Summer of Sloane

February 15, 2016
Seventeen-year-old Sloane has a fine setting to nurse a broken heart: her mother’s gorgeous beach house on the Hawaiian island of O‘ahu. Betrayal is at the center of this novel—by friends, longtime boyfriends, parents—and Sloane grapples with the possibility of forgiveness under especially painful circumstances: Mick, Sloane’s best friend from childhood, is pregnant, and Sloane’s boyfriend, Tyler, was the other party involved. It’s a situation that could be ripped from a soap opera, yet debut author Schneider steers the story away from melodrama, instead focusing on Sloane’s time in Hawaii, seeing old friends and making new ones while enjoying the recreation the islands have to offer. The introduction of a romance with a boy named Finn heightens Sloane’s conflicting feelings about her past, but also allows her to see Mick’s and Tyler’s betrayals with new eyes and sympathetic distance. Through Sloane and everyone who orbits her, Schneider examines betrayal from many angles, as well as the myriad ways that people hurt one another and how one teenager moves forward to see new romance and hope in her future. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lisa Grubka, Fletcher & Company.

March 1, 2016
Blindsided by betrayal, wounded in heart and hand, Sloane escapes to Hawaii, where she finds healing, romance, and new complications. During the school year, Sloane and her twin brother, Penn, live in Seattle with their lawyer dad and spend summers with their mom and stepdad, both surgeons, in their oceanfront home near Waikiki. A successful competitive swimmer who's learned to manage her asthma, Sloane's shattered when her best friend, Mick, confesses she's pregnant by Sloane's boyfriend, Tyler. When his efforts to explain fall short, Sloane breaks his nose and her hand. Off to Hawaii, she gets a warm welcome (with piles of presents) from her mother and a car to share with Penn. Soon they're partying on the beach with old friends and new--especially Finn, son of a wealthy hotel magnate, who's seriously hot and smitten with Sloane. Their romance blossoms. When not engaged in beach parties and retail therapy, Sloane teaches Finn's traumatized little sister to swim and tries to ignore the texts and email from Mick and Tyler pleading for forgiveness; this is her summer, her mother tells her. When Sloane's past catches up with her, she must face the betrayal head-on. What distinguishes this romance from a standard-issue beach read is its likable main character. One-quarter native Hawaiian and three-quarters white, Sloane and Penn are blond and beautiful, and they are surrounded by likewise beautiful, toned, bronzed teens. Schneider's debut asks readers to consider how and where to draw the line between forgivable and inexcusable transgressions in those we love. (Fiction. 14-17)

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April 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Just before 17-year-old Sloane McIntyre leaves Seattle to spend the summer with her mother in Hawaii, she learns that her boyfriend Tyler and best friend Mick slept together and Mick is pregnant. Sloane punches Tyler in the face, breaking his nose and her hand. It looks like the start of the worst summer ever. But everything gets better once Sloane is in Hawaii, especially as she finds herself falling for Finn, a good-looking, fun-loving boy whose father owns the local hotel where Sloane gets a summer job. Then, everything falls apart when an accident brings Sloane back to Seattle. Although the novel begins and ends on serious notes, the majority of the protagonist's summer is lighthearted, leisurely, and romantic. Teens who love reading about gorgeous locations will love Schneider's descriptions of Hawaii and Sloane's mother's house, which allows her to enjoy "the rolling of the ocean mere feet" from her room. The pace picks up at the end of the book, so much so that the final chapters seem to lack closure. However, the message of forgiveness is well delivered, and Sloane is a likable, well-rounded character who exhibits a variety of personality traits, such as anxiety and vulnerability, which lead to panic attacks, and free-spirited independence, which results in her getting a tattoo on a whim and speaking her mind to her boyfriend's overbearing father. VERDICT An enjoyable beach read for fans of teen romance.-Magdalena Teske, Naperville Public Library, IL

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2016
Grades 9-12 Sloane McIntyre's summer has not started well. Crushed by the news that her boyfriend and best friend have betrayed her in the worst possible way, she leaves for her annual summer stay with her mother in Honolulu. Although Hawaii and a handsome new love interest provide a distraction, Sloane is torn between reaching for the happiness that she feels she deserves and being the person who is always available to the people who need her. The book works best when it puts aside the notion that Sloane is somehow owed a better hand than she has been dealt, and instead focuses on her attempts to rebuild her life. Sloane is feisty yet vulnerable, and her soul-searching comes across as genuine, particularly when she discovers secrets within her own family. Underage drinking, adventures in jumping off of waterfalls, and conveniently absent parents combine to create an environment of independence in which Sloane can heal and forgive while still experiencing life and summertime fun.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)