Not my favorite Young Adult novel that I've read lately but I still enjoyed it. The story was quick and easy to read. The characters were well hashed out and I liked a lot of them. Still recommended!

* I was given this E-Arc from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review "

Nothing Happens in this book. We have to people who become friends because they work together, we also have a couple who are so incredibly boring. All they do is have sex and talk about running away together. I was honestly so very bored while reading this book. Nothing Captured my attention. This unfortunately was a miss for me. However if you like watch friendships form and books that take place during the summer you might like this.

17 year-old Caroline stands on the brink of adulthood during the summer before her senior year. She has made the decision, along with her boyfriend Jake, that come the end of the summer she will leave everything behind, her family, friends, school, to start her real life with Jake. But first she needs to get through the summer and her summer job at the local aquarium. As Caroline finds herself swept up in a new crowd of friends, lead by the wonderful and driven Georgia, she begins to doubt the plan that will take her away from everything she knows. A coming of age story of friendships, family, and the choices we have to make, The Goodbye Summer is a must read for anyone wondering who they are, or for anyone who remembers feeling that way. The charming characters bring this novel to life, but in the end it’s the universal questions that keep the reader engaged.

As the mother of a 14 year old girl, I found the first chapter of this book alarming, and I didn't want to read any more. A nice, seemingly intelligent girl is planning to drop out of high school and run away with her older boyfriend(who smokes)!
I persisted and found much to like in this book--the emphasis on the value of work and saving money for your dreams, the reality that not all dreams will come true, the fear and joy of making a new friend.. I commend the positive body image messages in the book.. The sexual messages weren't as positive,.

Wow oh wow! I dont know what I was expecting when I walked into that book, but color me impressed. I'll be honest, when I walked into this book, I was expecting a really light book with not much substance. I have to say though, I'm really impressed with this story. Well woven, well paced, and characters I attached to despite my intentions. Definitely a worth while read!

When I was 17, I had a 23-year old boyfriend who was a trainwreck. Fortunately I broke up with him after several years, but not before we both hurt each other badly. So I can totally identify with the book's heroine Caroline, who is ready to drop out of school and run away with her boyfriend. Sarah does a great job of showing how Caroline has been controlled and manipulated by Jake until she is isolated and feels that Jake is her only option, especially because she is not terribly excited about college. It's not an abusive relationship, exactly, but it certainly is an unequal one.

When Caroline meets Georgia, she forms a close friendship that helps her re-examine her options, and through Georgia she becomes part of a group that helps her realize she can have fun in other ways than drinking and having sex with Jake. Georgia's parents are distant yet demanding, and her immediate connection with Caroline's parents helps Caroline see what she will be giving up if she leaves with Jake. I've seen some reviews that are disappointed that Caroline and Georgia don't develop romantic feelings for each other, but to me it's much more rewarding to show a strong female friendship that helps Caroline reconsider her plans, instead of turning it into a dreaded love triangle.

Sarah has a gentle writing style that pauses to let in the joys of summer, eating pizza and ice cream and amusement park rides that both terrify and elate. She's definitely a talented author and I hope this is the first of many successful novels.

ARC received from Net Galley
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A quick romantic read about the summers that will change and define us. This was a good story but there were some character traits that bothered me about the main characters. Overall a nice read, just not my favorite ya romance.

I received this book from Net galley.

I want to start off by saying this book was really good! It was a breath of fresh air from cliche ending and contemporary romance books. Normally I’m all for romance, but this book was still good.

I loved Georgia and Caroline’s friendship. It was really nice to see her have a friend and bond for the first time in a while. I also loved the ending and how she broke up with Jake to go to college and do her own thing. This book was way different than others out there. It wasn’t all about romance, but about Caroline finding herself and her place in this world. I really enjoyed the journey and I’m glad she chose what she chose to do.

The only things I didn’t like were how sometimes it got a little boring or repetitive, and Jake. Jake in general was, not really a bad character, but I didn’t really like him. He was annoying and a jerk. I mean that’s probably what he was supposed to be, but still. I don’t like how Caroline stuck with him even when he was being a jerk to all her friends. Things got a little repetitive with the aquarium and Georgia hanging out at Caroline’s house all the time, but the storyline was good.

Other than those two things, the book was really good and definitely different from other books out there!

Caroline is spending the summer before senior year working in the gift shop of the aquatic centre. But she has a secret; she is planning to run away with her boyfriend and the job is her way of saving up. But then she meets Georgia, one of the counsellers, one day and the two become friends. The story takes place over the course of whole summer, while the two girls weave themselves into each others lives and becomes best friends.
Caroline is very unlikeable for the first quarter of the book. She is stuck in this toxic relationship, which I didn't want to call out on at first, and she is this miserable, whining, selfish sixteen year old. But the story picks up when she and Georgia become friends and slowly there is this whole new side to her and I really like that Caroline. She has these ambitions and all the places she wants to go but is putting everything aside for her boyfriend, who convinces her that finishing high school is not important and she should leave her family and go live in a farm instead, working in a coffee shop or hardware store. First of all, many people skip out of on college and that's most definitely okay but it should be her decision, not his. As the story progresses, as an observer the whole relationship was so maddening. There were also matters of consent, which made the whole thing more horrifying. It was unhealthy and they were so codependent on each other; I wanted Georgia to smack some sense into her. I guess that's why I really liked the ending because it got so much better and healthier.
I loved the friendship between the two girls. It was so beautiful to see the friendship grow in the story and Georgia was an amazing character. I missed reading a book about pure friendship that was also beautifully portrayed. Caroline had great character development too. All the side characters were also highly likeable and always had something to contribute. The only problem I had was with Jake, the boyfriend, who is a deadbeat loser. He is also really manipulative and annoyed me throughout the whole book.
Cutting off 2 stars for the annoying guy. But I see myself recommending this to others because of the friendship.

Quick easy read. Cute story about Caroline, a high school junior, who has an older boyfriend she is planning to run away with at the end of the summer. She gets a job at the local aquarium and befriends one of the summer camp counselors, Georgia. They become really good friends really quickly which is nice for Caroline because she doesn't really have any close girlfriends. As she and Georgia become closer, Caroline begins to reevaluate her plan of running away with Jake. He, all the sudden, wants to go live with his Dad in Kentucky on a farm and she is not that crazy about this new plan. The story is nice highlighting the girls friendship and Caroline realizing what is best for her as opposed to what her boyfriend thinks is best for them. Nice story which I read pretty quickly. Kind of predictable though.

Received an advanced copy through NetGalley and I really enjoyed this novel. Whilst Caroline is a frustrating character, we can all relate to her as she projects the love-sick teenage girl who would do anything to be with her man. Obviously we all know she’s making a stupid mistake but when we’re 15/16 years old we think we know what love is and do what we can for this love.
Jake is such a possessive character, there’s a hint of him being the reason why Caroline has no friends from her school, we can definitely see this at the end with Caroline wanting to get stuff for Georgia’s birthday but Jake initially refusing to help.
Read this on the drive home back to Sydney and I was thoroughly engrossed that I hadn’t realised two hours had gone by when I finished the novel.

I enjoyed the plot, but was not expecting the heavy adult theme of the story. I do not feel this is for Teens, but more for young adults who are out of high school. Cussing, smoking, and other adult themes are present. Not for young teens