Beach Blondes: June Dreams, July's Promise, August Magic (Summer, #1-3)

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Beach Blondes: June Dreams, July's Promise, August Magic (Summer #1-3)

by Katherine Applegate (Goodreads Author)

4.16 of 5 stars 4.16 · rating details · 2,253 ratings · 179 reviews

Three months. Three guys. One amazing summer.

Summer Smith is in for the best summer of her life. Between the cold weather and her boyfriendless existence in Minnesota, Summer is ready for sun, sand, and boys in the Florida Keys. And by the end of the first day, she has more than enough to keep her busy: Adam, the senator's son, has looks, power, and all the money in the wo...more

Paperback, 736 pages

Published May 6th 2008 by Simon Pulse (first published April 30th 2008)

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Community Reviews

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May 16, 2013 Cecile rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: ice-cream-and-sunsets, cute, friendship

Edit: downgrading this one...Because although it's very cute and summery, I just can't leave it at 4*.

Initial rating: 3.75* but I'm feeling generous and will give the official GR rating a 4*. God, I'm such a sucker for summer books. *sigh*

Great summer read. I took this one at the beach with me so now it’s slightly covered in sun block and sand keeps falling out of the pages. As it should be :)

First, I guess I have to apologize about my comment concerning some of the names. Seth and Summer, O.C....more

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Jul 11, 2011 Sam T. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-love

OKAY.
Let me just start by saying this book was NOT the way I expected it to be. I mean, just read the discription. Sounds like a boring pointless girl book with pointless girl drama, right? Not really. I was really impressed by how well the plot went into the story, and how it was never boring (I mean, it takes talent to not make a 700+ paged book not be boring at times). There was always action. They even took on some serious issues like rape and depression and didn't make a fool out of themsel...more

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Aug 07, 2009 Jennifer rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, romance

It wasn't terrible but I would've edited it a lot differently than it was. For the most part, it was just a bubblegum fun story with not much substance. Great for some no brainer evenings of fun reading.

About the bad editing, there were several parts that repeated themselves almost word for word with other parts in the book, and some instances where there were total misspellings of words or wrong character names used. So unprofessional, in my opinion!

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Oct 10, 2012 Kaeley Little rated it 5 of 5 stars

In the book "Beach Blondes", the author did not directly state the purpose for writing this book. I think that the reason the author wrote the book was to inspire teen girls to be them self and that friends should come before boyfriends or else things could become confusing.
Another reason I think that the author wrote this book was to entertain young people and to also keep the readers wanting more. That is why I think that the author chose to write this book.

The author did not directly state t...more

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May 09, 2012 Melinda rated it 5 of 5 stars

Perfect summer read. It is kind of long (721 pages) though, so you might not want to read it at the beach... if you want to keep your book in a good condition :)

"Three months. Three guys. One amazing summer.

Summer Smith is in for the best summer of her life. Between the cold weather and her boyfriendless existence in Minnesota, Summer is ready for sun, sand, and boys in the Florida Keys. And by the end of the first day, she has more than enough to keep her busy:

Adam, the senator's son, has looks...more

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Nov 02, 2011 Majibookshelf Juhina & Farah rated it 3 of 5 stars

So this book was… long. I was pining for this book since the beginning of summer; it was the perfect summer read! Then I started reading it.. and the story never seemed to end. I feel like when I was 200 pages in, that nothing REALLY happened.. I guess that’s the point of why it’s a summer read right? It’s still summer here, weather goes up to 35 celsius (HOT!) so its not the season, but I think its about what represents summer. In summer we have all the time in the world to do ANYTHING, while n...more So this book was… long. I was pining for this book since the beginning of summer; it was the perfect summer read! Then I started reading it.. and the story never seemed to end. I feel like when I was 200 pages in, that nothing REALLY happened.. I guess that’s the point of why it’s a summer read right? It’s still summer here, weather goes up to 35 celsius (HOT!) so its not the season, but I think its about what represents summer. In summer we have all the time in the world to do ANYTHING, while now, I'm scrambling to juggle my studies, going out, sleeping, reading, and updating our blog! So very stressful, takes the joy out of a summer read.
Now let’s get down to the actual reviewing.

