YA novel about a girl whose sister drowns while trying to save her life. California. Read 1997-1998. Spoilers.

[Courtney]

I read this book back in 1997 or 1998 when I was in high school. It’s about a girl who lives in California and goes to the beach with her sister and her sister’s boyfriend. She goes in the water and gets stuck in the riptide, her sister comes out to save her but ends up drowning and dying. The girl thinks her parents blame her and withdraws but meets a guy at a party whose name I think is Ian. His mom owns a diner and he takes her there for his mom’s famous sour cream cinnamon rolls. The guy, Ian(maybe) gets the girl involved in the school’s theater and she helps with costumes and the play is Romeo and Juliet. She ends up being the understudy for Juliet and actually has to take over the roll. During a rehearsal she breaks down reliving her sister death and her grief. In the end her parents come to the play to support her and she ends up telling Ian how she feels about him.

[Rainbowheart]

Time to Let Go and Why Did She Have to Die? sound similar, but the sisters didn't drown.

Are you positive about the drowning detail?