About this book:
“Sometimes
we have to face our greatest fears in order to become whole again.
Returning to Maui after one of the
most challenging summers of her life, sixteen-year-old Olive Galloway is ready
for things to return to normal—or, at least, a new normal. But even though she
and her sister are back on the island they love, nothing is the same since they
left for Boston a few months ago. Olive’s friend Jazz is hiding a
secret—possibly something even worse than the cancer diagnosis she received
earlier in the year. Can Olive ever stop running from memories of all they’ve
lost?
When their friend Brander suggests
Jazz attends the church’s teen support group, Olive thinks it’s a great
idea—until Jazz insists that Olive join her. While the group is the perfect
place for Olive to share her struggles, she wants nothing to do with it.
Instead, grief threatens to roll over her like the ocean waves, and tiny fibs
turn into looming secrets. When a scruffy puppy and one viral video send
another storm rolling into Olive’s life, she ends up face-to-face with her
biggest fear. And the only way to make it out of the tempest is to go straight
through.”
Spiritual Content- Scriptures are remembered, mentioned, & read; Bible
reading; Many prayers & a blessing over food; Talks about God &
trusting Him; ‘H’s are capitalized when referring to God; Church going, going
to a support group, & sermons/messages; Olive struggles with trusting God
after everything that has happened; Many mentions of God, Jesus, forgiveness,
& trusting; Many mentions of churches, church going, youth groups, pastors,
worship, songs, & sermons/messages; Mentions of Bibles & Bible reading;
Mentions of prayers & praying; Mentions of someone’s calling to witness
& lead people to Jesus; Mentions of miracles; Mentions of & talks about
sinners & sinning; A few mentions of Heaven; A couple mentions of a
Christian school; A couple mentions of a Christian radio station & record
label; A mention of a church camp.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘geesh’, a ‘stupid’, two ‘suck it
up’s, three ‘idiot’s, four ‘duh’s, and eight forms of ‘dumb’; A few mentions of
curses (said, not written); Some sarcasm & eye rolling; Olive is terrified dogs
due to a past trauma (*Spoiler*, but important for sensitive animal lovers:
When Olive was little, her kitten was attacked by a pit bull, and passed away
in the waiting room of a vet office (recalling it and blood, border-line barely-above-not-detailed
// semi-detailed *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of Olive’s mom’s death (cancer), Jazz’s cancer diagnosis,
an amputation, & phantom pain (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of alcoholics
& violent drunks; Mentions of drinking, alcohol (beer), drunks, hangovers,
& wondering if a minor is drinking; Mentions of bullies & being
bullied; Mentions of hatred; Mentions of lies, lying, & telling fibs (Olive
tells a couple and feels bad about it); Mentions of nightmares; A few mentions
of half-stoned teenagers, druggies, & ex-delinquents; A few mentions of doing
a Hawaiian hand gesture & wondering if a woman mistook it as a gang sign; A
couple mentions of Olive’s opinion that dogs were breed to hunt, kill &
destroy; A couple mentions of cigarettes; A couple mentions of tattoos; A mention
of blackmail;
*Note: Mentions of a car brand
(Porsche); Mentions of books & a TV show (Pride and Prejudice, Give a Mouse
a Cookie, & Hawaii-5-0); A few mentions of social media sites; A mention of
Hitler.
Sexual Content- One forehead kiss;
Noticing, Smelling, