez house, with 2 of the brothers leaving 2 of Jude's older sisters completely heartbroken. Jude even took an oath when she was younger to never under any circumstance canoodle with a Vargas. Yet here she is falling for Emilio. At first she convinces herself that her sister's will never know. None of them even live within driving distance. And plus her father's health is more important than some stupid oath.

As the summer wears on Emilio starts to grow on her. It doesn't help that all her friends have abandoned her, leaving Emilio the only one who really seems to care. Then her father takes a turn for the worse bringing "The Holy Trinity" (her 3 older sisters) rushing home. Her closely guarded Vargas secret is about to blow up.


My Thoughts:
I can't believe I am just now reading this book!! Sarah Ockler is one of my absolute favorite authors ever and this book has completely cemented that. This book is about a bunch of things that really don't interest me at all. Forbidden love that you know is going to happen anyway, motorcycles, supposed bad boys. Blah. None of that stuff made me excited to read this book. But then I started reading and I just couldn't stop. Sarah Ockler could write about snails and I would probably get hooked on that too. There's just something about her storytelling and writing that is completely amazing and unique. Every single one of her main characters have HUGE major flaws and I still end up loving them so hard. I always feel like I can feel what her characters feel in a really powerful way.

Now about this book specifically- I loved the family feel in this book. It really was about family and how everyone fits and works together even though they aren't all physically living together. Reading about the father's illness was truly heartbreaking. I don't know if telling you what the actual illness is would be spoilery... so I'll just go ahead and say it's not cancer and I've never read another YA book about it. I loved that with Jude being the youngest of 4 girls, she felt like she didn't really have the closest relationship to her father, but that throughout the course of the summer they truly built an amazing one. And she was even reminded of things about their past that she had maybe overlooked and it made her think differently about that relationship. The sibling relationships were also a major great thing in this book. Of course you had the one who took charge, and the nurturing one, and with Jude being so much younger she usually ended up being overtaken by the older ones. It was nice seeing her find her identity within the family and finding her voice.

Jude herself was great. She was willing to sacrifice her social life, her relationships with her best friends, anything just to try and save her dad. It was so unselfish for a 18-year-old. I also found her to be so funny and snarky at times... a great, relate-able main character that felt like she could be your new best friend.
The relationship was just okay to me. I felt like the guy was super sweet and nice and cute and all those good things... but I wasn't wowed by him. He came off really cocky at first, and maybe that's why later on when he became serious, I didn't fully ever trust him. Also I felt like it was pretty obvious that the oath wasn't going to stop her from liking him or being with him, so it really wasn't my favorite part of the book. I don't want you to think it wasn't a cute romance, because it was. Just when comparing it to some of my other favorite book couples, they don't hold up as high.

This book definitely should not be overlooked. It is a truly touching look at a family dealing with a debilitating illness. It was refreshing to read about siblings and family and love the way this book portrayed it and I totally can't recommend this one enough. I definitely teared up by the end because Sarah Ockler, you are awesome!

OVERALL: If you like books about family and want a cute romance on top of it, this is your book. You can never go wrong with Sarah Ockler's amazing writing and ability to make you fall in love with her characters. I will always read every book she writes, forever... and you should too!

My Blog:

… (mer)
 
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Michelle_PPDB | 10 andra recensioner | Mar 18, 2023 |
Hudson was on her way to becoming a professional ice skater... a favorite for the upcoming Regionals and a shot at Nationals. That all changes when she realizes her parents marriage is falling apart faster than she can do do a sit-spin.
3 years later and Hudson is just fine with hanging out in her mother's diner making gourmet cupcakes. That is until she gets a letter about a scholarship competition... a second chance for her to fulfill her dreams!?! She knows her mom would freak, so she makes secret arrangements to help the struggling Wolves Hockey Team in exchange for some ice time. Did I mention these are hot hockey guys??? Hudson soon finds out that juggling cupcakes, waitress duty, hockey practice, figure skating practice, helping with her little bro, friendships, and boys is NOT easy. But this is her dream right??

Sarah Ockler is amazing!! I thought Twenty Boy Summer was awesome and this book just blew that one way! There were so many great things about it I don't even know where to start.

Ok, Hudson is an amazing character. She isn't perfect, but she's dealing with so much! It really made me angry at times the amount of responsibility her mother put on her. She was responsible for paying the gas bill? What 17 year old has to do that? And her mother put all the stress of the failing diner on her too. I just didn't think that is something a high school kid should have to worry about. I get it that this happens all the time in real life, but that doesn't make it right.

And then we have Dani. I liked her at first because she was funny and lovable, but then I'm sorry she became a BAD FRIEND. I didn't think that Hudson did anything for her to abandon her like she did.

Now we get to the hockey boys... oh those hockey boys. I love sexy boys in books and there was plenty in this one. Hudson has a crush on Josh, but when it looks like he has a girlfriend, she starts giving in to another boy's (Will) interests. A lot of people might think she should've waited for Josh, but that's one of my favorite parts of this book... that she didn't. I have totally been there. Liked one guy, but when he didn't seem interested went for another one I didn't like as much, only to have the first guy start pursuing me and then it's too late and I'm like Damn! That stuff happens all the time and why should she wait around? She had a semi-past with Will and so it was worth seeing what was up with him. I liked her more for it.

The BEST BEST BEST part of this book was the little brother, Bug as she calls him. He was so freaking cute and quirky, I fell in love! His little hamster Mr. Napkins, and how he uses his hamster to tell Hudson how he feels... ahhh it's just too cute!

Bottom line: This is an amazing winter read. Snowy Watonka is the perfect setting for a day when you're snow in and want to read. But I think the book is good for anytime of the year because the story is just that good and the writing is so beautiful. (I forgot to mention how awesome the writing is in this book... so witty and perfect!)

My Polka Dot Blog:
http://pinkpolkadotbookblog.blogspot.com
… (mer)
 
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Michelle_PPDB | 30 andra recensioner | Mar 18, 2023 |

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Statistik

Verk
7
Även av
2
Medlemmar
1,997
Popularitet
#12,894
Betyg
3.8
Recensioner
175
ISBN
50
Språk
4
Favoritmärkt
3

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