While this book was long, I did find it entertaining, atleast in some stories (with a book this long there had to be more side stories). It is told from almost 3 people’s POVs, Summer, Marquez, and Diana. At first I found summer naïve, Marquez great, and Diana just plain old depressing. But as the story progressed and Summer started falling for every guy alive (really?) and Marquez with her ex-boyfriend trouble (again enjoyable), and Diana finally getting out of her funk and standing up for herself (you go girl!) I started looking forward to Diana’s chapters the most. I truly admired her resilience to finally stand up for herself, no matter how big and rich the opponent is.

Summer honestly dragged the story, its first deciding who she loves out of all these guys, then keeping him at an arm’s length because she’s afraid of getting hurt (summer fling and all), then it’s about her family issue (I don’t want to post spoilers). I just feel like her story dragged a bit.

All in all, I think I read this book at the wrong time so my review might have been different if say, I read it during my summer break, but I’m glad I finally got to read it and get it out of my system, no more pining!. The next book in this series is “Tan Lines”. I probably wouldn’t buy it, but if I could borrow it or find it online for a cheap price I might get it and save it for next summer. We always want those summer books at some point.

- juhina(less)

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Apr 22, 2013 Kayleigh rated it 5 of 5 stars

Right off the bat, I had a feeling Beach Blondes would be a good read. After reading the short synopsis on the back of the book, I felt that I would enjoy reading it, and also relate to it in certain ways. Throughout the book, I noticed that there wasn't repetitiveness at all; every page brought something new.

It takes place in Crab Claw Keys, a small place in Florida. Summer Smith is the main character, and in the duration of the book, is caught in a few dilemmas. With the help of her friends M...more

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Jul 12, 2012 Kim Smiley rated it 3 of 5 stars

I wish we could give half stars because I would really give this 3 1/2. What a long book but i finished it in 2 days.

This book is about Summer. She lives in Minnesota and has the chance to spend her summer vacation with her Aunt and cousin at their home in Crab Claw Key Florida. She's sohappy to go and get away from all the cold and snow.

On the plane down there, she meets a guy who ends up kissing her in the photo booth in the airport once they land. She is surprised but he is cute. But she doe...more

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Sep 28, 2011 ~Hannah S. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: favorites

Beach Blondes

Summer Smith doesn’t want to have just another lame summer in Minnesota. She wants to get away from the cold. That’s why she moves down to Crab Claw Key Florida with he cousin Diana. Besides all of the fun she is having with her friends and he new boyfriend Summer has to work at the Crab n’ Conch restaurant with her friend Marquez. Marquez notices that Summer and the main cook J.T. have some weird connection. They get burns at the exact same time and same place, they say the same t...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Amy Simpson rated it 1 of 5 stars

Honestly, this book is not very good at all. If you want a good summer novel go read The Summer I Turned Pretty series. I actually can't believe I made myself read this whole book, I kept thinking it would get better. Summer is the most annoying character I have had to read about since Bella in Twilight. She is a goodie two shoes who of course had no life untell she goes to beach town and then EVERY SINGLE GUY in the whole world notices her. Why? Not sure. The ending of the book is completely ch...more

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Jan 29, 2013 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars

