Review: The Summer My Life Began

Title: The Summer My Life Began
Series: No
Genre: Young Adult-Contemporary
Author: Shannon Greenland
Publisher: Speak
Release Date: May 10, 2012
Book: Netgalley

"Elizabeth Margaret—better known as Em—has always known what life would contain: an internship at her father’s firm, a degree from Harvard and a career as a lawyer. The only problem is that it’s not what she wants. When she gets the opportunity to get away from it all and spend a month with the aunt she never knew, she jumps at the chance. While there, Em pursues her secret dream of being a chef, and she also learns that her family has kept some significant secrets from her, too. And then there’s Cade, the laid-back local surfer boy who seems to be everything Em isn't. Naturally, she can’t resist him, and as their romance blossoms, Em feels she is living on her own terms for the first time."

You know your life began when you learn things about yourself. Elizabeth Margret has been brought up to be an impeccable lady with a good up-bringing in society. But she  help but feel like something is missing. Like everything for her life has been laid out for her all she has to do is take it. What is holding her back? I 'll tell you that these types of stories are my favorite. To find the missing piece in your life.

What I adored most about this book is the great plot. I like that Elizabeth took a chance. She need to find what is missing in her life. That small step forward of visiting a place she has never been before, making new friends, and most importantly, finding out who you really are. Not just what people say you are. Elizabeth is fun and addicting. She is the type of friend that everyone loves to be around. Full of light and smiles, Elizabeth looks at thing differently. I admired her strength to ask questions and find answers. They were not what she thought it was, but it brought truth to her.

The love interest played out differently then what I though it would. She meets a new guys but doesn't go after him right away. She came to do what she wanted to find and allows time to find that. She never lost site of her answers cause of  partying, boys or denial. She knew what she wanted and went after it. 

The biggest part I loved is learning the secret that has been kept from her, her entire life. It was only then that things finally made sense. And the steps she took after that, to do what she wanted to do, made me proud.

The Summer My Life Began fills the reader with hope and inspiration. Finding the strength to search for long lost answers and redeeming yourself in the end. A perfect beach read to enjoy, The Summer My Life Began is awesome!

I give it 4 BITES!

Happy Reading!

Guest Post with Author Shannon Greenland

"Elizabeth Margaret—better known as Em—has always known what life would contain: an internship at her father’s firm, a degree from Harvard and a career as a lawyer. The only problem is that it’s not what she wants. When she gets the opportunity to get away from it all and spend a month with the aunt she never knew, she jumps at the chance. While there, Em pursues her secret dream of being a chef, and she also learns that her family has kept some significant secrets from her, too. And then there’s Cade, the laid-back local surfer boy who seems to be everything Em isn't. Naturally, she can’t resist him, and as their romance blossoms, Em feels she is living on her own terms for the first time."

Today I have a guest post from the lovely author Shannon Greenland!!

I cruised the Books With Bite site before I wrote this post and had to laugh at the About Me page when I read, “Though I may not be a teen, I wish I could be!”  I can totally relate. When I was a teen I could think of nothing better than growing up. When I was in college so many of my friends used to say how much they wanted to go back tohigh school. Ugh. I could think of nothing worse.

Now that I’m older and wiser (ha, ha) I would totally get into being a teen again. There are so many things I would do differently . . . and so many things I wouldn’t. I often wonder,  though, where my life would be now if I had a “do over”.

I suppose that’s why when I walk into a bookstore I naturally gravitate toward the Young Adult section. I suppose that’s why when I decided to be a writer I latched onto the YA voice so quickly.

Bottom line is I adore the age and live vicariously through my characters. That’s the  beauty of writing, you can have as many “do overs” as you like. When I wrote my spy series, The Specialists, I created a fabulous group of characters with teeny bits of myself in each of them. There are so many scenes parallel to my personal experiences that I used them to explore my own sort of “do over”.

Same thing in The Summer My Life Began. There is so much about Em that is crazy

 similar to me. I used her and the book to navigate how my life might have gone if I’d made different choices.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore my life! But I love tinkering with bits and pieces in the pages of my novels to have fun with how things might have turned out.

Thanks so much for being here today!

Where to buy the book:

Amazon | B & N 

Happy Reading!