Review: A Walk in the Sun by Michelle Zink
SYNOPSIS:
In this Bridges of Madison County for teens, Michelle Zink weaves a magnetic tale about summer love that stays with you long after the seasons change.
Rose Darrow never wanted to spend her life working on her family’s farm. But when her family is rocked by an unexpected tragedy she has no choice but to put her plans for the future—and dreams of escaping her small town—on hold.
Bodhi Lowell left home as a kid and hasn’t looked back. Years of working farm jobs has given him the one thing he wants most: freedom to travel without answering to anyone. He’s already looking past his job at Darrow Farm and plans on leaving in September—until he meets Rose.
Neither Rose nor Bodhi can deny the sparks flying between them, but with the end of summer looming, they must decide if it is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all….
REVIEW:
*Book Received in Exchange for Honest Opinion/Review*
This book was ridiculously adorable and everything I want in a contemporary young adult romance…almost! There were two resounding flaws that I didn’t like within the story which I will touch on briefly in a moment; however, the overall story was sticky sweet. I am a sucker for young adult contemporary and inhaled this story. These characters are extremely relate able and you instantly find yourself attached to them. The story is far more than a contemporary read, it is really a story about forging your own path in the world and deciding if you are going to let fear control you or take a chance.
I could have really used a book with such a profound message in my teenage years. Marty and Maggie were awesome secondary characters who were wise beyond their years and I found myself giggling with Maggie being sneaky and found myself absorbing the knowledge Marty was sharing with entrapment. As mention there were two things that bothered me, mind you they are minor details and really didn’t take away from the story.
I wished that the cover more accurately portrayed the characters. Rose is described as having red hair and the cover does not depict that in any way. In addition, Bodhi was described as being a little rough around the edges for being a drifter which he looks extremely clean cut in the cover. Secondly, I wasn’t a fan of the instantaneous love/attraction at first site. I would have preferred a little bit more of the falling part in this love but once they got started, I couldn’t put the book down. I would have loved and epilogue or a little something extra at the end, it would have truly been the icing on the cake for this book.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“I’m going to tell you something no one else will: a lot of life is about momentum. You let yourself stand still too long, you get stagnant, forget there are other places to see, other ways of thinking and doing things. And the worst part is, you start to lie to yourself. Make excuses why it’s just fine to be standing still, telling yourself you didn’t want anything different anyways.”
PRE-ORDER THE BOOK (Available May 3, 2016):
This sounds so good. Great review Lauren!!