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Twenty Boy Summer Paperback – May 1, 2010

by Sarah Ockler (Author)

358 ratings

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"Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it."
"Okay."
"Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?"
"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in ZanzibarBay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie---she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

Beautifully written and emotionally honest, this is a debut novel that explores what it truly means to love someone and what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every single moment this world has to offer.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Twenty Boy Summer is a tender and heartfelt story of love, loss, and letting go."―Deb Caletti, author of National Book Award finalist Honey, Baby, Sweetheart

"Ockler brings the salty tang of the ocean waves and the tingling anticipation of a first kiss to delicate life, while simultaneously evoking the mixed-up feelings of the friends, family, and loves left behind."―Lisa Ann Sandell, author of The Weight of the Sky and Song of the Sparrow

"Reading this book felt like diving underwater and emerging with wise little gems about friendship, grieving, and love."―Laura Resau, author of Red Glass

"Breaks your heart and puts it back together again."―Jo Knowles, author of Lessons From A Dead Girl and Jumping Off Swings

"Anna's authentic voice and some lyrical writing will satisfy fans of Sarah Dessen, while the mix of romance, drama, and tragedy will be a draw for teen readers of Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult."―Booklist

"[A] sincere, romantic tearjerker. Readers will easily relate to Anna's authentically depicted feelings of lust, longing, shame and fear as she cautiously embarks on a new summer love."―Kirkus Reviews

"This is smoothly written and romantic as all get out....ideal for readers looking for romance salted with a bit of tears as well as a bit of sea air."―BCCB

About the Author

Sarah Ockler wrote and illustrated her first book at age six-an adaptation of Steven Spielberg's E.T. Still recovering from her own adolescence, Sarah now writes for young adults. While nomadic at heart, she currently lives in Upstate New York with her husband Alex and an ever-expanding collection of sea glass.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (May 1, 2010)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316051586
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316051583
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 12 years and up
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 940L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 7 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.46 x 0.88 x 8.22 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #753,993 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #625 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Death & Dying
- #708 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Emotions & Feelings
- #829 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Dating & Sex (Books)

Customer Reviews:
358 ratings

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Sarah Ockler

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Sarah Ockler is the bestselling author of The Summer of Chasing Mermaids, #scandal, The Book of Broken Hearts, Bittersweet, Twenty Boy Summer, and Fixing Delilah. Her books have been translated into several languages and have received numerous accolades, including ALA's Best Fiction for Young Adults, Girls' Life Top 100 Must Reads, Indie Next List, and nominations for YALSA Teens' Top Ten and NPR's Top 100 Teen Books.

Sarah is a champion cupcake eater, tea drinker, night person, and bookworm. When she's not writing or reading at home in New York City, Sarah enjoys hugging trees and road-tripping through the country with her husband, Alex.

Visit her website at sarahockler.com or find her on Twitter and Facebook.

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358 global ratings

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Customers find this book a heartwarming story about love, with one review noting how beautifully it handles grief and loss. The book receives positive feedback for its readability as a great teen summer book, and customers appreciate its exploration of friendship and writing quality. While some customers love the character's personalities, others find the character development lacking, and several customers describe the book as boring.

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Heartwarming story Story quality Readability Friendship Exploration Writing quality Character development Boredom

28 customers mention "Heartwarming story"23 positive5 negative

Customers find this book emotionally engaging, with wonderful stories about love and loss, and one customer notes how beautifully it handles grief and loss.

"...Instead, it is usually just implied. The grief and loss is handled beautifully, but is a very heavy subject that might be too much for a student who..." Read more

"...The climax of the book, when all of the confessions are made, is emotional and gripping...." Read more

"...In a book where the chapters are consumed without notice, the story is moving and it takes us along a path of discovery and the search of a new..." Read more

"...This book was laugh out loud funny at times and heartbreakingly sad at others. It's about friendship, love lost, and letting go...." Read more

9 customers mention "Story quality"7 positive2 negative

Customers enjoy the story of the book, with one describing it as an amazing debut that draws readers in.

"...Sarah Ockler creates a powerful story of being able to fall in love again after experiencing the heartbreak of losing someone you loved before...." Read more

"...It was not the book I was expecting. The premise was good but somehow, it wasted all its depth in exchange for fluffiness." Read more

"I liked the story. The first half of the book is slow and the main character, Anna, is every bit of a prude...." Read more

"...I was definitely touched and moved by everything about this book!!" Read more

6 customers mention "Readability"6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book enjoyable, particularly as a summer read for teenage girls.

"...I recommend the book to anyone wanting a light summer read. I was definitely touched and moved by everything about this book!!" Read more

"I really enjoyed this book its a great teen girl summer book. It's happy then it's sad. A lot of emotion and I love the character's personalities...." Read more

"The book was enjoyable and entertaining. It was a good interesting read and I am looking forward to other books by Sarah Ockler." Read more

"...Im 14 and its byfar my favorite book ive ever read." Read more

5 customers mention "Friendship"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the friendship portrayed in the book.

