The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells...

Series: Summer (Book #1)
Published: June 1st 2010 by Sourcebooks Fire
Pages: 295
Rating: 5 stars
Age Recommendation: -

Synopsis:

Sometimes I still wake up shivering in the early hours of the morning, drowning in dreams of being out there in the ocean that summer, of looking up at the moon and feeling as invisible and free as a fish. But I'm jumping ahead, and to tell the story right I have to go back to the very beginning. To a place called Indigo Beach. To a boy with pale skin that glowed against the dark waves. To the start of something neither of us could have predicted, and which would mark us forever, making everything that came after and before seem like it belonged to another life.

My name is Mia Gordon: I was sixteen years old, and I remember everything.

Review:

I was really suprised by this book, sure I had heard a few things about this book so I knew that it was good but was it only after reading it did I realise how good it was.

The plot. I loved the plot! Though I did think that it was slow to start off about half way through things started to really pick up and then I couldn't stop reading so many different things were happening, people were starting to show different sides to themselves but the thing that I definitely was not prepared for was the ending... It was so sad! But I thought that it fit the story very well and ultimitley made it an even better book. I loved seeing how relationships developed throughout the book aswell.

The characters. I thought that all of the charcters were written very realistically and that includes the side characters.
I loved Mia's character, I thought that she was so relateable because she had the same concerns and insecurities that a lot of teenage girls have and I just really liked seeing everything from her perspective so I was able to see what she was thinking and feeling about everything that was happening to her and around her. I thought that she dealt amazingly well with what happened in the end of the book and I just really ended up loving her character.
I also really loved Simon's charcter, though I didn't really know what to think of him at the start as Mia and his relationship started to deepen I got to see more of his personality and he became someone I really liked. He knew what he wanted in his life and he wasn't going to let anyone stand in the way of that and I also really loved the way he interacted with Mia and how he was so kind and caring towards her.
Some charcters that suprised me were Corinne and Beth by the end of the book they seemed to have completely turned their lives around and in Corinne's case had changed for the better which I was really pleased to see.

Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was a very thought-provoking book and really solidified the message of living everyday like it's your last. This is a book that I would highly recommend and one that I will be reading for summers to come.