~review to post on my blog on 5/26~

Do you ever pick up a book randomly, only to realize that it was pretty much exactly what you needed? Girl Out of Water was this book for me. I’ve read a lot of heavy books lately, for good reason obviously, but this book just warmed my soul like the California sun on my skin—or at least, how I imagine the Cali sun would feel, based on Laura Silverman’s beautiful descriptions.

cute contemporary with a unique premise--
Girl Out of Water follows Anise Sawyer as she leaves her hometown—and her surfing obsession—behind for the summer, heading to Nebraska to help out her family as her aunt recovers from a near-fatal car accident. Anise doesn’t know the first thing about taking care of her cousins, two nine-year-old twin boys with tons of energy, or their sister, the withdrawn 12-year-old who’s unwilling to talk about her problems. Anise is terrified of leaving her home and her close-knit group of friends behind in the last summer they all have before several of them head off to college. Meanwhile, she’s dealing with never knowing when her adventuring absent mom is going to show up—oh, and the adorable one-armed black guy she meets at the skate park.

reliability: 11/10--
This is the only book I’ve ever read about a surfer girl and probably the second book I’ve ever read about skateboarding. It’s a unique premise that kept me interested. Anise is a wonderful main character with some of my favorite attributes: she’s flawed, she’s stubborn, and she’s got some stuff to work out. Her voice is extremely relatable. Her fears of losing her friends to time and distance really resonated with me, as I’ve now moved away from friend groups three times in the last five years.

On top of that, the side characters are incredibly diverse, including Anise’s Samoan best friend and a biracial lesbian couple back in Cali; Lincoln and his white brother, both adopted by a Vietnamese father; and even Lincoln’s friend in Utah, Wendy, is described as an Asian girl with pink hair. And while you could say this is the author checking off a bunch of diversity boxes, the book absolutely doesn’t read that way. Anise just lives in a diverse world; it doesn’t really phase her. What I loved even more was that Anise sometimes f*cks up, her white and able-bodiedness making her look stupid—but she learns. None of these characters are defined by their marginalization which is incredibly refreshing to read.

realistic, every day struggles--
This isn’t a heavily plot-driven book. Rather, it’s a book about single-parent families and about leaving home for the first time. Anise deals with realistic but everyday struggles, which I loved (but I realize it’s not for everyone).
I appreciated the focus on single-parent families. I hate how often YA authors under-write their parental figures, but Silverman doesn’t fall into that trap. Anise’s dad seriously should get the #1 Fictional Dad Award: he communicates openly and honestly, respects his daughter but also holds her accountable. A main portion of the book focuses on their relationship as well as the extended family of Aunt Jackie—another single parent—and her kids. I seriously think single parents don’t get enough credit, and this was a heart-warming account.
The main plot—aside from the romance—is about Anise grappling with her absent mom, the woman who has run out on them more times than she can count, the woman who appears at will every couple of years, then disappears without a trace. Anise’s “mama drama” drives the novel, as she wonders if she’s becoming her mother by leaving her friends behind in Cali. At no point, though, does it really feel overdramatic or used for shock value. And there isn’t some sort of neat ending, either; Anise has to accept her mother’s absense while learning to move forward with her own life.

adorable romance--
I’d like to think I’m pretty picky when it comes to romance, but Lincoln had my heart from the very first time he and Anise met at the skate park. He’s just such a warm, inviting character who’s not defined by his blackness or his disability. He’s an adventurer, a nature-loving guy who’s spent his entire life never living in one place for long—which goes to show that being a wanderer doesn’t necessarily mean you’re an asshole like Anise’s mom.

Lincoln falls into the category of my favorite type of book boyfriend/girlfriend: the romantic interest who helps the character grow into their full potential. Lincoln’s adventurous personality helps Anise let go of her fear of new places and people—plus he teaches her how to skateboard, which is just adorable. Their relationship progresses at a realistic pace where the anticipation is palpable to the reader.

what’s not to love?--
I really struggled to find anything at all wrong with this delightful read. If I had to give one caveat, it would be this: the ending left me wanting a little more. I wanted to see if Anise and Lincoln maintain their relationship—because there aren’t enough (positive) stories about long distance relationships. And I wanted to see Anise apply to colleges outside of Santa Cruz and take the plunge into the rest of her life.

I seem to have this problem a lot: where I enjoy a book so much that my only complaint is that it had to end. Nevertheless, I do have a problem with the fact that the book ends before Anise and Lincoln have The Talk about where their relationship is going; this is a trope I’ve seen a lot in YA, where the story ends just as the relationship is beginning. But again, this is probably a personal preference.

overall recommend:
I highly recommend Girl Out of Water. It’s the adorable, heartwarming YA contemporary you need on your summer TBR. Now! What are you waiting for!

Review posted on U.S. - Brazil Book Review on April 7th:

3.5 “Surfing x Skateboarding” Stars

ARC via NetGalley

Thank You, Sourcebooks Fire!

I’ve had Girl on Fire on my Kindle for a while, but I decided to wait until a bit closer to publication date to read this. That gorgeous cover made ignoring it a little harder each time I got a glimpse at it.