Beach Blondes is a novel written by Katherine Applegate, one of my favorite authors. I chose to read this novel because it takes place in the summer time, my favorite time of year. Bleak skies and cold winds are not my forte, so reading this book made it easy to go to a different place. The book also is a typical teenage girl book, about relationships and vacation, something that I needed to read and giggle in the mid of high school stress.
Katherine Applegate is a well-known author, for childr...more Beach Blondes is a novel written by Katherine Applegate, one of my favorite authors. I chose to read this novel because it takes place in the summer time, my favorite time of year. Bleak skies and cold winds are not my forte, so reading this book made it easy to go to a different place. The book also is a typical teenage girl book, about relationships and vacation, something that I needed to read and giggle in the mid of high school stress.
Katherine Applegate is a well-known author, for children and adults alike. Published by Harper Collins, she is the author of the widely famous Animorphs series, sold around the world. Harper Collins Publishers state in her biography, “Katherine Applegate’s many books include the Roscoe Riley Rules chapter book series, the picture book The Buffalo Storm, and the award-winning novel Home of the Brave” (Harper Collins). On her site Applegate humbly admits, “My novel Home of the Brave was awarded the 2008 Golden Kite Award for Best Fiction, the Bank Street 2008 Josette Frank Award for children's fiction, and was a Judy Lopez Memorial Award honor book” (Applegate).
Beach Blondes is a book about a single girl named Summer Smith who is about to spend the summer in the Florida Keys. From cold Minnesota to warm beaches, she believes she is in for a treat, “The clouds had broken up and the plane had emerged into clear sunlight so bright Summer scrunched up her eyes as she looked down below at a scene so perfect, so intensely beautiful it made her want to cry” (Applegate 7). Arriving in Florida she realizes it is everything she needed for the summer and she can’t wait to start. However, trouble in paradise begins shortly after her arrival. More than one boy comes into her life, and Summer begins to realize that its not a true vacation, “Hi there,’ she said to the reflection’ ‘Having a good time? No? You’re in the hole today? Me too” (Applegate 226). Her heart being played with, and playing with others hearts begins to take its toll on Summer. With more than one relationship in her life things begin to fall apart. Summer runs into a close call while scuba diving which changes things for her, “Finally Seth pointed to her gauge. Ten minutes of air left. He looked at his own watch and held up seven fingers. In about seven minutes he would be out of air. Three minutes later her own air would be gone” (Applegate 440). Cutting it a little close has become, through the progression of her story, the only way for Summer to cope with everything. She heads home with a realization, “You can’t have real pain without real love” (Applegate 721). The summer away from home has taught her that without sacrifice she will gain nothing and to care for those around her.
The author’s writing style to be honest was a bit cliché. Typical summer novel about a girl and a million boys who all of the sudden start to realize she is pretty. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the antagonist in the novel, because it changed from character to character. Also, because this novel was a shallow summer novel, there were no real themes or messages. The main character is written to find love wherever she goes which is not a realistic story at all. There were several times the author used foreshadowing, however it was not as subtle as you would have thought it would be. Since the novel was written this way, it was very easy to figure out what would happen next, and was not much of a page turner.
In conclusion, I enjoyed the book, but I did feel like a twelve year old girl while reading it. It was a nice break from everyday life since it is more of a fairytale than a work of nonfiction. I would recommend this book to anyone who wanted an easy read or a fun story. All in all I feel a good book choice that I would read again, overlooking the extreme girly nature of it.
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Jul 14, 2012 Charlotte rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 100-books-in-a-year-challenge-2012

This book borders on three stars. :P Beach Blondes is a compound of three books originally written in 1995. It was a fun, cheesy and somewhat dumb summer read. Perfect for hot days when all you're doing is drinking iced tea on the porch.

Beach Blondes follows Summer Smith, (and pretty much every character gets a bit of their POV at least once) a simple girl from Minnesota who has come down to Florida to stay with her aunt and cousin for the summer. On the plane ride a woman reads her future with...more This book borders on three stars. :P Beach Blondes is a compound of three books originally written in 1995. It was a fun, cheesy and somewhat dumb summer read. Perfect for hot days when all you're doing is drinking iced tea on the porch.

Beach Blondes follows Summer Smith, (and pretty much every character gets a bit of their POV at least once) a simple girl from Minnesota who has come down to Florida to stay with her aunt and cousin for the summer. On the plane ride a woman reads her future with tarot cards, and Summer is told she'll meet three guys. The dangerous guy, the mysterious guy, and the right guy. Ensues is a wild summer she will never forget.

