Audience Pick!

Title: Girl at Sea
Author: Maureen Johnson
Category: Fiction, Young Adult
Rating: 2.5/5
Why I Read It: Because you told me to! And I wanted to get in the mood for my upcoming vacation to the beach.

Summary: 17-year-old Clio just finagled a job where her crush works. But when her mom gets an out-of-town work assignment, Clio has to put her plans on hold and hang out with her dad on a boat in the Mediterranean. Sound fun? You haven’t met Clio’s dad.

Review: Maureen Johnson cracks me up. I read her blog religiously.

That said, this wasn’t the MJ book for me. I much preferred Suite Scarlett.

I loved the romance, and the humor cracked me up as always. But the middle felt too slow. Sometimes, it felt like details were included not because they were important to the story but because they set up a good joke.

A little taste of what I’m talking about, where Clio is getting a feel for the kitchen on the boat:

There was a lot more food in the galley now than there had been the night before. The yacht was packed like a UN provision ship. Eight loaves of bread were piled in the corner. Three cardboard boxes stuffed full of vegetables sat on the floor. Another two of fruit. A paper bag revealed meat. Just meat. The refrigerator had been filled with fresh fish—heads and all—trapped in clear plastic bags. There was something murderous about it. Like the Mafia had taken these fish out. These fish slept with the fishes.

I’m not sorry I finished this book because it was entertaining. But if this is the only MJ book you’ve read and it didn’t wow you, you have to give Suite Scarlett a chance.

Borrow: Your local library | Swap
Buy: Your local bookstore | Powell’s | Amazon

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