This is the story of Californian, surfer girl, Anise, who loves the ocean more than anything. She’s super excited about the prospect of spending all summer with her best friends surfing until some of them have to leave for college. She’s also looking forward to exploring these new feelings for her recently single male best friend. Summer is looking bright, until her Dad informs her about her aunt’s accident. Now Anise is forced to leave everything she loves behind to go help her aunt recover, and she’s obviously less than pleased about it.

The big theme in this book is how Anise’s relationship (or lack thereof) with her mother influences her life. Anise’s mother is a real bitch, if you ask me, because the woman can’t be bothered to care for her daughter enough to keep in touch with her while she travels the country (maybe the world?) looking for the next adventure. I felt sorry for both Anise and her Dad. Her mother is even a bigger asshole because she comes back into their lives when she feels like it just to leave again. So you see, Anise has a real problem with people leaving. That’s also one of the reasons why she’s scared of leave her friends behind.

Anise’s fear is explored to the maximum in this story, which is a positive and a negative thing. I like when characters have a strong background that explains their insecurities and helps the reader understand why they act the way they do. Anise’s action are often ruled by her fear of turning into her mother, and it’s a pretty reasonable fear all considered. The problem is the book spends way too much time on that single theme. After a while, it just got tiresome.

Sure there were other distractions, like Anise’s great relationship with her father (I loved how open, honest and friendly they were), with her cousins and, later on, with Lincoln. There was also the whole battle between surfing x skateboarding that I thought was quite interesting. I loved how the author had her female character be good at these sports that are often played by boys without making it a big deal. Still, I think these aspects needed to be better developed in order to take away from the whole “my mom sucks” theme, which grew a little too heavy after a while.

The characters were likable enough, despite my lack of connection with Anise. I thought she was a good leading character, but she lacked some of that extra factor to make her great. I think I liked Lincoln more than Anise, if I’m being completely honest. He had a fire to him that Anise lacked.

Here I have to congratulate the author on her respectful approach on disability. She portrayed Lincoln beautifully, and I was extremely happy to see a disabled POC as the love interest. I definitely want to see more characters like him in books.

My only issue with the romance was that I thought Anise should’ve made the connection between Lincoln’s way of living with her mother’s. They were both free spirits looking to explore the world, so I thought that should’ve had an impact on Anise. She never seemed to register this similarity, though, which I found super weird considering Anise was also so focused on how her mother’s actions affected her life.

I appreciated Anise’s arc, though. I thought she grew considerably throughout the story, and I was proud of her for putting herself out there and apologizing to the people she hurt, whether she did that intentionally or not.

The ending was a little lackluster for me. I understand that this is just the beginning of Anise’s life, but I was expecting something more exciting or at least something that would give me a little insight on the future. It almost felt like there was a page missing.

Overall, Girl out of Water was a solid book. The writing was good, the characters were likable and the themes were strong. It lacked that extra something that makes me fall hard for a story, but it was a pleasant read.

4.5 Stars

This is the book you need for summer. It’s so absolutely perfect for a summer read. It’s got a really cute love interest and some great self-discovery as well. This book made me want to got to the beach SO BAD. I’m telling you, grab this book for the summer and you won’t be disappointed.

Things I Liked :
-I really loved the writing. It felt very fluid and natural. There was a rhythmic and almost poetic quality to it that drew me in without feeling like rambling fluff.
-There was great diversity in this book. We have multiple non-white characters, a lesbian couple, an adoptive interracial family, a disabled character. The inclusion of these character felt completely natural. The character’s were real people and their identities did not revolve around their diversity status.
-Lincoln Puk is such a vibrant and commanding presence. He is an incredible charming and charismatic person with such a positive disposition. His happiness is infectious and it was so easy to connect with him. I loved that he openly talked about his disability with Anise and didn’t shy away from her questions. I loved that he was so confident. Everything about his was great and you will love him.
-There is such a great sense of family in this book. Obviously Anise goes to Nebraska to help care for her Aunt and cousins, but the family relationships were all so real. I loved Anise spending time with her little cousins and filling that caretaker role. I LOVED everything about Anise and her dad’s relationship because it was so open and supportive and he is everything a parent should be. In contrast, Anise has to deal with her absent mom and deal with very conflicting feelings. I thought all of the family love and struggles were so relatable.
-The skating community was awesome as well. It was so uplifting and encouraging. Even when Anise thought she failed, they supported her and continually helped her improve.

Things I Didn’t Like :
-It took way too long to figure out what the deal was between Emery and her friends that by the time we finally figures out what had happened, I did not care at all. There was too much build up and back-and-forth is she going to tell or is she not that I was over it when we actually got the resolution.
-Anise completely withdrawing from her friends and putting no effort to keep in contact or return calls or texts was a little bit frustrating. I know she missed her friends and was sad to see them having a good time while she wasn’t there, but I felt like she made absolutely zero effort to keep in touch or talk to her friends at all. For such a close-knit group it was a bit weird. I also didn’t like how she decided to wait to apologize in person instead of actually starting to talk to her friends again.

This is the summer book you need in your life. You will smile, you will laugh, you will wish you could skate or surf. It was so easy to become enveloped in this world and fall in love with these characters. Highly recommend for fans of all YA contemporary!