I definitely felt like a loser at some points, when I realized how little activity I was doing compared to these girls. That's not a good feeling for the reader, so I did take that into account. You should want to be friends with the characters, in a YA summer/romance novel like this. You shouldn't feel less than them. This feeling didn't really bother me though, because I wasn't a fan of any of the characters! They were all annoying, to put it blatantly. Summer (the main protagonist) was okay at first, but in the third book she seemed to have developed into a worse version of herself. Her logic was screwy and the way she acted around guys (Sean & Seth) was pathetic and unadmirable. On a side note and somewhat unrelated one, when your boyfriend calls you pathetic, you do not agree!! (MARQUEZ, I'M LOOKING AT YOU.)

As for the cheesiness, (e.g. Lianne's revenge plot) it didn't really affect the book overall. It was cute at some points, like Seth and Summer's romance. The aspects that really saved the book for me were the climaxes and resolutions. Whenever I started to get annoyed or disgruntled, something would happen and save me from abandoning the 700+ pages. Because it was three books originally, the little surprising points were spaced out perfectly. Katherine Applegate is very good at writing plot twists you never saw coming, but were fairly obvious afterward. They saved the book for me.

I'll probably read the rest of the series, although I recommend it to only the people who don't mind spending several days reading each book. It took me nearly a week to read Beach Blondes, and I can normally finish a 200-300ish page book in two days. If you are willing to take your time, I do think you'll enjoy this book! (less)

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Aug 17, 2010 Nikki rated it 3 of 5 stars

I started reading this book because my 15 year old daughter said I had to. Lol I thought it was a fun read, very easy. I became attached to the characters the more I got into the story. There were times that I laughed out loud, got chocked up, had my stomach in knots, and felt love struck. Not a whole lot of deep thoughts and I figured out parts of the story before the author revealed the answers. The REALLY ANNOYING thing about the book, was the constant repeating of things that you already kne...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Emma Keserich rated it 5 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Beach Blondes
By: Katherine Applegate; 1995; Realistic Fiction

Summer Smith lives in a lifeless city in Minnesota. She has family in Florida, so she goes to visit them in the summer before senior year. Summer’s brother was reported missing before she was born, but is still a touchy subject for her. Throughout the book, she develops a complex love life with more than one boy. The first boy (Seth) starts off her summer by kissing her in the airport when she arrives in Florida. As soon as she gets to...more Beach Blondes
By: Katherine Applegate; 1995; Realistic Fiction

