Emma Hanmer

Emma Hanmer
Tan Lines
Katherine Applegate
Realistic Fiction
Holiday
378
           1. This book is about a girl named Summer Smith, who spends her summers in Crab Claw Key, Florida. She just moved into an apartment with her best friend Marquez and her cousin Diana. Her fiance Seth, who she had just met the summer before, had proposed to her at prom! But Seth had an internship with a ship building company in California for most of the Summer. So Summer was alone with her friends, the beach and...boys. In fact lots of them. Her brother Diver, who was kidnapped from their family, and ended up sleeping on Summer's roof last Summer, was now dating Marquez. Him and Summer had ended off on a bad note when they last saw each other, because he didn't want to stay with her family in Minnesota. He ended up leaving them and going back to Crab Claw Key. Now that Summer shares an apartment with Marquez, she sees more of him than she really wanted. Also, Summer's spring break crush Austin had moved to Crab Claw Key, and is working in the restaurant under their apartment. With Seth gone and Austin so close, it's hard for her to not fall back in love with him like she did over spring break. Currently, I'm at the part where Seth comes home from his internship because Diana had slipped to him about Summer and Austin. Diana and Seth had also had a fling over New Year's, and Diana went to California with her mom to see Seth and try to win him back. Seth and Austin are going to have to face each other again, to see who will win Summer's heart.
          2. I really enjoy reading this book. It's an easy read, but it has sucked me in, and I can't put it down! The characters are really interesting, and I love how the plot twists and turns. It completely shocked me when Seth and Summer had betrayed each other! I didn't think anything would've broken their love. Also, I like how this book feels. With the cold winter coming upon us, the summer warmth and clear blue water of Florida seem really great right now. I've only had the feeling that I can't stop reading for a few books, including this one. So I know I enjoy it when that happens.
         3. A theme in this book would be betrayal. I see this theme a lot in the characters because of the way they treat each other. Summer betrays Seth by falling for Austin. If her and Seth were so in love, how could she do that to him? Seth basically let Summer off the hook and they made up after the incident, which was confusing to me. But after, we figure out that Seth had also betrayed Summer. He and Diana, Summer's cousin, had fallen for each other over New Years. They had kept it a secret until the summer, when Marquez found Diana's love letters to Seth. It turns out that Diana had betrayed Summer because she had been in love with Seth for over a year. It's unfortunate that betrayal is one of the main themes in this book because the characters are so close and used to have pleasant relationships.
        4. My favorite character in the book is Summer. She's a really amiable, likable, and sweet person. I love the way she can make everyone laugh and is always upbeat. In intense situations, like when she and Seth were trapped in an underwater cave, she was trying to look on the positive side of things. This was when they first started dating. She is also very caring and indiscriminate. Summer is being a companion, or helper, to a man with a disability. He was in a car crash so he's in a wheelchair and needs a lot of help. Summer has the heart to devote part of her summer just to him and making him happy, which I think is really incredible.
       5. My least favorite character in this book is Diana. She doesn't seem to care that she is trying to steal Summer's soon to be husband! She's also very secretive. She never shares anything with her friends. She stabs them in the back when they least expect it, like with Summer and Seth. Diana also is very spoiled. Her mother is a famous author and she takes it for granted. She gets everything she wants, when she wants it. Seth is starting to not like her too, because of her lying to him about Summer and Austin. She told them that they liked each other again in Crab Claw Key, but that wasn't true.
       6. A prediction that I have for the book is that I think Summer will find out about Seth and Diana's incident over New years. Now that almost everybody knows except for her, she's bound to figure it out.  If she does find out, I think she will move in with the man in the wheelchair, because he offered her a room to stay in. If she didn't find out, I don't think the author would have added in that part. I also predict that Seth won't tell Summer, but she'll find the love letters or over hear Marquez talking about it. This could also lead her to leaving the apartment because she wouldn't be able to trust any of her friends. Summer would maybe then go for Austin, the bad boy, after all.