The main character, Olive, goes through a terrific and believable transformation through the course of the story, while the other minor characters have their share of change as well. To be honest, I didn’t care for Olive as a person in the first part of the story (which means the writing was good because I had strong feelings against the girl. She was not a likable girl and, personally, I can’t fathom being as rude as she was at times, even when I was a teenager myself (and even if I had lost someone close to me).
But, I’m sure there are people like that out there…I’m just glad I’ve never met them! But Olive’s island friends (Jazz and Brander) are certainly patient and give her a lot of grace…which displays the love and mercy of God to Olive and readers alike 🙂 And it also helps to transform Olive’s rough edges as the story goes, which I was particularly thankful for!
Finally, the story is written in first person present tense which is not my favorite…although I know it is quite popular in YA books. That said, Miss Bennett wrote from that perspective with deft ease. I have a harder time settling into that POV but eventually I did find my reading groove–it’s just a personal preference (and as a writer, I’m sure I’ll eventually try it myself…so there’s that!).
All in all, this is a lovely story of friendship, family, and faith. It doesn’t skirt sin or the gospel. It doesn’t skimp on the pain of losing a loved one or the huge hurtle of getting one’s life back on track after such a blow. Life is guaranteed to give us pain. Books like this reveal that pain can serve a purpose if we allow others to walk with us through the dark places in our life.