Girl out of Water is an unexpectedly good debut by Laura Silverman. The blurb sounded really interesting to me, but I don't read YA Contemporary very often so once I received it I had "reviewers remorse" and didn't pick it up for several months. I wish I hadn't waited so long. This book is really good.

Laura Silverman did an amazing job of capturing what it feels like to surf and skateboard. Or at least what I, as an extremely uncoordinated non-athlete, imagine that it feels like to participate in those sports. Her descriptions made me want to try my hand at both activities.The characters were perfect. They were diverse and seemed well fleshed out. Lincoln is her "disabled" black love interest (he seems anything but disabled).... and he's smart & hot! She has a Samoan best friend and counts a lesbian couple that has been together forever as part of her core group of friends.

I will mention for those that care, Anise has a "sailor's mouth" and extensive curse word vocabulary. There is underage drinking and talk of sex though I believe kissing is the furthest anyone goes. It is a true depiction of teenage life and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!

The long triangle-ish situation made me uncomfortable because both guys are really great. They both have reasons why they are perfect for her and it's sad when you realize that someone will inevitably get hurt. The ending is HFN, which I'm not usually a fan of, but fits this couple and their life plans.

<I>Girl Out of Water</I> was a cute coming-of-age story and I enjoyed it.. I went in expecting a fluffy, fun summer read but it actually dug deep into struggling with abandonment.

Our main character, Anise, begins her summer doing what she loves; spending time with her best friends, surfing the days away, and topping it all off with some good food. Then her aunt is in a car accident that sends her to Nebraska to help take care of her younger cousins. This is when the book took a serious tone since Anise was now staying inside the house her absentee mother grew up in.
It's not easy for her. Her thoughts are constantly drifting back to her mother and all that she wishes she had when it comes to her (or doesn't have). I didn't think this book would deal with her abandonment issues as much as it does, and it <I>really</I> is present throughout the story. Not gonna lie, sometimes reading from her POV became a bit much and hard to read.. I didn't love or hate Anise, but she was a little selfish at times. So that's what was a little frustrating BUT it made perfect sense since she's a teenager trying to come into her own and grow up. She had great character development and by the end I really did enjoy her overall story.

This book is perfect for everyone because it's full of so much diversity!! And you know what I truly loved about it?? Their differences didn't <b>define</b> them. Laura Silverman did a fantastic job at showing readers that no matter what we look like, who we love, what we love, etc. we are all human. The love interest, Lincoln, has one arm and is black, but these were simply just physical traits. They didn't define his character and adding so much diversity into the story didn't feel forced like it sometimes does for me. Also.. Let me add that Lincoln is totally sweet, charming, and swoony! ;)

Family is the center of this novel, though. I'm always a fan of strong family presence in any YA story. And I really loved Anise's relationship with her younger cousins. Besides her mom, well, I enjoyed all the family because they were great!

The story wraps up nicely but I wish it was a tad bit longer.. Everything is left for the reader to interpret on what happens next. Overall, I enjoyed this book. This isn't a bad book at all. I'm positive other people will fall in love with it. . . I just didn't. But that doesn't mean that it's a bad book, it was good and enjoyable. If you're looking for a good, diverse friendly contemporary that's centered around family then this book is for you!

I was so excited to dive into this book and it was so awesome! I buddy read this book with my best friend who is also a fellow blogger since we were both fortunate enough to get an ARC from the author and I enjoyed it so much.

The plot was heartwarming. We follow Anise, who is excited to spend the entire summer with her friends in Santa Cruz, CA before some of them leave for college until her Dad tells her that they have to spend it in Nebraska helping her aunt who’s been in an accident. This is the epitome of a fish out of water story (hence the title! heehee). The main character was taken right out of her comfort zone and I liked how that began to shape her coming of age story. She had to expand her mind and her beliefs as well as her day to day life because she was so far away from everything she had known. Not only did she have to help take care of her younger cousins but she had a lot of loneliness and anger with being away from her and being confronted with her mother’s childhood home. While on the outside, specially with the cover, this book looks like a light and fluffly contemporary romance but it deals with much deeper topics. I specially liked the focus on family relationships. Anise’s relationship with her Dad is so beautiful. Honestly, it made me cry because there’s nothing I want more than to be able to interact the way she does with her Dad. They’re honest with each other and they speak frankly and without judgement. Her friendships and caring nature with her cousins was also amazing to see. They were adorable and you can really feel how much she cares for them. However, the most real part of this story is the abandonment that she still deals with. Her mother is flakey, she comes in and out of her life constantly and Anise is terrified of being like her. These fears cause attitudes and decisions from her that end up hurting her more than helping her and those lessons that she has to go through was such an amazing journey. I really enjoyed the romance aspect. It was natural and developed well but it didn’t take over the story which was nice. The ending was really nice though a bit open ended in a way that’s hopeful almost and I really want more from these characters.

I am going to be completely honest here and say that Anise annoyed me because she reminded me of me. Throughout my teen years, I adamantly refused to grow up or to be separated from my mom. I didn’t think there was any reason for me to have to leave my comfort zone and in the end, it’s ended up hurting me more than helped me. I’m now struggling with a lot of harsh truths in life so reading from Anise’s point of view was actually kind of painful for me and I covered that up with being annoyed with her attitude. I empathized a lot with her feelings but I also really loved her growth and her journey because it hit so close to home. She spent a little too much time agonizing about not being at home, when she could’ve taken advantage of the time she had with her family. But besides that, she was an amazing main character.

