Honey Girl

Gr 9 Up—It's the summer of 1972, and Nani has relocated from Hawaii to Santa Monica, and she has more than her fair share of secrets: she's stolen her father's ashes, she loves to surf, and she likes girls. Following the innumerable rules required to fit in with the surfer girls who rule State Beach and keeping her secrets may be more than she can handle on her own. While prose styling is not often a big deal in young adult titles, the writing in this book is stultifying. Overly detailed descriptions of characters read like enumerated lists of facts rather than providing readers insight into the characters. Cultural references alienate readers instead of adding authenticity. Nani's motivations throughout are opaque, and her actions will be bewildering to contemporary teens. It's never clear why Nani wants to join this exclusionary society of surfers and hangers-on, and without that understanding, readers will also be unclear about the characters' interactions. The protagonist's ability to learn the secrets of the surfer girls is unrealistic, particularly for a book that appears to pride itself on its verity.