Summer Smith lives in a lifeless city in Minnesota. She has family in Florida, so she goes to visit them in the summer before senior year. Summer’s brother was reported missing before she was born, but is still a touchy subject for her. Throughout the book, she develops a complex love life with more than one boy. The first boy (Seth) starts off her summer by kissing her in the airport when she arrives in Florida. As soon as she gets to her aunt’s house, her cousin tells her that Seth comes every summer, and has been in a relationship with a girl for a long time. Soon after, Summer meets Adam, the son of a very wealthy and famous senator. Adam is really nice to her, but one day his alcoholic brother tried to rape her, just like he tried to rape Summer’s cousin. Summer is put into the filthy guest house by her cousin, and meets Diver. Diver is kind of in a different world, but very smart. He doesn’t have a family, but Summer soon finds out that he may be her missing brother. By the end of the story, Summer is in relationship with Seth, and has figured out that Diver is her brother, who has been missing for more than 17 years.
The theme of this book would be “if you go into a new setting with a positive attitude, you will be guaranteed a good outcome.” I think this is a good theme because Summer came to Florida with a positive attitude and stayed positive during her whole summer. At the end of the summer, she left with a good boyfriend, her long-lost brother, and good friends.
When Summer arrives in Florida, she is greeted by her aunt, who looks fake with her poofy hair and spray tan. Her aunt is a famous writer, and is always out of town on guest appearances. Her cousin Diana is very moody, and keeps to herself. Summer is the exact opposite from Diana, so their relationship gets a little bit frustrating. Summer meets a girl named Maria Marquez, also known as Marquez and becomes very good friends with her. Marquez is also the exact opposite from Summer; she is very adventurous and doesn’t care what people think of her. They didn’t know how to get to Adam’s party so Marquez suggested that they take jet skiis across the river to the party. The jet skiis stopped in the middle of the river, but it was a fun time for both of them. Summer learns that she can really only trust Marquez to get her through the hard times. Summer only develops a relationship with Adam during a short period of time, then she develops a long-term relationship with Seth. Both guys are sweet and caring, but Seth was there for Summer since the first day they met. This book was by far one of the best books I’ve ever read. It took me less than a week to finish it because it was so good. I would definitely recommend this to anyone who doesn’t have a lot of time on their hands, because you can easily read one hundred pages in a day. I think that a lot of books are the same. They are all about a girl falling in love with a boy, etc. This book is different because Summer knew she wanted to meet boys, but she also wanted to have a great time with her cousin, and make the most of the short three months.
“Seth! Oh, Seth.” Summer said, looking inexplicably relieved. “Seth. Okay, Seth is down there. Not anywhere else though, right?”
“Who were you expecting?” Diana asked sourly. “Adam?” (Page 151)
I chose this quote because if you just read the quote, you can tell Summer has an upbeat attitude, but Diana has more of a negative attitude. During the whole summer, Diana was negative about things (and Summer), but Summer was positive all throughout the book.
This book relates to me because if I am in a situation, or new setting, I try to be as positive as possible about it. I also liked how Summer never gave up trying to get on Diana’s good side. Summer knew that Diana was having problems, but she never judged Diana based on them. I feel like that’s how you should live your life. If some has made a mistake in the past, it shouldn’t be brought up in the present or future. You can’t really judge people unless you know their full story, and you most likely will never know the full story. The book has affected me because I liked Summer’s attitude towards things. She knew she wouldn’t have spending money, so she applied for a job at a local restaurant. She was determined to make the summer the best summer of her life. I liked how the author wrote the point of view from each characters side. The book was mostly in Summer’s point of view, but there would be times where it would be in Diana’s point of view, and you would learn a lot from her point of view. If it was never in Diana’s point of view, you wouldn’t know that she was contemplating suicide.
Overall, this was a great book. I’m really excited to read the next.
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Nov 29, 2011 Angela rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: summer-reads, ya-romance

As a teenager, I read the original books separately (June Dreams, July's Promise, August Magic) and I loved them.

I recently purchased the collection of the books now titled, "Beach Blondes". I didn't care for the updates in the book. Additional pop-culture references took me out of the book. It was is if they were placed there, solely to make the book more up-to-date, and often in strange places. They just weren't necessary. The idea of a teen girl that had the opportunity to be away from home a...more

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Apr 16, 2013 Claire rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed Beach Blondes by Katherine Applegate. Beach Blondes is a book that is great to read in the summer months or over spring break when traveling to warm areas. I would recommend reading this book in the summer or over a spring break because the novel takes place in the summer, getting the reader excited about summer in general. The book is always talking about the beach, hot weather, summer romance, etc. Beach Blondes has a little bit of everything; romance, friendship, abusive rela...more

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Aug 30, 2012 Emilyx rated it 4 of 5 stars

*Possible spoilers'
I read this a few weeks back when the summer holidays started after hearing it through a YouTube video and I quite liked the sound of a "summer novel". Although it may be quite off-putting when you first look at it because of the thickness it is actually really easy to read. As the title says it is a perfect summer novel if you just want something to enjoy and relax with on the beach. The book is about how a girl, 'Summer' (slightly cliche), goes away through the whole of summ...more

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Jan 22, 2012 Kiera rated it 5 of 5 stars

This was an amazing book! I loved every single page of it! The boys described? I wish I had them in my life..

So. When they she was describing what Ross and Adam looked like did anyone else have this kind of image in their head? Because as soon as I saw this picture on Tumblr I was like that is EXACTLY how I saw them!

http://wegottheswagsaucedrippinswaggo...

