Review: Summer of Sloane

Summer of Sloane

By Erin L. Schneider

Published: May 3, 2016

Warm Hawaiian sun. Lazy beach days. Flirty texts with her boyfriend back in Seattle.

These are the things seventeen-year-old Sloane McIntyre pictured when she imagined the summer she'd be spending at her mom's home in Hawaii with her twin brother, Penn. Instead, after learning an unthinkable secret about her boyfriend, Tyler, and best friend, Mick, all she has is a fractured hand and a completely shattered heart.

Once she arrives in Honolulu, though, Sloane hopes that Hawaii might just be the escape she needs. With beach bonfires, old friends, exotic food, and the wonders of a waterproof cast, there's no reason Sloane shouldn't enjoy her summer. And when she meets Finn McAllister, the handsome son of a hotel magnate who doesn't always play by the rules, she knows he's the perfect distraction from everything that's so wrong back home.

But it turns out a measly ocean isn't nearly enough to stop all the emails, texts, and voicemails from her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend, desperate to explain away their betrayal. And as her casual connection with Finn grows deeper, Sloane's carefree summer might not be as easy to come by as she'd hoped. Weighing years of history with Mick and Tyler against their deception, and the delicate possibility of new love, Sloane must decide when to forgive, and when to live for herself.

My review:

Summer of Sloane would make a good beach read. There is friendship (aside from the destroyed friendship with Mick) and romance and a little surfing and swimming too. There are also darker moments as Sloane deals with the pain and hurt she feels over the loss of her former best friend and boyfriend. Finn has some hardship in his own life with his overbearing father and family issues. 

Sloane is a privileged teen from a well-to-do (but far from perfect) family. Her mom gives her and her twin brother Penn a new convertible and believes strongly in expensive retail therapy to help Sloane get over her sorrow. That aspect of Sloane's life is harder to connect with but her emotional struggles make it easier to relate to her. I could understand her anger and irritation with the constant texts and calls from her exes and I could also understand the sadness she felt because she did lose two people who were an important part of her life from childhood. I thought the book realistically portrayed the journey Sloane takes to overcome the pain and betrayal as well as where those relationships are left in the end. 

Finn is a fun guy most of the time and helps Sloane break out of her funk. She teaches his little sister how to swim and as Sloane and Finn spend more and more time together she falls for him. Finn is not the only one who helps Sloane move past her heartache. She also has a friend in Mia and her family is there for her too. I liked how supportive her parents were although they seemed pretty liberal in their parenting. 

I did think the secondary characters weren't as well developed and some seemed to just disappear from the story. I also wish the setting had been more detailed. There were a few uses of Hawaiian words here or there but beyond that the book could easily have been set in California or Florida and I wouldn't notice the difference.

I did like Summer of Sloane overall. I think readers looking for a pleasant escape this summer should give it a try. I would suggest this book to fans of Jessi Kirby, Leila Howland, Morgan Matson and other similar authors. 

Note: I received an ARC for review purposes courtesy of the publisher and Netgalley