"...It's about friendship, love lost, and letting go...." Read more

"...Anna and Frankie have a great friendship, and I loved following Anna as she tried to move forward from a tragic loss without revealing her deepest..." Read more

"...This is a wonderful story about love, friendship, secrecy, tragedy, and healing hearts." Read more

"...This book is truly great for the romantic heart and people who value friendship. A five star book no doubt" Read more

4 customers mention "Exploration"4 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the book's exploration, with one noting how it takes readers along a path of discovery, while another describes it as an exciting journey of self-discovery.

"...are consumed without notice, the story is moving and it takes us along a path of discovery and the search of a new future...." Read more

"...She was mature and interesting. She felt very real and I love reading about how she handled some situations...." Read more

"...I loved it because it was sad and exciting and beautiful...." Read more

"...It brought out raw emotions and helped me figure some things out...." Read more

4 customers mention "Writing quality"4 positive0 negative

Customers praise the writing quality of the book.

"...The writing is fairly simple, but this story really deals with mature situations...." Read more

"...Ockler's writing was spectacular! I felt that I was right there in Zanzibar Bay with Anna and Frankie!..." Read more

"...What she felt, what she saw and how she coped. This novel was very well written and for me, I could feel Anna's pain...." Read more

"...I have recommended it to my teenage grandchildren. It's well written and also has substance." Read more

7 customers mention "Character development"4 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the character development in the book, with some loving the personalities while others find it lacking.

"...I fell in love with the characters...." Read more

"...He's not a great character, but it's easy to understand why Anna would pick him: he's not Matt...." Read more

"...I experienced pain and cried with the characters. I laughed out loud at every joke...." Read more

"...The supporting characters weren't much better...." Read more

3 customers mention "Boredom"0 positive3 negative

Customers find the book boring.

"...The premise was good but somehow, it wasted all its depth in exchange for fluffiness." Read more

"This book was boring, it felt like a whole lot of nothing....Some things just don't make sence, for example if Anna guessed the guys they met, prob..." Read more

"Boring and waste of time. Wasn't nearly as good as I was told. Do not read!!" Read more

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OpheliasOwn
Beautiful, Heartbreaking Masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2013
Verified Purchase

Covers really can be deceiving. Titles are no better. When you look at this cover, what do you think is going to happen? Girl seeks boys, girl finds one boy, boy changes girl, life continues happily? Boy are you wrong. Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer has more going on than you might think given such a deceptive title...

Anna, Matt, and Frankie were best friends. Of course, Frankie (Francesca) was Matt's little sister and Anna was in love with Matt. But that all changed when Matt professed his love for Anna at her birthday party. He asked her to keep their love a secret until he and Frankie went away with their parents for the summer so he could explain the relationship properly. Unfortunately, they never got that far, as after a month of hiding their relationship, the day before Matt and Frankie were to leave for Zanzibar Bay, the three of them decided to go for ice cream. On the way home, a car accident leaves Anna and Frankie shattered emotionally and Matt gone forever.

Now it is a year later and Frankie's parents decide they have to go back to Zanzibar Bay. Still grieving for the loss of Matt, they pack up with Anna in tow and head for the beach. Before they leave, Frankie convinces Anna to make a pact to hook at least twenty boys in their three weeks at the beach. Since the loss of Matt, Frankie has changed to someone Anna barely recognizes. Although she can only think of Matt and the only secret she every kept from Frankie, she agrees to the pact just to make things better with Frankie, and relieve a little guilt.

Once on the beach, Anna meets one boy she can't stop thinking about. Frankie continues on her quest, but Anna is torn between really liking this local surfer boy and feeling like she has betrayed her first love, Matt. When Frankie reads Anna's journal and learns of her relationship with Matt, it seems like nothing will ever bring the friends back to the way they were before the accident.

This book blew me away. The grief Anna, Frankie, and Frankie's parents suffer is so real, almost palpable. When Frankie's mother admits to Anna she knows the relationship with Matt was more than friends, you can almost feel the ache in Anna's heart. When the family arrives at their beach house, the pain will course through your body. You can see them grieve. You can feel them hurt. Ockler has delivered a story that will make you suffer and survive right along with the characters. It also shows the difference in how people grieve, which is an important lesson for people to learn. Anna turns within herself and refuses to open up. Frankie opens up to everyone just to fill the void. Frankie's mother and father are barely speaking or holding themselves together. This vacation to Zanzibar Bay was a life journey the reader should feel both privileged and saddened to journey down.

The writing is fairly simple, but this story really deals with mature situations. There is a decent amount of sex as Frankie tries to find solace anywhere she can get it, but nothing is graphic. Instead, it is usually just implied. The grief and loss is handled beautifully, but is a very heavy subject that might be too much for a student who has suffered any great loss recently. The beauty of this story is it will hook a girl who doesn't usually read serious stories with its lure of fun and beaches, but it will deliver lessons they never saw coming. If you give this book a chance, I promise you will never be the same.

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Paige
Pretty good.
Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2011
Verified Purchase
I admit it, I like a book that can make me cry. And this book did that.

Initially, I thought the romance between Matt and Anna was predictable and a little too "mushy." Actually I still think that, but I realize now that the book isn't about that romance. It's about Anna coming to terms with it, and its end, and being the one who's "not allowed" to be as upset as she is about his death. Her grief makes you look at grief in a different way. She's angry that nobody seems to care how Matt's death affected her, because he wasn't her brother. She was just the "neighbor kid." She's supposed to be the strong one. Nobody knows or cares that there might have been more to their relationship, and that she still writes letters to him and thinks about him constantly. She wishes she could tell someone, but she can't. She promised Matt she wouldn't tell. It makes you wonder, at what point are you allowed to break a promise to a dead person? Would doing so even make her feel better? If she tells, will they be mad that she didn't tell sooner?

Anna also feels guilty about her new fling with beach boy Sam, afraid that it will erase Matt. But also hopeful that it will. She doesn't want to be weighed down by his memory any longer, and Sam might be the perfect cure-- or the perfect storm. It was often hard to decide. Sam is completely different from Matt, yet Anna finds herself irresistibly attracted to him anyway. He's not a great character, but it's easy to understand why Anna would pick him: he's not Matt.

Frankie's way of dealing with her brother's death is different, but just as understandable. At first she cannot compose herself. The description of these scenes in the book were the parts that made me cry the most. You can just picture this character, practically attached at the hip to her brother for her whole life, suddenly feeling alone in the world without him. Eventually she snaps out of it and finds her Frankie way of dealing with it. She doesn't mention him often. She pretends to be an only child. Actually, she pretends a lot of things. She becomes a little rebellious because her parents don't pay attention anymore, and she wants to find that attention elsewhere. She focuses on her looks, messes around with boys, smokes, and basically becomes a completely different person. Anna refers to her two personalities as the "Old Frankie" and the "New Frankie." Ultimately we know that Frankie isn't what she seems, but she needs to come to terms with it herself.

The climax of the book, when all of the confessions are made, is emotional and gripping. These two characters have spent their whole lives together and suddenly they feel like they don't know each other at all. Discovering the truth forces them both to grow up a little, and helps them finally cope with Matt's death face-to-face.

While there were things about this book that I didn't like (such as Anna's inability to decide whether she wanted to remember Matt or forget him, tell Frankie or keep her secret forever, etc.), I would definitely recommend it if you're considering it. It's not a waste of time or money.

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Claire Mill
Beautifully told story of grief
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 25, 2010
Verified Purchase

Anna and her next door neighbours, Frankie and her older brother Matt, have grown up together, always best friends, telling each other everything. Almost. Anna never told Frankie she had been in love with Matt since she was 10. Or that on her 15th birthday she finally got her wish and Matt kissed her. They spent a month together, hiding their relationship from Frankie. Then tragedy struck and Matt was gone. Anna has promised him she'd never tell their secret, now she has to take it to the grave, playing the supportive best friend to Frankie never telling her that she misses Matt just as much.

A year after his death the girls are off on vacation with Frankie's parents, and Frankie is determined they'll find a summer romance. If they can meet a boy a day, then it should be easy. Twenty days, twenty boys. Two girls grieving for the loss of the other part of their friendship. A friendship where once no secrets lived, now divided by something they can still barely believe happened.

I loved this book. It took just a couple of pages to have me hooked and if not for being ill and not able to read as much as normal, I'd have finished it easily in a day. Anna's narrative had me from the start, her easy voice drawing me in. The pain of Matt's death came across so sharply that despite being just pages in to it and knowing it would happen, I was tearing up. And tearing up many more times throughout the book as Anna tried to deal with the loss, the secret and moving on. Even though the book is written in first person from Anna's perspective, the pain coming across from her watching Frankie, and Frankie's parents, also deal with Matt's loss had me in tears as well. It was just so raw, it wasn't hard to imagine it being real.

It's a beautifully written story of two girls dealing with their grief and the different ways it can affect people. It broke me apart so many times while I was reading it, but it pulled me back together by the end as they learnt to deal and to move on. There was some summer romance involved which was soft, sweet and awkward in the right places. But it wasn't really the focus at any point, it was just another aspect of Anna dealing with her grief for Matt, her first love and her best-friend-thats-a-boy. It was pretty perfectly done actually, all of the book. The grief, the lies, the anger and the truth. It showcased the various reactions and issues that come up when dealing with the loss of a loved one, and the journey of learning to deal with it.

It was so hard to put the book down, even though I was pretty ill while reading it. It was just gripping in its beautiful, raw realness. It was a painful journey as both girls grew and changed on their journey and it came to what felt like a very natural, believable, satisfying conclusion. I would highly recommend it!!

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Shruti Sinha
Makes you go on an emotional roller coaster!
Reviewed in India on November 10, 2015
Verified Purchase
this book is just amazing! it takes you on an emotional roller coaster. it is basically about a girl and her best friend who go on a trip of a life time to forget some painful memories they have of the death of a loved one. i highly recommend it especially as a summer read as its description of zanzibar bay just makes you want to go to a beach with a best friend and get a tan.

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Telss
I Can't Count How Many Times I Cried!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 7, 2013
Verified Purchase
I will start my review by saying this story is truly emotional! I'm rating it 7 out of 10 because it was hugely depressing! Well, the first half of the book was anyway. This book is really sad. It is a lovely story though. I did enjoy reading it. I cried so many times over this book, even in the very beginning when I barely knew the main character, Anna. This is a heart breaking story that you wouldn't wish anyone to go through, but do everyday.

Another reason I'm rating this book down is because I really thought Anna betrayed her own character and I didn't like that. In the book, she even says about her change of personality. I understand its part of the story but I just didn't like it.

What I like about this book though is the friendships. They are really strong. First of all you have Anna, Matt and Frankie who have a huge bond. Then there are the 4 parents in the story which also has a strong bond. I think the writer must know friendships like this to be able to write about them in such a way.

I found this book a little too young for me. Im 20 and the main characters in this book are 16. It does have a bit of swearing and sex but I felt Anna and Frankie were immature. Usually in a book with young characters, they are more mature than a 16 year old in real life.

I think if you liked books such as The Boy Who Sneaks In My Bedroom Window or Almost: A Love Story then you'll like this one. This a quite a short book and I read it in under 24 hours. I would recommend this but I won't be reading it again and I can't see myself reading the Authors other books. 7 out of 10!

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Donna Rushton
Beautifully written!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 1, 2014
Verified Purchase
4.5 stars!

Beautifully written and immensely emotional, Twenty Boy Summer is a story that will tug on your heart and not let you got until the last page!

Anna has been best friends with siblings Matt and Frankie her whole life, so when Anna develops a crush on Matt she doesn’t dare do anything about it nor does she share her feeling with Frankie. When she finally gets Matts attention, they’re both swept up into a whirlwind romance but Matt makes Anna promise that he will tell Frankie the news at the right time. The problem is, Matt dies before he can do that and Anna is determined to always keep her promise to Matt. As a way to try and move on, Anna is invited on a summer holiday with Frankie and her parents and Frankie has some crazy ideas on how to spend the summer including meeting a boy every day – twenty in total, but how can Anna even think of moving on when all she can think of is the one boy she’s lost……

After reading Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler I just knew I wanted to try something by her and I’m glad I decided with Twenty Boy Summer because it was just as good as Bittersweet with a more emotional touch to it – which I loved.

The start of the story is utterly heart-breaking because we’re quickly showed how Anna and Matt’s romance starts, making you totally fall in love with Matt but also not forgetting you already know he’s going to die. HEART-BREAKING! I loved Matt. I wanted more Matt. I didn’t want him to die. But I completely see why it happened – for the story!

I really like Anna as a character. She was well developed and her story was tough. She has so many highs and lows and her emotions are all over the place but she hides them well. It’s only on her own when she can truly be honest with herself while writing in her diary. I really felt her pain and her loss of losing Matt. I can’t really same the same for Frankie, I wasn’t a huge fan of her but could understand her pain was different from Anna’s. As time passes though, Anna slowly learns to deal and throughout the story we see her journey of re-discovering herself and her wants for the future. A lot of that came from Sam – her summer romance and he definitely gave her the push she needed to enjoy life again. I wish there was a better ending for Anna and Sam though – even though it was true and real to the story – but just saying I wanted that little bit more!

In all, Twenty Boy Summer is another great read by YA author Sarah Ockler and you can bet I’m going to read more by her!

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S M BOOTH
Three Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 5, 2014
Verified Purchase
Great

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Twenty Boy Summer Paperback – May 1, 2010

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Top reviews from the United States

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5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, Heartbreaking Masterpiece

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good.

Top reviews from other countries

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully told story of grief

4.0 out of 5 stars Makes you go on an emotional roller coaster!

4.0 out of 5 stars I Can't Count How Many Times I Cried!

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written!

3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars

Beautiful, Heartbreaking Masterpiece

Pretty good.

Beautifully told story of grief

Makes you go on an emotional roller coaster!

I Can't Count How Many Times I Cried!

Beautifully written!

Three Stars