The one on the the left) is exactly how I pictured Ross. Like a super hot guy who has drinking and anger problems? Yea. That's him right there...more

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Apr 07, 2013 Caitlin added it

This books was absolutely amazing. I wanted a great, easy summer read while at the beach and this exceeded all of my expectations. Katherine Applegate really knows how to pull a reader into her books and leave them wanting to know what will happen next. The main characters were very well thought out and I really got to know each and every one throughout the book. I can't wait to finish the book I'm currently reading so that I can start the next book in this series. Super excited to see what happ...more

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Jun 17, 2012 Marissa Marzano rated it 5 of 5 stars

I WAS HOOKED!

For a girl who really isn't patient, and didn't have a lot of time on her hands, i still made a consious effort to read, from cover to cover, this 720 page book.

I'm a real big sucker for summer teen drama novels, I don't know why, i just am, but this book is just perfect for those who need a book to read on the beach.

It incompasses everything that sound happen in a regular summer holiday for a 17 year old girl. Sand, sun, sea and sex. Love it.

This novel was just another book that...more

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Oct 25, 2011 Stephanie G. rated it 5 of 5 stars

Beach Blondes
Katherine Applegate
Publication Date: 1995
Genre: Realistic fiction

For my 1st quarter book report I chose to read the book Beach Blondes. This book is all about a girl names Summer Smith. Summer isn’t any popular preppy girl, she is just a normal girl who crushes on the popular guy. Well that all changed when she went and spent the summer with her aunt and cousin in crab claw, Florida. She may have been normal back in Bloomington, Minnesota. Summer met 4 guys: Adam which was the sena...more Beach Blondes
Katherine Applegate
Publication Date: 1995
Genre: Realistic fiction

For my 1st quarter book report I chose to read the book Beach Blondes. This book is all about a girl names Summer Smith. Summer isn’t any popular preppy girl, she is just a normal girl who crushes on the popular guy. Well that all changed when she went and spent the summer with her aunt and cousin in crab claw, Florida. She may have been normal back in Bloomington, Minnesota. Summer met 4 guys: Adam which was the senator’s son, Diver he was a guy who used to sleep on top of her cousins shed, and Seth who he was the “perfect” boyfriend well the one she thought she was in love with. She meets so many new people like Marquez, well Marquez was her first friend in crab claw. Marquez’s ex boyfriend is JT but they got back together, Marquez thinks that JT is Summers lost brother. Well then at the end of the summer Summer will have to leave Seth. This book was really good it was romantic and adventurous.

I think the theme of the book is that every life has bumps in the road. There isn’t one life out there that has no problems. Yours always going to have struggles or heart breaks. In this book Seth and Summer got stuck in a cave while snorkeling. Also when summer was dating Adam his brother Ross tried to get with her. Another example is Adam tried to get summer back by buying her expensive jewelry. But Summer was smart and she threw the jewelry on the ground it didn’t mean anything ot her, like it did to Adam.

Well I think the audience who would like this the best is girl teens. But some girls may not like it but I loved it. This book is sort of like Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. But its not violent and more guys and no werewolves and vampires. Well here is a quote from the book before she goes to Florida. I hate my life. I hate my life. And Sean Vallenti. The school bus had dropped Summer Smith six blocks from her home, and now she had frozen slush in the tops of her boots. Her toes were numb. Her ears were painful.”

Well I think my relationship to this topic would be close because I think me and Summer are alike. Like if I could visit my aunt and cousin in Florida I would go. This book affected me in a good was really dramatic but it was really good. I would read it again. I enjoyed how it was about a normal girl who meeta 3 guys alll in one amazing summer. Well I hope you choose to read this amazing book.(less)

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Jun 12, 2011 Janina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: amazing, chick-lit, giddy, one-to-remember, summer, heaven, awesome, awww, feel-good, fictional-boy-crush

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. First of all, I thought it was really very unlikely for an "invisible" girl like Summer to have 3 guys then have 2 of them kiss her, in less than a week.

