For decades now, our family’s summers have been marked by visits to the local libraries. It used to be Books & Babies, Book Buddies, and Chewsy Readers programs with added visits for summer performances and activities.
My children have grown and the pandemic ended many of our beloved summer reading activities, but these months still mean reading and racking up the books read to increase chances of more summer rewards. I’ll never tire of the return trips from the library when the usually raucous ride is silent as everyone but the driver delves into their new book.
Summer YA Reading: Blink and We'll Miss It by @ginny_kochis #beachread #YALit Click To TweetI’ve posted about Catholic Teen Books’ summer bingo, but I also want to share a new general market YA novel by fellow Catholic Writers Guild member Ginny Kochis. Her debut novel and its bright and lively cover illustration (created by her daughter) is great summer reading for teens and adults.
Blink and We’ll Miss It
My review:
4.5 stars
Excellent debut YA clean contemporary romance by Ginny Kochis.
This book reminded me a lot of T.I. Lowe’s Under the Magnolias, another novel featuring a Southern female teen protagonist trying to hold everything together in the wake of a parent’s ongoing manic episodes (with the help of a handsome, loyal, compassionate boy who loves her). That association may be what kept me thinking the setting was more modern historical despite group texts between characters. (I kept picturing the main character’s parents in the 1970s instead of what would’ve been the early 2000s.)
The instability Mae Griffin’s mother creates as her mental health goes from bad to good and back again has left Mae running and shutting out her friends as a defense mechanism. A forced return to her family’s roots exposes a history that explains her penchant for escape and the source of troubles between her family and the family of the boy she loves (dreamy Ezra) and his twin, her best friend (faithful Evangeline).
Lots of Outer Banks vibes like you’d find in Nicholas Sparks novels (think A Walk to Remember). An inspiring clean read for teens and adults. (Some underage drinking but no drunken behavior.)
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