Unsettling, well crafted coming-of-age tale with a great sense of place & a clever narration that allows for subtle plot and character developments going on around our self-absorbed heroine. Absorbing read for thoughtful teens

spoiler alert ** 3.5 stars

A one sitting read.
I could almost feel the Sun shinning on the idiocy beach,and quirky house,where the family met.
Then Kit Godden storms through,blowing up hormones,and common sense and lives,leaving a wreckage behind him.
He was so charming,the adults were so blind to his actions, it was all to believable.
A great summer book I think.

I read the book in one fell swoop and really enjoyed it. The story surrounds a summer beside the sea where the teen narrator and her family are swept off their feet by the presence of the Godden brothers- one charming, the other less so. What’s follows is a summer that she’ll never forget.

I liked this story with its easy style and at times funny narrative. I would’ve liked more depth with some of the characters and more explanation with the plot in some chapters but overall I think teens will like it.

Cute and charming YA novel that channels I Capture the Castle crossed with My Family and Other Animals. It's not deep (the comparisons with Bonjour Tristesse are misleading) and though painful things happen, the emotions of the book are on the surface. Think beach/bathtub reading - or to buy for young teens.