Second StarAuthor: Alyssa B. Scheinmel
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 248 pages
Publication Date: May 13, 2014
*ARC received from publisher via NetGalley
From Goodreads:
A twisty story about love, loss, and lies, this contemporary oceanside adventure is tinged with a touch of dark magic as it follows seventeen-year-old Wendy Darling on a search for her missing surfer brothers. Wendy’s journey leads her to a mysterious hidden cove inhabited by a tribe of young renegade surfers, most of them runaways like her brothers. Wendy is instantly drawn to the cove’s charismatic leader, Pete, but her search also points her toward Pete's nemesis, the drug-dealing Jas. Enigmatic, dangerous, and handsome, Jas pulls Wendy in even as she's falling hard for Pete. A radical reinvention of a classic, Second Star is an irresistible summer romance about two young men who have yet to grow up--and the troubled beauty trapped between them.
Review:
Atmospheric and fantastical with a dreamlike quality, this is the story of Wendy Darling, who spends the summer looking for her brothers, living in an abandoned house on the beach with a group of surfer teenagers. Wendy is a straight A student who is headed to Stanford, but she doesn't believe her brothers are dead. They were surfers who disappeared about nine months before she graduated from high school, and their surfboards were found later, all in pieces. After graduation, Wendy decides to find them and meets Pete, a surfer who basically takes care of a group of teenagers and moves in with them. The premise of this book is interesting, but I just never connected with any of the characters, including Wendy. Maybe it was the fact that it was written in such a dreamlike way that I felt disconnected from everything. Everything moved so fast and I would say I didn't like Pete (I didn't like how he kissed Wendy given his relationship with Belle and how he kept things from Wendy) but I feel like I never got to know him. Same with Jas. And such a pointless love triangle. Toward the end I was reeling a bit, and I was so surprised by the twist and appreciating how different it was…when it ended up not being a real twist. In the end, it was interesting, but just ok for me. And other than the names and the fact that Pete is in charge of a bunch of teenage runaways, how is this a reinvention of Peter Pan? Just don't really see it.
Posted by: Pam
I haven't heard very good things about this one. I have an ARC of it, but I feel like I'm probably going to end up skipping it. Nobody I've talked to has really liked it. :(
ReplyDeleteThere were parts of it I liked, but overall, it was just ok. ~Pam
DeleteGreat review. I haven't seen one nice review of this book, everyone seems disappointed with it. I am pretty glad I avoided this one as it doesn't sound like a book I would end up liking.
ReplyDeleteSince I had the ARC I felt like I had to read it. There were some interesting parts to it, but it was just ok. ~Pam
DeleteIt seems this one was just ok for a lot of people so I don't think I'll read it. I actually just traded away my ARC.
ReplyDeleteWith so many books out there, it's hard to read one that you know is just ok. Hope you traded it for something really good! ~Pam
DeleteHmm. I was looking forward to this one, but I'll have to see if I'll even finish it. It might be a DNF for me. We'll see.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe now your expectations are so low you'll be pleasantly surprised? Let me know what you end up thinking about it! ~Pam
DeleteYikes. I was psyched for this book when I first heard about it, but the more reviews I see for it, the further down my pile it goes. It's a bummer that you couldn't connect with the characters, and Pete sounds like a jackass. Oh, well.
ReplyDeleteI haven't read too many positive reviews, that's for sure. If I can't connect with the characters, I usually don't like the book. Maybe your expectations are so low, you'll be pleasantly surprised! ~Pam
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