Book Bite: "The Fault in Our Stars"

“As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once.”

- The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2012)

Teen review of "Twenty Boy Summer" by Sarah Ockler

Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

When I started reading the book Twenty Boy Summer I did not know what to expect. I really enjoyed reading this book, and could not put it down once I started reading it. This book is a mixture of realistic fiction, and romance. I would recommend this book to teenage girls who like to read heartfelt books that they could relate to. Twenty Boy Summer is a heartfelt book about a teenage girl learning to love and let go.

Anna and Frankie are best friends. What Frankie doesn't know is that Anna has been in love with Frankie's brother Matt since she was ten years old. Their whole lives, Matt, Anna, and Frankie have been really close and really good friends. At Anna's birthday party, Matt and Anna finally share a kiss. After that, they spent many nights sneaking out, and talking under the stars. Anna had made a promise to Matt that she would not tell Frankie about their love, because Matt wanted to tell her himself. When Matt tragically dies in a car crash that the two others survived, Anna is forced to keep that promise forever. A year later, Frankie and Anna are going to spend 20 days in Zanzibar Bay. Frankie is set on making sure Anna has a summer romance. But Anna believes that if she does, she will forget all about Matt.

This book's author, Sarah Ockler, did a very good job in writing this heartfelt, emotional book about love and loss. I could relate to the pain of losing a best friend and that kind of relationship. I would be lying if I said I didn't shed a few tears reading this book. This book explains how it feels to lose someone that is close to you and that is someone you love. I know that there are many people that can relate to that pain. In Twenty Boy Summer, Anna is trying to let go and learn to love again. This is what makes this book inspirational in a way. I would definitely recommend this book, and I loved reading it.

- Julia

"I want to hold your hand": Books about love and relationships

If you are in the mood for a good love story because of Valentine's Day, or just because you enjoy reading romantic books, stop by the display in the teen area for some recommendations.

Or click on one of the following lists I compiled with loads of dreamy and romantic reads!:

• Love Stories (part 1)
• Love Stories (part 2)
• Love Stories (part 3)

For more themed lists filled with reading recommendations, follow DundeeReads through your BiblioCommons account!

Sarah Dessen's latest plus more new books!

Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
Hunted across the True Sea and haunted by the lives she took on the Fold, Alina must try to make a life with Mal in an unfamiliar land, all while keeping her identity as the Sun Summoner a secret.

All I Need by Susane Colasanti
When Skye, a hopeless romantic, meets Seth, hurt by a recent break-up, at an end-of-summer party they connect instantly, but their love is tested when she returns to high school and he begins to work his way through an Ivy-League college.

The Girl with the Iron Touch by Kady Cross
London, 1897. When mechanical genius Emily is kidnapped by rogue automatons, Finley Jayne and her fellow misfits fear the worst. To save those she cares about, Emily must confront The Machinist's ultimate creation -- an automaton more human than machine.

The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
During her last summer at home before leaving for college, Emaline begins a whirlwind romance with Theo, an assistant documentary filmmaker who is in town to make a movie.

Dare You To by Katie McGarry
If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does...Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock--with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him. But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams--and his life--for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all...

The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler
Jude has learned a lot from her older sisters, but the most important thing is this: The Vargas brothers are notorious heartbreakers. But as Jude begins to fall for Emilio Vargas, she begins to wonder if her sisters were wrong.

Rules of Summer by Joanna Philbin
Spending the summer working as an errand girl for the Rule family in the Hamptons, seventeen-year-old Rory befriends the family's teenaged daughter and develops feelings for their older son, but she finds that societal rules can be hard to break.

Over You by Amy Reed
A novel about two girls on the run from their problems, their pasts, and themselves. Max and Sadie are escaping to Nebraska, but they'll soon learn they can't escape the truth

Crushed by Sara Shepard
It's springtime in Rosewood, but while everyone else is searching for the perfect prom dress, Hanna, Spencer, Emily, and Aria are on a different kind of hunt: They're looking for A...Hanna puts her campaign for prom queen on the back burner to volunteer at a burn clinic, where one of A's victims is recovering. Emily digs into Ali's past at the mental hospital with some very crazy consequences. Spencer contacts an amateur private eye to help her stalk her stalker. But when their sessions get a little too private, they may forget to keep their eyes on A. And Aria's worried that A is even closer than she thought. When her dark secret from Iceland comes to light, she discovers that maybe, just maybe, the one person she's been trying to hide the truth from has known all along. The liars are finally taking the fight to A. But no matter what they do, A's always one step ahead, ready to crush the girls completely.

Book Bite: "Eleanor & Park"

"I want everyone to meet you. You're my favorite person of all time."

- Park to Eleanor, Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell (2013)

Book Bite: Leaving Paradise

My dream is to find a guy who'll love me despite my flaws and won't turn away from me when a perfect girl walks by. Maybe a boy like that doesn't exist.

-- Maggie, Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles (2007)