Review - Twenty Boy Summer
by Sarah Ockler
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009
Review by Amy Ridley
Nov 3rd 2009 (Volume 13, Issue 45)

Anna has been in love with Matt since she was ten years old. Matt happens to be her best friend Frankie's older brother. The three of them grew up next door to each other and have been inseparable since they were young. Every year when Anna blows out the candles on her birthday cake she wishes that Matt will feel the same way about her. This birthday things changed between them. They spend the few weeks leading up to Matt's departure for college hiding their budding relationship from their families, especially Frankie. Anna wants to tell her but Matt convinces her to let him tell his sister during their annual summer vacation to Zanzibar Bay. Anna agrees and promises not to tell her before he can. When Matt tragically dies before he can tell Frankie, Anna has to decide if she should keep her promise to the love of her life or tell her best friend the only secret she's ever kept from her.

It's a year after Matt's death and Anna still has not told Frankie what had happened between her and Matt. Frankie's behavior is getting more out of control and Anna feels like she's losing her. She feels a constant need to look out for her friend the way Matt did. She wants to protect her from her own destructive behavior. When Anna is invited on the summer trip to Zanzibar Bay she decides this would be the perfect time to tell Frankie. Once the trip begins it becomes apparent that it may be harder to tell Frankie than she thought. Anna is dealing with her own feelings about Matt's death that Frankie does not understand since she does not know the nature of their relationship.

Frankie is constantly bragging about her love life and teasing Anna about her lack of one. Anna feels as though she would be betraying Matt by having feelings for another boy. In spite of this she makes a pact with Frankie that this will be the twenty boy summer. They begin their quest their first day in Zanzibar Bay and Anna soon learns that it is possible to have feelings for someone else even though it comes with a tremendous amount of guilt.

Ockler does a tremendous job showing the strain in the relationship between Anna and Frankie. Anna's loyalty to Matt and Frankie does not allow her to grieve herself, which causes even more strain in their relationship. The relationship between the girls is very relatable in that she perfectly captures what happens to a friendship when one person is evolving while the other is mired in the past. Frankie has a mean streak that Anna puts up with for as long as she can.  When the situation comes to a head, the reader can feel the tension between these two girls who are both in so much pain.

This book is appropriate for ages 13 and up. It contains sexual content.

© 2009 Amy Ridley

Amy Ridley received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Boston University.