Summer of Sloane

Gr 8 Up—Just before 17-year-old Sloane McIntyre leaves Seattle to spend the summer with her mother in Hawaii, she learns that her boyfriend Tyler and best friend Mick slept together and Mick is pregnant. Sloane punches Tyler in the face, breaking his nose and her hand. It looks like the start of the worst summer ever. But everything gets better once Sloane is in Hawaii, especially as she finds herself falling for Finn, a good-looking, fun-loving boy whose father owns the local hotel where Sloane gets a summer job. Then, everything falls apart when an accident brings Sloane back to Seattle. Although the novel begins and ends on serious notes, the majority of the protagonist's summer is lighthearted, leisurely, and romantic. Teens who love reading about gorgeous locations will love Schneider's descriptions of Hawaii and Sloane's mother's house, which allows her to enjoy "the rolling of the ocean mere feet" from her room. The pace picks up at the end of the book, so much so that the final chapters seem to lack closure. However, the message of forgiveness is well delivered, and Sloane is a likable, well-rounded character who exhibits a variety of personality traits, such as anxiety and vulnerability, which lead to panic attacks, and free-spirited independence, which results in her getting a tattoo on a whim and speaking her mind to her boyfriend's overbearing father.