Isn’t it enough having your very own terminal disease, without your mother dying? Or your father dating your Art teacher?
No wonder Sacha Thomas ends up in the lake that Saturday evening…
But the real question is: how does he end up in love with Jewel Valentine?
With the help of quirky teenage prodigies Little Al and True Grisham, Sacha and Jewel have a crazy adventure, with a little lobster emancipation along the way.
But Sacha’s running out of time, and Jewel has secrets of her own.
Girl Saves Boy is a hugely talented debut novel, funny and sad, silly and wise. It’s a story of life, death, love… and garden gnomes.
Stephe Bowe has created a perceptive look into modern families. All families have problems, and it's not just from the kids either. This beautiful debut shows that sometimes parents can screw up even more than their children. Jewel didn't know that returning home after 10 years would mean anything, but after finding a boy drowning in the lake and rescuing him she finds herself getting close to someone for the first time. Sacha didn't really want to be saved, but glad he was, especially when he starts developing a friendship with Jewel. He has a problem though, how is he going to tell her he has cancer? As a relationship starts developing, both Jewel and Sacha have to try and leave the past behind them and learn to trust each other in order to move forward.
Stephe Bowe has created realistic characters that both have their own problems. Sacha is running from the death of his mother and out of time from the cancer that has returned. Jewel is trying to forget her brother's death and the father who abandoned her, and is now living with a mother that she barely knows and hasn't really seen for the past 10 years. This novel gave a real look into family life where no one is perfect and sometimes the problems that each member has is difficult to put aside to come together and support each other.
I've been wanting to read this since Steph announced it was getting published (especially down here in Australia first), and I'm glad I did. The writing was cheeky in some parts as well as heart-wrenching in others. And, for the first time (mainly because I do read a lot of US novels) it was great to see some familiar settings that I'm so used to (especially Bunnings, the description of the house and hardware warehouse was perfect, exactly how I feel every time I step foot into the concrete floored tin building).
Cover: This cover is elegant and definitely catches the attention. I love the water droplets that run along the cover, it's beautifully set out.
At the moment Girl Saves Boy is available in Australia, but don't worry US, it will be available Summer 2011.
Plot: 5/5 stars
Ending: 4/5 stars
Cover: 5/5 stars
Overall: 5/5 stars
Recommend: Jody Piccoult
Debut Author Challenge: #9 of 12
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3 comments:
Sounds like a wonderful book, and from someone so young. I hope it becomes available in the US.
Thanks for the review! I reminds me of Stargirl. I willl have to pick it up. :)
Great review, Cheree! :-)
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