Title: The Lifeguard
Author: Deborah Blumenthal
Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company
Publication Date: March 1, 2012
Genre(s): Young Adult (Romance)
Challenges: YA contemporary, SARC, A-Z Challenge
Source: NetGalley
Format: Digital ARC
Format: Digital ARC
Pages: 277
It's an unsettled summer for Sirena. Back in Texas, her family's splitting apart, but here in Rhode Island, at the cottage of her aunt, it's a different world. There are long days at the beach and intriguing encounters with Pilot, the lifeguard with shamanic skills. Sirena explores her obsession with Pilot and discovers his mysterious--almost magical--gifts.
The Lifeguard started off as the perfect contemporary I just needed. A troubled girl because of her parents divorce, a cute, actually perfect, lifeguard she meets at the beach, and the setting is the beach! THE BEACH! The problem is it kind of started to slow pace in the middle, which bored me for a significant part of the book.
The main protagonist, Sirena, is fine. She is just a normal girl, spending her summer at the beach with her aunt because her parents are getting a divorce. All her feelings are realistic, and she is an artist! (Like myself) Sirena meets "The Lifeguard" when he was on duty at the beach, and is immediately mesmerized by his beauty, which I hated. I don't like it when there is instant love, or anything like that in books. Here, Sirena felt this pull towards him.
"The Lifeguard" whose name you learn later as Pilot, doesn't acknowledge Sirena at first. Which is when the slow pace of the story begins. Throughout 70 pages or so of the book, Sirena is trying to get his attention. It bored me a lot. I hoped there was more interaction between the two of them, or ANYTHING, even the teeniest bit of advance in their relationship in those 70 pages, but barely much happened.
And did you know this book had a paranormal twist in the end? I honestly felt that there was no need for the tiny paranormal part of this story. It just confused me, and I didn't really get Pilot's "special powers". I did hope for more cute, fun stuff in this book. While i might not have enjoyed it much it was overall enjoyable, especially the first half of the book.
2.5 music notes - it was okay
I've been seeing this book around and the reviews haven't been too good so, I think I will pass!
ReplyDeleteShame this wasn't a great book for you, Farah. A paranormal twist at the end? I wouldn't have expected that! Strange...
ReplyDeleteOkay this does not sound like something I will enjoy. Thanks for the honest review. I don't think I will be checking this one out anytime soon.
ReplyDelete