Monday, July 11, 2011

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!

14 comments:

  1. My fondest beach memory is my younger daughter's 1st time at the beach back in Summer 2008. Watching her face as she felt the sand under her toes and then seeing her eat the sand was priceless!

    Please enter me in the draw!

    I'm following you on GFC (Darlene), and my email address is darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

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  2. Extra entry for following on GFC (Darlene)

    My email address is darlenesbooknook at gmail dot com.

    Thanks for the giveaway!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Watching my daughter in the waves for the first time. Donna
    I'm a GFC follower but I'm only posting once. I have a giveaway on my blog. Hope you'll stop by and enter.

    http://mylife-in-stories.blogspot.com

    dkmtheriot at yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  4. My favorite beach memory is when I was 8 and I got to go out on the boat with my dad for the first time. I got to steer the boat and everything!-- always stayed with me.

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  5. I'm a GFC follower & I also tweeted about your giveaway :)

    Email: simplymeabookaddict@gmail.com

    SimplyMe @ Book Addict

    ReplyDelete
  6. One of my fondest beach memories is of a Christmas vacation in St. Petersburg, Florida. My dad caught a shark while standing on the beach fishing in the ocean and my mom got pooped on by a seagull while sun bathing. My brother and I and some kids our age who were staying at the same hotel spent 2 weeks either swimming, sightseeing or going to the local attractions. We had the best time ever!!

    irbratb(@)gmail(.)com

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  7. I'm a GFC follower: Vicki Newell

    irbratb(@)gmail(.)com

    ReplyDelete
  8. My fondest beach memory is the first time I took my kids to Virginia Beach. They were only 7, 4 and 3, and they absolutely loved it! They are definitely water babies :)

    jwitt33 at live dot com

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  9. I am a GFC follower :)

    jwitt33 at live dot com

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  10. This is a hard one because I grew up in a beach town... but it was so much fun last year when I took my husband to my hometown. We camped on the beach, fed the birds and shot home movies of them. There's nothing cooler to me than observing the wildlife of a beach.

    vanessanicole21 at yahoo dot com

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  11. And I'm a new GFC follower. Thanks for the giveaway!

    vanessanicole21 at yahoo dot com

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  12. I tend to spend more time in the river than on a beach, but one of my best summer beach memories is of playing frisbee with my cousins on a big, sandy beach.

    ikkinlala AT yahoo DOT ca

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  13. My most fond beach memory is being in California with my whole family and they buried me in the sand. Sounds awful, kind of.. but it was fun!! :o)

    imabookshark AT yahoo DOT com

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I'm also a new follower! :o) GFC: Mickey @ imabookshark

    imabookshark AT yahoo DOT com

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete