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Thursday, February 19, 2009

Book Review: Beach Blondes: A SUMMER Novel by Katherine Applegate

Three Months. Three Guys. One AMAZING Summer.

Summer Smith is in for the best summer of her life. Between the cold weather and her boyfriendless existence in Minnesota, Summer is ready for sun, sand, and boys in the Florida Keys. And by the end of the first day, she has more than enough to keep her busy:

Adam, the senator's son, has looks, power, and all the money in the world.

Diver, the mystery man, is mellow, intriguing, and definitely unique.

And Seth, the perfect guy...only he has a girlfriend.

But with new friends, cute guys, and miles of hot white sand, Summer's in for more trouble than she thinks....

What i thought: This novel was fantastic! It is one of the completely original teen novels that were written in the 90s before all of the Gossip Girl and other clone-like novels were released.

From the moment you turn the first page, Katherine's got you in her claws (not that you have claws, Katherine). Summer's being miserable, Marquez's being sarcastic, Seth's being sexy, Diana's being Depressed (with a capital D) . . . it all comes together in one perfect pool-side novel.
Despite this book's length (721 pages), i breezed right through it, and was finished within two days. The plot itself was great, and is clearly geared toward the teen audience. Although i would not call it fluff (i NEVER call books fluff), this book does contain an every-day teen aspect (GASP!).

this is the perfect edge-of-your-seat-yet-relaxing novel, and one that is so easy to love. Applegate wrote this story in a way that, even just focusing on your average teens life, it is completely and utterly gripping, in a way so unlike other teen novels. She created a story that could cause you to read well into the night, despite what it was about: boys. Crazy, roudy teens. Summer (as in the season). Beach. PARTY!

Many people, when reading teen novels with no paranormal or supernatural backbone, get extremely annoyed with the . . . well, i must say, reality of the story. For example: the Clique series. A bunch of (i take back what i said earlier) FLUFF in which the only conflict is whether to buy the Jimmy-Choos or Gucci bag (did i spell that right?). I personally feel that this is ridiculous. For god's sake, if your so desperate to learn about this stuff, just go and stalk the popular kids at your school (ew). I mean, WHY would that appeal to anyone at all?

Anyway, Applegate completely broke through that pre-set outline of teen fluff novels and crossed a line: she mad the book INTERESTING! No paranormal, spy, supernatural whatever backbone at all, and it was good!

Now, i am not saying that other authors havent done this. Of course you all know that Sarah Dessen (i think that fact is well known), Ann Brashares (of course!), Lauren Bardenholdt, Jodi Lynn Anderson, Alyson Noel, Brad Barkely/Heather Helper, Lisa Barham, Meg Cabot (no, duh) and many others have done the same. But Applegate introduces it in a completely diferent way, and makes her readers crave for more in a way so different from others that this book is extremely unique.

Three novels in one book, going through June, July, and August, will take not only Summer but also the reader on a journey full of heartache, mistakes, and endings that will surprise us all. BEACH BLONDES literally has "beach read" written all over it, although it is great for any other time (like, hmm, February?). The perfect book for some fun in the sun. An utterly unique read you will not find anywhere else, i recommend you pick this up and . . . GET READING! Shall we?

5 comments:

Ashley said...

I'm excited for this! I bought it a while ago!

Bookworm said...

It looks a bit too fluffy for me, but cute! I saw this in Borders and thought WHOA. That is one hefty book. So good it was a quick read. (:

Anonymous said...

This book is the best book you will ever pick up and read. despite the cover that guys like to look at lol. i loved this book. it got me thinking that the drama in my life isnt as bad as some peoples and its kinda like a theropy session without the embarassment :D

simply nerdy book reviews said...

anonymous, i totally feel for you. some of the guys in my classes actually took the book and stared at it for a few seconds. PA-THE-TIC. and therapy-i get whatcha mean! lol:)

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