I loved Adam. He was very charming. That was the thing I liked about him. And plus, he had this cocky on the outside, sweet on the inside going on. :") And is that whole Ross thing wasn't there, I was totally routing for him with Summer. But even before that, I was hoping that he would get back together with Diana. I jumped when he said he only...more

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Jun 01, 2011 Alana rated it 5 of 5 stars

I really ended up enjoying this book. Things happen very quickly, you get hooked within the first 20 pages! This was a perfect summer read and I'm really looking forward to reading the rest of the books in this series! I couldn't help but smile and feel warm and fuzzy inside while reading about Summer and Seth, and they added interesting elements to the story so it wasn't just focused on the 3 guys. All in all, it was a very enjoyable book and I think that it's perfect for those people who love...more

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Jan 08, 2013 Emily rated it 4 of 5 stars

It's one of those guilty pleasure books that you don't want to admit that you like, because its so girly( I mean come on it's called beach blondes). But I could not put this down. I read it this past summer and one night I stayed up till 6 am reading it. I know, I'm a lunatic. But the story evolved into so much more than a light summer read, it ended up dealing with some heavy subjects. So if you want a story that you can love, cry over, and get attached to, then this is the book for you. But be...more

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Nov 19, 2012 Zoe Hanna rated it 5 of 5 stars

POSSIBLE SPOLIERS: I absaloutly love this book, it is a amazing great summer read even though it can be read at any time! I loved the plot of the story and I love all the surprises that come in this. This book is very well written and Katherine has done an amazing job! I loved how good all the describing Katherine did in this book; she made sure everything was well explained. I liked how reading this book I also had a visual idea of what it was like in my mind as well! I really loved how big the...more

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Dec 19, 2012 Sophie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-2012, for-summer-2012-2013

I had no expectations when starting this book because I hadn't really heard anything about it, I just saw it on sale in my book shop and decided to give it a read. But I was pleasantly surprised.

The plot. I really did enjoy the plot. This book is definitely not your regular summer read, there is a lot of family mystery and drama as well as the typical boy and friend drama as well as rape, depression and suicide which I definitely was not expecting from this book but I did think that it add to th...more I had no expectations when starting this book because I hadn't really heard anything about it, I just saw it on sale in my book shop and decided to give it a read. But I was pleasantly surprised.

The plot. I really did enjoy the plot. This book is definitely not your regular summer read, there is a lot of family mystery and drama as well as the typical boy and friend drama as well as rape, depression and suicide which I definitely was not expecting from this book but I did think that it add to the storyline. I loved how the story was told from multipul POV so I could see what all of the characters were thinking and feeling at different points in the book and also the pacing, I thought that the book flowed very well and was a very easy book to get through. But I do think that key points in the book were repeated throughout the book which I thought was un-needed and also that some storylines in the book and the way they turned out were pretty unrealistic.

The charcters. I wasn't really expecting much from the charcters in this book but I was really suprised I thought that they were all very well written and interesting to read about.
Summer, I really enjoyed reading about Summer's charcter. I thought that she was a very interesting and relateable character to read about. I thought that she took everything that happened to her throughout the book very well I liked seeing how she came more out of her shell in the book and even though she made some wrong choices in the book I think ultimately she has come out of her shell a lot more and has changed for the better.
Another charcter that I really enjoyed was Marquez. I thought that she had a very relateable and interesting personality and I loved reading the story from her POV. I loved her straight to the point attitude and I thought that she was a great friend for Summer to have.
The other characters that I really enjoyed were Seth and Diver. I thought that Seth was a great match for Summer and even though she made some bad choices toward the end of the book he was still there for her. Diver's charcter would have to be my favourite out of these two. he had such a unique personality and I just loved reading about him and he was always so down to earth and interesting so I cannot wait to see what happens to him in the next book.