I really loved the side characters! Anise’s family was absolutely amazing and I felt so jealous of the wonderful people Anise had in her life. They felt so real and they were so loving toward each other. Her little cousins are so cute and beautiful! Lincoln was such an amazing male character as well as love interest. I got kind of jealous of Anise (again) just because he was such a great person. He’s so honest with her but at the same time, he challenges her and makes her think things through and to imagine beyond where she is now. He’s black and has an amputated arm but those things are just a part of who he is, like his soul is so much bigger. He officially made it onto my very small book boyfriend list because I want one of those dimples for myself! I needed more from Anise’s best friends. They felt like such an amazing group of characters but because she leaves for the summer, we only see them in the beginning of the book and at the end. I wanted to see more of their friendship dynamics and more from them as individuals. I almost want to beg the author for companion books with them as main characters because it’d be amazing!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and all of you should read it! This was an wonderful debut that tackles some in depth themes in a beautiful coming of age story. With amazing relationships between the characters and a natural and slow burning romance, I was just completely sucked in and enjoyed every minute of my buddy read.

Let me start off by saying, I went into this book knowing nothing. I liked the cover and wanted to give it a chance. Now that's I've finished it, I kind of feel a little underwhelmed.

I loved the idea behind the story, but I felt like the big conflict through out the whole story between Anise and her mom went unresolved. Now with that said, I did get an e-arc so it is very possible that more was put into the story. I just felt like more should have come out of the postcard being sent and Anise leaving the message on the mirror for her mom. But nothing more ever came. The big deal through the whole book was whether or not her friends would forgive her.

I loved the relationships between the family and Lincoln and Austin, but this story just really left me unfulfilled. I gave it a three out of five stars because I do think the potential is there for the Laura to go places with her writing. There was great detail and imagery, but I just really and disappointed that nothing more came of Anise and her mom.

I do like the way things ended up with Lincoln though. That was hands down my favorite part of the book.

This is the perfect summer read, even when it's not summer. Silverman has a way of just really making you feel like you are right there with the character. I could almost smell the salt of the ocean breeze or feel the sweat of the Nebraska heat without ever thinking that there was too much description. So, even when I didn't agree with every choice Anise made, I was with her in the moment no matter what. Anise is definitely a flawed person, but I could understand her and even relate in most moments. While I am in no way as athletic as her, I get the level of passion she has towards surfing. And while I do not have this close knit group of friends in my current geographical location, I went through similar difficulties with having to adjust to the distance between me and people I cared about more than once in my life. She makes mistakes, but you know that she is never intentionally out to hurt anyone.

I think one of the things I appreciated most about this book was how much it was about family, the one you are born into and the one you choose for yourself. It's a theme I am often missing in my YA books, because whether parents or other family members are there for us or not, they always shape us and our youth. So, to see the struggle and the love that both come with this topic just made my heart sing. And it's not like there wasn't still room for other things, such as the really amazing love interest. Lincoln totally won me over with his self-confidence, charm and genuine interest and care for the people around him. And yes, also his dimple!

I didn't mind the swearing and the underage drinking in this one, but if I could have changed something it would have rather been Anise's storyline with her mother and her final confrontation with her friends when she got back home. Somehow I felt like there was more build up and nerves from Anise compared to the easy way it was finally resolved. That is such a minor thing though, I still adored this book and would definitely recommend it as a book to pick up this summer.

Girl Out of Water was the perfect summery contemporary! Our main character, Anise, feels betrayed when her summer suddenly takes a turn: instead of surfing the days away with her group of friends in her beloved hometown of Santa Cruz, CA, she is forced to move to landlocked Nebraska for two months to help take care of her cousins while her aunt recovers from a major car accident. I’ve been following Laura Silverman on Twitter for quite a while now, and I’m so happy to see her debut getting so much love! It definitely deserves it.

Although I have virtually nothing in common with Anise, I loved reading from her perspective because it’s one I haven’t seen often in YA, especially in YA contemporary. First off, she’s a kickass athlete, who loves nothing more than surfing and comes to love skateboarding over the course of the book. She’s also incredibly flawed and, because of this, realistic. I definitely could see that she was being selfish at times over the course of the novel, but then I realized that I would be, too, if I were in her situation. Anise’s character growth over the course of Girl Out of Water was remarkable: she definitely evolved into a more caring, mature, and intelligent person as her summer progressed. I loved seeing how she grew to care for her cousins– it was really sweet and heartwarming. Another thing I loved about Anise: she’s always eating. I know that might sound weird, but again, I just never read about girl protagonists who eat nonstop in YA. And, like, as a killer athlete, her appetite is totally normal. This is definitely one of those books that will make you hungry– I need to try Anise’s signature cereal mixture (Captain Crunch, Lucky Charms, and Reese’s Puffs) ASAP.

