What if friendship cost you everything?Stranded in Hawaii after the death of her mother, sixteen-year-oldOlive Galloway is desperate to escape. She has to get back to Bostonbefore her dad loses all common sense and sells the family house. Butplane tickets cost money—something Olive gravely lacks.With the help of Brander, the fussy youth group worship leader, andJazz, a mysterious girl with a … and
Jazz, a mysterious girl with a passion for all things Hawaiian, Olive
lands a summer job at the Shave Ice Shack and launches a scheme to buy
a plane ticket home before the end of the summer.
But when Jazz reveals a painful secret, Olive’s plans are challenged.
Jazz needs money. A lot of it. Olive and Brander are determined to
help their friend but, when their fundraising efforts are thwarted,
Olive is caught in the middle. To help Jazz means giving up her ticket
home. And time is running out.
more
A fantastic debut novel
After Olive’s mother lost her battle with cancer, Olive and Macie, her younger sister, were left at her Gramma’s house in Hawaii while her dad returned to their Boston home to attempt to recover from his grief.
The anger and pain that Olive endured and the sense of betrayal were palpable. I was drawn so completely into this beautiful story of grief and the journey towards hope.
I love the way Taylor Bennett didn’t make the journey easy. The hard questions she asked and the insightful answers Olive discovered led her to find so much more than she had ever anticipated.
The characters were marvelous! I loved Jazz, with her effervescent spirit that held tightly to her faith in God regardless of her own struggles. The persistent way she loved Olive even with their initial prickly encounters. She was probably my favorite. Brander was a gem with his steadfast faith and determination to do what was good and right. His willingness to show his love for his friends through great sacrifice was admirable.
This is Taylor Bennett’s debut novel. If you peruse her website you’ll see that it was written when she was seventeen. Yes, you read that correctly! Yet it has more depth and maturity than many books I’ve read by authors far more advanced in years. I’m so grateful she has added her voice to the few who write young adult Christian fiction and look forward to reading many more of her stories in the future!
Read my review of Porch Swing Girl by Taylor Bennett at AmongTheReads.net
I thoroughly enjoyed this contemporary young adult read! Her world turned upside down after her mom’s death, Olive wants to get back home before her father sells what’s left of her memories. The last place she wants to be is Hawaii with her little sister and grandma. But when Olive learns that her new island friend is battling the same disease as her mom, she must decide what’s more important: getting home or helping her friend.
Bennett did an excellent job with the teenage point of view and her character’s very real struggle of learning to trust God again after devastating loss. I also loved Olive’s character arc as she grows from being self-focused to others-focused. I look forward to reading more by this author!
I received this book in eBook form, and I normally don’t read eBooks, I prefer paperbacks. Which is why it took me a while to start. Boy did I miss out! This book was incredible!! From the very beginning I was hooked and didn’t want to put it down. Even when my eyes were burning (from staring at a screen too long and from crying haha!) Miss Taylor has such a way with words. The characters really come alive and draw you into the story. I felt like I was on the adventure with Olive, struggling along with her. Her growth and journey back to God was so wonderful to watch. I loved the amount of spiritual content in this book and it was so clean!
As I scrolled to the last page my heart sank. I didn’t want it too end. It went by so fast. Now I have to wait for the next book to come out!
Even though this is called a YA book I recommend it for adults too if you want to sit down and read a sweet story that will draw tears to your eyes. In a good way!!
Definitely an author I’m looking forward to reading more of! Who am I kidding? I’m going to re-read this story in a couple weeks when my paperback comes in!
I received this from the author for an honest review.
This is not my usual book. In most circumstances I would pass it by. I’m glad I didn’t. It was a delightful and enchanting story about a young girl rediscovering God after a tragedy in her life. The author wields prose in way that draws you in. I intended to fit it in with my other TBRs but I found myself unable to stay away and finished it in one day.