Overall this was an enjoyable read, though not my favourite book I have read this summer. But I think this is a promising start to the series and I look foward to reading more of the books.(less)

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Jun 23, 2012 Shan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: owned, never-finished

1 star and a half From my blog Teatime Books

First impressions:
Now I know this book was published quite a while ago, and it hasn't received much exposure over the years but I saw overwhelmingly positive reviews on its Goodreads page and I wanted to voice my opinion. Also, this will be my first 'negative' review on my blog. I brought this book because I was looking for a light, summer read. With the title and the cover, I thought it would be just what I was looking for. No, I wasn't expecting a...more

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Oct 28, 2011 Juhina rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, books-won

So this book was… long. I was pining for this book since the beginning of summer; it was the perfect summer read! Then I started reading it.. and the story never seemed to end. I feel like when I was 200 pages in, that nothing REALLY happened.. I guess that’s the point of why it’s a summer read right? It’s still summer here, weather goes up to 35 celsius (HOT!) so its not the season, but I think its about what represents summer. In summer we have all the time in the world to do ANYTHING, while n...more So this book was… long. I was pining for this book since the beginning of summer; it was the perfect summer read! Then I started reading it.. and the story never seemed to end. I feel like when I was 200 pages in, that nothing REALLY happened.. I guess that’s the point of why it’s a summer read right? It’s still summer here, weather goes up to 35 celsius (HOT!) so its not the season, but I think its about what represents summer. In summer we have all the time in the world to do ANYTHING, while now, I'm scrambling to juggle my studies, going out, sleeping, reading, and updating our blog! So very stressful, takes the joy out of a summer read.
Now let’s get down to the actual reviewing. While this book was long, I did find it entertaining, atleast in some stories (with a book this long there had to be more side stories). It is told from almost 3 people’s POVs, Summer, Marquez, and Diana. At first I found summer naïve, Marquez great, and Diana just plain old depressing. But as the story progressed and Summer started falling for every guy alive (reall?) and Marquez with her ex-boyfriend trouble (again enjoyable), and Diana finally getting out of her funk and standing up for herself (you go girl!) I started looking forward to Diana’s chapters the most. I truly admired her resilience to finally stand up for herself, no matter how big and rich the opponent is.
Summer honestly dragged the story, its first deciding who she loves out of all these guys, then keeping him at an arm’s length because she’s is afraid of getting hurt (summer fling and all), then it’s about her family issue (I don’t want to post spoilers). I just feel like her story dragged a bit.
All in all, I think I read this book at the wrong time so my review might have been different if say, I read it during my summer break, but I’m glad I finally got to read it and get it out of my system, no more pining!. The next book in this series is “Tan Lines”. I probably wouldn’t buy it, but if I could borrow it or find it online for cheap price I might get it and save it for next summer. We always want those summer books at some point.
(less)

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Nov 04, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews

Reviewed by Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen for TeensReadToo.com

Summer Smith doesn't have the perfect life, or a life that anyone would want at all. She is a major klutz, always falling and bruising herself. And the guy of her dreams, Sean Valletti, not only doesn't notice her but has found someone else to be his potential girlfriend.

After trudging home through the snow and cold weather, Summer gets hit with some excellent news. Her aunt had phoned her mother to see if Summer wanted to com...more

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Aug 02, 2011 Shannon rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Teen girls who like romance, friendship, and family novels.

Shelves: loved-it

I loved this book. I couldn't put it down at times, it was just that good. No wait, GREAT! No, still understatement... Hmm, I KNOW! Megaly, awesomely, cool, longest book I've ever read! I laughed, cried, felt my jaw hit the floor, and even talked to the characters. They never talked back, which I found very rude of them. :) Anyway... I thought that the book was going to go one way, turned out the go the other. I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say that the end got very shocking....more

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About Katherine Applegate

Applegate was born in Michigan in 1956. Since then she has lived in Texas, Florida, California, Minnesota, Illinois, North Carolina, and after living in Pelago, Italy for a year, she has moved back to Southern California. She has an eleven year old son named Jake Mates, although she says the Animorph leader is not named after him. In 2003 she and her husband, Michael Grant, her co-author on many p...more

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