I also adored the fantastically diverse, three-dimensional cast of side characters. Their diverse backgrounds were woven in so nonchalantly, yet their portrayals were sensitively done. Anise’s friends, especially her best friend, Tess, were all such good friends to her, and I enjoyed reading about the way distance affected their friendships in a very real way. Even though we as readers got to spend very little time with Anise’s crew of friends in Santa Cruz, Silverman managed to make them jump off the page in an extremely short amount of time. And, of course, like I mentioned before, I loved Anise’s cousins. All the familial relationships were done incredibly well– I adored Anise’s relationship with her dad and also with her aunt, and even Anise’s turbulent relationship with her estranged mother was captured well.

Then we have Anise’s love interest, Lincoln. What a genuinely great human. I enjoyed learning about him. I thought the way he and Anise’s relationship developed was so sweet! It felt so natural. The two of them shared so many things in common, and you could tell through their actions that they genuinely cared for one another. Also, yes to more interracial relationships in YA! Yes to love interests with disabilities! Yes to all kinds of love interests and all kinds of relationships!

The pacing of Girl Out of Water was another element of the story that was masterfully done. Every scene served a purpose, and it seemed like Silverman wrote them deliberately. This is definitely more of a quiet YA contemporary– nothing too crazy happens, and its more about characters than plot, I think. Even so, I really enjoyed this book! Girl Out of Water is a strong debut, and a great book to add to your summer reading list.

Have you read Girl Out of Water? If so, what did you think? If not, do you plan to pick it up anytime soon?

Girl out of Water does a couple of things really well. It sets up an effective contrast of protagonist Anise’s two environments—the ocean, the sense of freedom, the comfort of home against the alien stark, dryness of the place she is forced to travel to. This establishes Anise’s mind set – In California everything is comfortable, familiar and supportive. In Nebraska there is only responsibility, obligation and isolation. Anise is leaving behind friends, potential love interests, and the chance to catch up with her absent mother. Straightaway there is conflict and a heavy sense of guilt, making Anise a character readers will readily identify with, as she accepts the enforced change.

Anise’s development through the novel is another high point. She learns to adapt to life looking after her three cousins while their mother recuperates from a serious car accident. She spends time talking to her father, really talking, about serious matters, although her flighty mother isn’t one of them (unfortunately). She challenges herself to learn to skateboard which is nothing like her beloved surfing, but adapting and showing courage is something Anise excels at.

The introduction of the charismatic Lincoln breathes fresh air into Anise, and his teasing charming smile certainly makes her life better. While there is instant attraction on both sides, Silverman wisely lets the romance build slowly. It’s complicated of course, because just before she left Santa Cruz, Anise kissed her best friend Eric and they didn’t really have a chance to talk. This is a part of the novel that I struggled with—In moving to Nebraska, Anise stops talking to all her friends, people she has known all her life. There are reasons given for this behaviour—she’s jealous they are having fun without her, she is caught up with the trauma of her younger cousins, she doesn’t have anything really to say to them (and yeah, that’s true enough)—but I felt the story didn’t really need that drama.

Because the other element of the story is Anise’s mother, an absent and negative influence in her life. She can’t help but compare herself to this woman, who flits around the country, only dropping in occasionally before whisking off again. She in unreliable, unpredictable and perhaps a little trope-y. We see this woman far too much in YA, and the only redeeming feature about its use here, is that she remains off-page, and we don’t have to see her turn up and hurt Anise one more time. By the end, Anise is more confident of her own power, her own strengths. Her realisations that she doesn’t have to stay to be loyal is a huge step towards reconciling her disappointments and insecurities.

I need to talk more about Lincoln. He represents the positive energy in the world. His optimism, his ability to celebrate nature, and love himself is a strong force in the novel. He has one arm, but it’s not a disability or limitation, or an obstacle. Nothing stands in his way, and Anise can see how he role models to the younger kids at the skate park. As well, he is an adopted child. His blended family (Vietnamese parents, Caucasian younger brother, while Lincoln is black) is presented as an accepted and loving group, and I enjoyed all the stories he shares with Anise about them. Such positive representations are welcome in all novels.

Copy was provided by publisher, via Netgalley, and read with thanks. Recommended to readers who love their main characters sporty and fearless. The romance builds slowly, but turns into a loving and committed relationship. The young children in the story are realistic and not just there to serve the plot. They have their own troubles and develop into fully developed characters. While Anise’s mother is problematic, the other adults balance out with their supportive and caring portrayals. There is a road trip, and a satisfying resolution of the estranged friends. Released 1st May.

Anise Sawyer is a surfer and a great one at that. She plans to spend her summer on the beach and the waves of Santa Cruz with her group of friends. However, her plans change suddenly when her aunt gets into a serious car accident which forces herself and her father to Nebraska to care for her aunt and her three children. Spending the summer in her mother’s childhood home bring up memories, questions and fears. Her mother has been a wild figure in her life since birth – flying in and out of her life with a moments notice and she starts to ask herself the question, what if she’s just like her?

Girl Out of Water was an okay read. It had enjoyable elements, and at times it was a fun read. But it also didn’t WOW me like I was hoping, and there were times that our protagonist, Anise, annoyed me – I’m all for unlikeable female characters but I felt like Anise was very selfish, spoiled, bratty, and privileged at times.

