Review of The Summer of Skinny Dipping and Giveaway

~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.~

I'm going to be very up front with you all before I start this review so you know where I am coming from. This type of book is not my typical type of read. The ONLY reason I read this book was because I required a beach cover YA novel for my summer challenge. I generally don't read light and fluffy romantic based non-supernatural fiction. There, now with that in mind please take my review with a grain of salt sand.

I guess I was hoping that the sentence "To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves." had some supernatural undertone that would pleasantly surprise me in the novel...but it never did. So if that's what you are hoping for as well...sorry to crush your hopes and dreams.

Even though The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells was a fluffy beach read, and not supernatural in the least, it was still a pretty decent read.

The author created some really solid characters. The main character, Mia, is not a typical skinny model type teen that you often see frequent YA novels. She is "bigger-boned" and subconscious about how she looks in her bathing suit. The main male character, Simon, is also not the typical tall dark and handsome teenage boy heartthrob. He has flaming red curly hair, he is a bit of a nerd, and he has medical issues. Their romance it also not the typical "love at first sight" romance that is also very common in most YA books on the shelves these days. It's a very interesting progression from their first meeting all the way through to the end. The supporting characters of friends and families are not perfect either, they are flawed and act they was you expect typical people to act.

The book was highly predictable, and as such didn't move me as emotionally as I assume the author expected...but it was OK.

My rating?

3 satisfactory scribble spiders out of 5.

And now for the moment you've all been waiting for! Since, as mentioned previously, this book is not really my cup of tea, I can say with a strong sense of certainty that I will not be wanting to read this a second time. As such, in celebration of reaching 25 followers (actually 32 now!) I have up for grabs one previously read, but almost pristine condition copy of The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells.

Entry is fairly simple (or so I think). All I require you to do is share a fond summer beach memory with my readers in the comments. There is no length description.

Extra entries will be given to all followers of mine. Just make sure you make a post so I know you are interested.

Please post your "following" entries and your beach memory entries in separate posts.

The giveaway is open until Sunday the 17th. I will post the winner on Monday the 18th. The giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere.

Good luck!