Synopsis: Anna's life is upended when her father accepts a job transfer the summer before her junior year. It's bad enough that she has to leave her friends and her life behind, but her dad is moving them to the beach where her parents first met and fell in love- a place awash in memories that Anna would just as soon leave under the surface.
While life on the beach is pretty great, with ocean views and one adorable lifeguard in particular, there are also family secrets that were buried along the shore years ago. And the ebb and flow of the ocean's tide means that nothing- not the sea glass that she collects on the sand and not the truths behind Anna's mother's death- stays buried forever. (Goodreads.com)
Anna has just moved to the beach where her parents first fell in love. That sounds great except that Anna and her father cannot even talk about her mother so being surrounded by the past makes it hard for Anna to be excited for the move. Of course, this proves to be the needed catalyst to break the bottle cap on Anna's emotions when it comes to her mother. I really liked how Jessi Kirby wrote the story of Anna and her father. They are actually very close. After all, they only have each other. But, when it comes to the past and some deeper emotions, they are not nearly as close as they could be. Being back at this beach is opening them both up, for better or for worse.
Throw in the remnants of the past, a nice and slow-moving romance (and I don't mean that negatively at all!) romance, and brewing friendships and this book is a nice combination of pleasing elements. My favorite character was definitely Anna's friend, Ashley, who is a privileged and wealthy teen but who has a really big heart. Yeah, she inserted her foot into her mouth several times but she just was so darn kind. It was nice to read a book without a mean girl for once. The romance was also really engaging and felt much more honest than many teen romances I read. Tyler, Anna's crush, definitely takes things slow with Anna but it totally works. He isn't a tease nor is Anna but instead of getting straight to the kissing, they do some wacky (and yeah, dangerous) dares, they visit abandoned houses and they genuinely get to know each other.
And did I mention the tears? Yep, teared up a few times toward the end of this book as Anna found her resolution with her mother and a new balance in her relationship with her father. This book does not drag out the story either. It's a nice and while not short, doesn't have the four-hundred page length of a lot of paranormal romances I see coming across my desk.
I will say, I did skim a lot of the paragraphs about Anna and the ocean. Descriptions bore me endlessly in books, as do dreams, and these elements, while not necessarily abundant, are definitely visible in the story. However, overall, this is a great read for your teen readers who are wanting a bit of a romance, maybe a family drama or want to spend some time at sea. I also think it's a good readalike for Sarah Ockler's Twenty Boy Summer and Fixing Delilah.
Moonglass is available now and will make a great addition to any library. I'm really looking forward to Jessi Kirby's next book, In Honor, available May 2012.
Other reviews:
Chick Loves Lit reviews Moonglass
Novel Novice reviews Moonglass
Good Books and Good Wine reviews Moonglass
Copy reviewed from my local public library.