Anise is an avid surfer, and she is really good at it. She was really looking forward to her summer spending her days and evenings on the beach with her friends, and surfing the waves. When her aunt got into a car accident and she had to go to Nebraska to help out, she was angry that she had to give up her summer of surfing, sun and sand to help her family out. She despises the responsibility – mainly because she’s not used to it. At one point, she called her aunt a burden, in the heat of the moment, when she was arguing with her father because she wanted to go back to Santa Cruz so badly. She lost touch with her friends and it hurt her, but she wouldn’t answer their calls or their texts because she was jealous they were back home. I understood the message at the end, and I eventually understood her fears of becoming like her mother. Becoming a fleeting memory in people’s lives who comes and goes whenever she pleases, leaving people behind. But it came a bit late in the book that I was already annoyed by Anise’s selfish and privileged behaviour.

I did really love Lincoln and the romance was a great element in the book, it was very cute and sweet. Lincoln was a fun and charasmatic. He wasn’t just his disability, which was great to read. Lincoln was a skater and when they first met, Anise never saw skating as a real sport, not like surfing anyway. But Lincoln pushed her to try it out for herself, and it turns out it was harder than she thought. So if you are a fan of either surfing or skating, then I do highly recommend this book. It shows the passion for both sports. I loved the description of surfing, and how Anise felt about it. The freedom and thrill of being out in the ocean and riding the waves. It was fun and it was full of summer vibes.

The real gem in this book was the family dynamics. I loved her relationship with her father and cousins. It was really well developed.

Overall, Girl Out of Water is a good contemporary romance – perfect for the summer days out in the sun or by the beach.

RATING: ★★★☆☆

(I received an advance copy of this book for free. Thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Fire and NetGalley.)

“Tomorrow, I’m not just leaving Santa Cruz – I’m leaving the possibility of us.”

This was a YA contemporary romance story, featuring a surfer who had to spend her summer in Nebraska.

Anise was an okay character, and I understood why it was so hard to keep in touch with her friends when they were so far away. Lincoln was also quite a nice guy, and it was interesting to read a book with a character who had only one arm.

The storyline in this was about Anise having to go to Nebraska for the summer to look after her cousins after her aunt had a car accident, and having to leave her friends and her surf board behind. She met Lincoln and the two of them hit it off, and she also gave skateboarding a try whilst missing surfing. The romance between Anise and Lincoln was quite sweet, but I found the possible love triangle quite intriguing, with Anise having kissed her best friend Eric the night before she left for Nebraska, and I wondered what would happened when she had to go home and explain that she had a boyfriend now.

The ending to this was quite happy, although we didn’t really find out what Anise and Lincoln would do with regards to their long-distance relationship.
6.25 out of 10

Girl Out Of Water suprised me. I have to admit, I was expecting something far less heartfelt and well-written. But I’m so glad I picked this up.

This is a spectacular book on most levels; it contains prime characterization, a sweet romance, and well-developed themes. But it does bear mentioning: it was a little boring. For the first half, I didn’t connect to the story much, despite my enjoyment of the characters. That being said, everything else about this story was so perfect that I can’t not give it four stars, and I’m sure many won’t suffer from my issues.

This book is about leaving home and growing up, but it’s first and foremost about how we reflect our parents' mistakes. This wasn’t a theme I expected, but it was definitely a theme I loved. It’s clear Laura Silverman knows what she’s doing with the themes here.

I also admired the descriptions of Santa Cruz. Anise’s love for her home comes through in every description. This expert description made her love for Santa Cruz and desire to go home so real and so tangible. As the book developed, her love for home got more and more complex, which was awesome. Anise isn’t the shrinking violet of many contemporary novels; no, she’s far more confident. She’s got a complex relationship with self-esteem that I instantly connected to. So many authors feel the need to make self-esteem either/or, and it was lovely to see a character break that mold. I understood her character on a deep level.

None of the side characters felt throwaway, which was great. We meet six members of Anise’s family, a few members of Lincoln’s crowd, and several of Anise’s friends, yet all of them felt real. Silverman definitely deserves a shoutout for the casual diversity here. Her love interest, Lincoln, is disabled without it being a huge part of his character. Many of the main characters are mixed race, and Silverman is careful not to make white the default. There’s also casual lesbian rep in the form of Anise’s friends. Silverman is definitely putting her money where her mouth is in terms of protesting discrimination in America.

VERDICT: A great contemporary coming-of-age with very well-developed characters and well-incorporated themes.

This book made me SO HAPPY? I can't even form coherent thoughts right now because my brain is taken up by all the feels. Seriously, it is such a quiet beautiful book that I'm sure everyone would love. So I'd encourage you to run and pre-order it right now *waits for you to come back* Now that you have done that we can go one with the rest of the review
The writing is both exquisite and very simple. It also feels personal, very unique to Anise -the MC-'s voice. It naturally is written from her POV, she has a very honest and spontaneous voice that reminded me of myself. I actually saw a lot of me in her, and that alone has made Anise a huge win for me.

This is the story of how Anise was taken away from what she expected to be the summer of her life, from everything she knew and loved to help her aunt take care of her home and kids after she was in a bad accident. And how she adjusted to all the changes in her life and how she dealt with them. Which made this a very character driven story with a lot of growth, family and friendship.

