Review - Endless Summer by Jennifer Echols

Published by Simon Pulse
Published 25 May 2010

After finally getting together and going out on their first real date, only Lori and Adam could manage to fall asleep—and wake up seven hours past Lori’s curfew. Their parents forbid them to see each other. So Lori takes it upon herself to date boys scarier than Adam until her dad gives in.

But Adam won’t play along. He’s afraid Lori might fall for these scary boys. And when she goes out with the scariest boy of all—Adam’s own brother and her ex-crush—even the threat of being sent away to military school can’t keep Adam from swashbuckling his way back into Lori’s heart.

Can this forbidden love stay afloat, or will it sink in the watery deep?

I have long lost the power of self control when it comes to Jennifer Echols.  I have morphed into this supreme fan girl and am likely to be dissolved into a steady stream of "OMG's" and "SQUEE's".  It's like some crazy girl has overtook my body, think along the lines of "Freaky Friday", except it's not my mom in my body, its this overexicted girl that finds freakishly excited behaviour to be the norm.  I am a fangirl.  Here is my definition in the form of a fake conversation :-

Fangirl - OMG did you see Jennifer Echols has a new book out, Endless Summer?
Obsessed Fangirl - I KNOW, I like totes pre-ordered that one before she even decided to write it, I love her so hard, i'm thinking of going to one of her signings.  SQUEE.
Uber Fangirl - I read Endless Summer weeks ago, don't even try and say your a bigger fan than me.  I even visit her blog AND know who she went to the prom with.  In case your wondering, she went with Shame. I saw the pictures.  OMGGGGGGG I am getting married to Adam next week and none of you are invited. Lori is being a bridesmaid and we're all good friends.  In fact, John After is being the best man, you know, the cop? AND i'm going to every signing she ever does, because I LOVE her the mostest.
Fangirl and Obsessed Fangirl - Ooooookay *shifty looks*

Okay, so I wouldn't say I'm obsessed or like an uber fan, but I am crazily in love with this womans writing.  For those of you who haven't read a book by this amazing author, I would highly suggest buying or borrowing one of her many novels.  Echols just has this way with words that makes it incredibly easy for you as a reader to connect to the characters on an emotional level.  You become invested in them and their stories.  I sometimes marvel at how she makes everything come so perfectly together on a page, she is the epitome of how young adult fiction can be amazing.  She is one of my All Time Favourites.  I would read anything this woman wrote, just because her words are magic.

Now, Endless Summer is the sequel to The Boys Next Door, which is where the story of Lori and the boys at the lake began.  I read this a while back and was blown away by how effortless the story seemed to be, the characters were fiesty and alive and just so darn funny.  I have enever laughed so hard when reading a book nor have I really lusted after a fictional character as much as I did for the brothers at the lake, aka Adam and Shaun.  Sometimes, I can be wary of a sequel, especially if I really loved the first book, but not this time.  I 100% trust Echols with anything to do with writing, so I was never wary about this sequel, I was however, nearly morphing into a crazy person waiting for it!

The dialogue is just as witty if not more than the first book, the characters are just the same, and I loved getting to meet them again.  It was just like opening a book finding your best friends and jumping in and experiencing the summer with them.  Plus, what I never knew about this book is that you get to see into Adam's head, as some of the chapters are told from his perspective.  This made me Happy, with a great big ol capital H, because he is by far my favourite of the brothers.  From his ADHD, to his soppy side to his sex on a stick look, he is just the hottest boy placed perfectly into the pages of an amazing book.  I loved how even though this was a sequel, there was still a lot of character development, the story moved at a pace that keeps you sat on the edge of your seat, or just jumping around with excitement.  

In conclusion, Endless Summer hit all the marks The Boys Next Door did.  It's an amazingly funny read that it would be criminal to miss.  The writing is edgy and funny and is one of the reasons why Jennifer Echols can consider me a super fan for as long as she writes novels and probably long after then.  Superb.