Review: Nantucket Blue

Sometimes I find myself completely surprised by a book, and its a feeling that I love. How often can we say these days that our expectations were not only met but far exceeded? That's exactly what I got from Nantucket Blue by Leila Howland. I wanted to take a look at it because I knew it would be of interest to some of the teens at my library, but I wasn't exactly excited to read it. 

And then I couldn't put it down. What a wonderful feeling, to be so intrigued by something that seemed like just another typical teen romance at the outset.

That's not to say that it's not a typical teen romance in many ways. Main character Cricket is the odd girl out at her school - a scholarship kid surrounded by the way-too-rich-for-their-own-good who is just starting to get noticed by the hot guy.

Things take a turn, though, when Cricket's best friend's mother dies suddenly, a woman she considered as close as her own mother. Things chill between the two friends unexpectedly, leaving their summer plans of hanging around together on Nantucket up in the air.

There's nothing terribly earth-shattering about this book (although teens who have dealt with a death in the family or in the community may find some comfort), but it all felt real enough that I wanted to keep reading. Cricket felt very understandable to me, and the level of plausibility was just high enough to not make me want to throw the book across the room.

I can't wait to start handing this out to some of my kids. I know it will be right up their alley.