Anise's mom is absent, she comes and goes like the wind, has never been and never will be a pilar in her life and I loved how that was kept that way until the end, there was no reunion, no closure, no understanding her mom's behavior. She was just this presence -or rather absence- that affected Anise's life more than she liked to admit. Because of her absence, Anise is very much afraid of being like her so she doesn't like leaving home, not to go to her aunt's, not to go to college, not ever. She's so afraid of abandoning the people who matter to her that that's exactly what she ends up doing to her friends back home.

As you may have gathered, Anise is a very flawed character, which made her all the more loveable. She's a very well written, three-dimensional character with strengths and weaknesses. She's very caring and sweet. What I particularly loved about her is how responsible and mature she was about the whole situation. She wasn't resentful, she understood why she had to do what she had to do even though she was really disappointed which showed in the writing, but never in the way she behaved around her dad, her aunt, or any of her cousins, her conversations with them were warm and natural. One thing that's hilarious about her (and that annoyed Sara while I was enjoying it immensely) is how big of a sore loser she was. THAT IS SO ME! I hate losing and I behave the exact same way she does when that happens.

The character development she went through was remarkable. Through her time away from home, she realized that change wasn't such a bad thing and that home wouldn't disappear just because she leaves for a few months because her people will always be there when she gets back and that rings so true. Slowly but surely, she frees herself from her mom's hold and is able to see things differently.
This book has a big focus on family and I loved how close and genuine the family bonds were. I adored how open and honest her relationship with her father was, he was everything to her from a dad to a bestfriend and that's amazing to read about. Her aunt -her mom's sister- was as close to a real mother figure as she could ever have, she loves her like her own children and that love is reciprocated. Her little cousins are the definition of adorable, the twins so sweet and endearing but what I liked more is how she behaved with her cousin, Emery. She was like a big sister to her and did everything to make her comfortable and get her to trust her and see her as a friend.

Her group of friends back home, although only physically in the book in the beginning and the very end of the book played a big part in it, through Anise's descriptions and thought process, I felt like I knew them as much as if they were there. Their little group is so tight-knitted that it felt really realistic. I loved Tessa -her bestfriend-'s strong personality and how she called her out on her shitty behavior during her time away.
Last but not least, LINCOLN. That beautiful boy is one giant dimple (I'm not obsessed, what are you talking about?). He's so charismatic and precious, he also does everything to make Anise comfortable while pulling her away from her comfort zone. I loved him, he has a very laidback, go with the flow type of personality and he's also very teasy. Through their romance, the author was able to picture the bitter-sweetness of a summer fling perfectly, they were so good for each other and their chemistry was effortless.

Although the ending felt a bit rushed and like it didn't have all the attention I thought it deserved, I really loved the open ending tying some loose ends while leaving room for questions, like what's next for Lincoln and Anise? What is she going to decide for college? etc.... That also makes me secretly hope for a companion novella or book. Shhh. Let a girl dream.

If you're looking for a new release that fits that perfect summery contemporary feeling, look no further - GIRL OUT OF WATER is the book you want. This book is as summery as an ice-cold glass of lemonade on a hot day. (Unless you don't like lemonade, in which case it's as summery as an ice-cold drink of your choice.) I read this at the start of my spring break, when I was just starting to wish for summer, and this was exactly what I wanted.

I really liked the focus on sports in this book. Whether it was surfing in California or skateboarding in Nebraska, Anise's love of being active was written so beautifully that I could feel the motion. It made me want to go out and do something - not that I did, because it also made me want to keep reading.

I also loved the focus on family. There are so many great family dynamics in this book - we get to see Anise's relationship with her dad, with her aunt, with her cousins, and indirectly with her mom - and they were all really important to her and to the book. I love seeing families in YA, and this was a really interesting one to read about.

And, of course, as in most contemporaries, we have romance - I thought the romance was pretty adorable and I was absolutely rooting for Anise and Lincoln, but it wasn't my favorite part of the book, or the most important thing. It's significant, but it doesn't overwhelm the rest of the plot. I've definitely read books where the balance isn't done so well, so I always appreciate that.

I'll admit I wasn't really a fan of the subplot with the guy she liked from back home. We never really got a chance to get attached to him, he didn't seem to serve any real purpose that her friends didn't, and he just made a couple of scenes kind of awkward. Really, though, that was my only big negative, and it wasn't a big enough part of the book to affect my reading experience too much.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this and I can definitely see myself rereading it at some point. If this sounds at all like your cup of tea (or glass of lemonade), I'd highly recommend picking it up!

My thoughts:

Thank you netgalley for providing me with a copy to read. I read the summary and thought I would give it a read. This book did not disappoint and I loved it so much! The diversity in this was amazing and I wish more young adult novels had it like this book. Anise is an interesting main character who I really liked. This is a book I would highly recommend.

Plot:

The plot is her story as she spends the summer in Nebraska instead of Cali with her friends. It tells how she adjusts to not being with her friends and watching her cousins. She is in Nebraska because of her aunt and what happened to her, At first Anise hates it but she meets Lincoln at a skate park and the summer becomes more bearable. The book tells the events of the whole summer.

