There is so much adolescent turmoil and emotion that I can relate to (or used to relate to as a teen). I love when I feel like the protagonist gets me, and I feel less alone in my head. And I also love the wonderful teenage things that can't relate to, like having a wolf pack of friends or a summer romance, but I'm still able to live and experience these things through the narrator's voice.

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get into this book once I picked it up. I do hope to give it another try in the future.

Gorgeous, gorgeous book. Seriously, I didn’t want to put this down. Laura Silverman is an incredible writer for writing this novel. One of the best coming of age novels I have read. Everything is jam-packed in this one whole package of a book. You want funny, it’s here. You want a deeply moving book, also here. Need nerdy, girl, this book got you. It’s so adorable, I want to reread it again.

I came across the book after following Laura on Twitter, and of course, I could not pass up a chance to read the book and promote it. The number one things that caught my eye was the cover, and just the way that the blue lured my in so my post for today is some graphics that i have created on some of my favorite quotes of the book as some of you guys who are frequent readers of my blog know, I really love graphic design, and wanted to do something a bit different for this post.

Solid 3 stars for me.

I didn't have issues per-say with anything, I just felt like it missed depth for me.

Yeah we got some development with Anise and Lincoln but the other characters just seemed "shallow" storyline wise for me. I don't want to give away too much I just wish there was more development between the family dynamic, less ominous plot devices and stronger friend conversations.

Not terrible, but not one I would keep on my shelf.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Her summer before senior year should be perfect. Anise can't wait to spend time on the Santa Cruz beach, surfing the summer away, with her friends, and finishing it all off with the annual Surf Break festival. However, when her aunt is seriously injured in a car accident, Anise and her father need to travel to Nebraska for the summer, to help look after her, and her three children. Now Anise's plans are on hold, and she thinks the summer is going to be a total bust. Being in the childhood home of her absentee mother brings up all sorts of feelings, as does the handsome guy, Lincoln, who she meets in the skate park. Will she realise that there's more to life than living in the same place always, and that exploring is good for her?

One thing I will say for this book, is that I'm glad I put off reading it for so long. I recently read another of Laura's books, Recommended for You, and really enjoyed it, whereas this book, I didn't like. Honestly, if I had read Girl Out of Water first, I don't think I would've bothered with her recent release. To start of with, I really disliked the main character, Anise. She was so selfish, and bratty, and I never warmed up to her. She was gutted about having to leave the beach for the summer, which I do understand, but she was so self centered, that she never really considered how her aunt, or her cousins, were feeling about the entire thing, especially after she met Lincoln. She also had a really bad hang up that surfing was the be all and end all, and no other pursuit was okay. She had to be forced to try skateboarding, and when she realised liked it, she still obsessed over surfing. And then there's her relationship with her friends. She has some decent friends back in California, and had even kissed her best boy friend, Eric, the night before she left. But once she got in Nebraska, she ghosted them all, never talking to them or checking in - and then expected them all to be waiting for her when she got home. Her and Lincoln were okay, but by the time anything really happened, I was already annoyed with the book, and skimming it until I could be finished. Not a good debut, but at least I know Laura's books have improved.

I swapped my kindle back in 2018 and am unable to recover this title. I appreciate the opportunity that was given for review but sadly can't complete it for this title. However, based on the other works I know by this author I am awarding 4Stars.
Many thanks.

I really enjoyed this one! It is a heartfelt contemporary coming of age story with an adorable romance and family at the forefront.

I unfortunately was not able to read this book. I was excited when ever I had chosen to download or pick this book up on Netgalley. However, time moves by so quickly and I never got to read it.

Girl Out of Water by Laura Silverman was a cute contemporary book about a girl who loves surfing and is forced to spend the summer away from her friends and surfboard. She'll meet interesting people and learn that life doesn't have to be scary. I enjoyed this book but it felt unfinished at the end (which I get but still). Now I want to go to the beach! Thank you NetGalley for the free ebook copy.

DNF @ 22%, so no rating. I found the main protagonist in this book to be unlikable, which isn't always a deal breaker for me. But if I'm going to enjoy the book, I at least need a good story for offset. I didn't find one here.

Cute summer romance read. Loved the characters. Anise was my favorite. Her personality reminded me of my mother's.

Girl Out of Water was an enjoyable read with a sympathetic protagonist and a sweet romance. I loved Anise's love for the ocean and talent for surfing as well as her confidence in her athleticism. Her insecurities about her mother and how she might be the same as her mother were compelling and heartbreaking. I respected how responsible and caring she was toward her cousins and how she was able to adapt to the changes despite her initial resentment. Her interactions with Lincoln were fun and engaging, and I enjoyed their dynamic. I appreciated that Lincoln's disability was handled well and he was a fully realized character rather than an inspiration porn figure. I also liked the way the book explored friendships and drifting apart and the work that has to go into maintaining relationships. Anise's character arc and growth were satisfying and the ending was full of hope for her future.

I read this years ago, and I can remember really enjoying it - will have to re read to give a more accurate review.

5/5 rating

Lincoln. OH MY GOD, LINCOLN. He's a perfect lil babe who must be protected at all costs.

This was sold to me as a romance novel, and it definitely has the cutesy teen romance (because OH MY GODD, LINCOLN) but it's more about familial love and discovering what family means while dealing with family tragedy.

The end was a bit disorienting. The writing in the last few chapters felt entirely written by someone else.

Other than that, I LOVED this book. Very cute, meaningful, and full of warm fuzzies.

This was the perfect summer read! It was cute coming age story that everyone should give a chance. Family, love, friendship, surfing, skateboard, a road trip and a diverse cast are the great aspects of this book that I enjoyed.

This book was super cute. Silverman did an excellent job giving detail. Anise is a likeable character.

Unfortunately this ended up being a DNF for me at 44%. I think this was more of a me thing than the book itself. I had a really hard time connecting to the main character, Anise, and was honestly frustrated by her most of the time. From what I read she spent a good portion of the time being worried that her friends were going to forget about her or not like her anymore after being gone for TWO months. I understand that two of her friends are going to college and that it does suck to be away from your friends for the whole summer, but two months is just not that long and if her friends do end up dropping her after being away two months than they weren't that great of friends in the first place. But besides that annoyance I just wasn't invested in Anise's story and I'm trying to read books that I actually care about. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Also I did listen to part of this on audiobook and I could not handle the narrator's voice. It wasn't at all what I was picturing Anise to sound like.

A decent, light read. A perfect beach read feel. I enjoyed it, it was not predictable, but I still felt like it was missing something.

This book is a really good coming of age story for Anise. She has to come to grips about people changing (herself included) and learning that someone else's past (the mom that left her) does not dictate how she will turn out. Anise learns how not to be forgotten and what is really important. This is a great read about summer, friends, and first loves!