Book Review for Summer Seventeen and You by Sara Daniell
Summer Seventeen and You, by Sara Daniell, is a tender young adult novel about growing up, and learning who your true family is.
Samantha “Sam” Scott is a young, wealthy teenager whose boyfriend is the star baseball player, Logan Hart. But when a newcomer, Elliot Shaw, takes a coveted team position, Sam begins to loathe Elliot with a passion. Even so, the more time Elliot and Sam spend together, the more she realizes just how vain her hatred is, all the while falling more in love with Elliot with each passing day. However, this love is put to the test when she finds out she’s pregnant with Logan’s baby.
The relationship between Elliot and Sam was enjoyable to read about. I loved just how deeply their connection ran; it made Logan’s relationship with her seem so shallow and vain. Those appearances, however, became evident when she became pregnant with his child. The story quickly blossomed into a romantic, inspiring novel with Elliot and Sam at the center of it. Another thing I noticed was Sam’s relationship with her parents. Personally, I feel she should be able to convey this through her actions, rather than her words. It was a bit burdensome reading about them, to be honest.
Even so, the theme of surrounding people who love you is incredibly strong. Sam’s parents had abandoned her, and when Logan tried to make it up to her, only to destroy her with rumors, anger, and betrayal, it was Elliot, Quinn, and Zach who stayed with her. She depended on them, and over and over again they stood beside her, to the very end. And now, I believe they’ll stay together for her daughter’s sake. Though others tried tearing them apart, to Sam, they’re family, not just friends. It was this very aspect of the book that made the ending so bittersweet.
But the book wasn’t perfect. There were a few punctuation errors here and there. During the first word of the chapter, the first letter would be separated from the other. There was, again, an issue with the somewhat awkward moments between Sam and her parents.
Even so, the story was incredibly well done. From a light-hearted teenage romance, to a beautifully tragic tale about a mother who sacrificed herself so that her daughter could live happily, Daniell weaves a deceptively innocent novel about surrounding yourself with loved ones who support you and care for you in any way they can. Family ties, after all, run deeper than blood ties. As such, I would give this book a rating of a 4.3 out of 5.0 stars, and would recommend it to those who love literary genre, sweet romance, and young adult novels in general.