Characters:
Anise is a well written character who I can sympathize with. The author wrote her realistically and easy to relate to. I loved her group of friends they were all interesting and fun to read about. I loved her family as well. Lincoln was a fun character who helped Anise be okay while staying in Nebraska and their relationship develops into something more.

~Disclaimer~
I received this book for free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book, or the content of my review.
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Girl Out of Water is the story of Anise Sawyer, a 17 year old girl from California. Summer has just started and Anise is looking forward to spending her days surfing and hanging out with her friends. Her plans change when her aunt is in a serious car accident. She has to leave California for Nebraska. where there is no ocean in sight, to help watch her cousins. Anise has never left her hometown before. She love it there so much that she has no pull to go anywhere else. Her mother has never stayed in one place long enough to put down roots. She has been in and out of Anises' life without warning or explanation. Because of this Anise overcompensates by never leaving her home or friends.
Leaving California is very hard on Anise at first. Seeing her friends update their social media just reminds her of everything she is missing out on. These feelings make her start to ignore texts and video chats. Alienating herself from her friends and life back home. She feels as though she has nothing to add to the conversation.
On a Trip to the park with her cousins Anise meets a boy named Lincoln. He is a skateboarder. She has never respected skateboarding as being a difficult sport. Lincoln bets Anise that she can't leave how to skateboard in one week. She takes the bait and begins to practice. She quickly learns that skateboarding isn't as easy as she thought that it was. As she practices Anise begins to enjoy her time in Nebraska. She even starts to have fun and like spending time with her cousins.

This book made me wish that it was summer and that I was on vacation. I could picture myself in the sand on a beach somewhere. This is a good book to read on vacation, the quintessential summer read. I'm not into sports so this book missed the mark with me. It was heavy into sports. There was a lot of talk about surfing and skateboarding. I wasn't drawn in to the story because I couldn't connect with it. This book had sports, summer, teen romance and family angst. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a light easy read with a tiny bit of depth.

3/5 ⭐

Girl Out of Water is about California girl Anise Sawyer who spends most of her days surfing and hanging out with friends. But when her aunt, a single mother of three, gets into a car accident, it forces Anise and her dad to spend the entire summer in Nebraska to help out. And what initially starts off as a difficult and lonely situation becomes an eye-opening experience for her. Anise meets Lincoln, a gorgeous skater who goads Anise into skateboarding but more importantly, shows her that there's more to out there than just staying in her hometown forever. It also makes her realize friendship take work and actively keeping in touch, which gives her a much-needed glimpse into what college will be like when they all go there separate ways. On the surface, this sounds very much like a book I would love. It highlights important friendship growing pains, involves growing up, close family bonds and of course, romance and yet.. I couldn't quite connect to it. Often times Anise seems to be going through the motions and we're just shown what she's doing but there was no insight or connection into her character.

Do I recommend?: It's in that middle area for me, where it wasn't bad but not good either. I can't say I'd personally recommend either to friends but if the plots interest you, check them out and see if you feel differently than I did.

DNF at 20%

It's just not my thing. I'm really not clicking with it at all right now and I can't connect with the MC one bit. Might give it another shot later.

(I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.)

Our protag, Anise, is a transplanted surfer girl who ends up in Nebraska for the summer. We’ve all seen Johnny Tsunami and we know she’ll find another board, and she does, but this book is so much more than a skating story. This book is about family, risk, and trust.

I loved the character development in this book. We have an array of rich and complex secondary and tertiary characters to support our protags, and I love a good tertiary character with a story. In this case, I was drawn to Anise’s friends Cassie & Marie, who appear in all of two scenes and get a couple lines apiece. Still, you could tell that the author knew exactly how these characters had met, fallen in love, and would end up in the future. Masterful.

I also loved Anise, even when she was being completely down on herself and unlovable. To me, her best quality was her conscious effort to keep her bad mood away from her cousins. This showed way more maturity than anything else she did in the book, and I loved her for this. Goodness – I don’t always make an effort to keep my bad mood away from others, but you know… maybe I should start. I love a book that teaches me something. :) Here’s a great moment:

“I hope Parker learns his new trick today. I hope he learns it, and then another trick, and then another. I hope the thought of skateboarding wakes him up each day with clawing excitement. I hope when he closes his eyes at night he only sees the grit of the asphalt and hears the spinning wheels. The thrill of learning something new out in the water has never left me, and through observing Parker, maybe I can snatch a shred of that adrenaline rush.”

I love that Anise won’t begrudge her cousins’ fun, even though she’s convinced she won’t have any herself. And of course, she eventually does, and I LOVE that she’s terrible at skateboarding for the first while. There’s this epic scene of her in her driveway at night time, practicing a move over and over, and you can feel her determination and spirit. She knows that excellence demands work, and she’s willing to put in the hours.

And of course, we have the love interest, Lincoln. I loved Lincoln from the onset because he’s funny and charming and thoughtful. We see him in his role as Parker’s mentor on the skateboard, and he does not forsake this role, even as he begins to care for Anise.

This book is a masterpiece in contemporary literature, with complex characters and emotions. Each scene leaps off the page in 3D, and draws you into Anise’s journey.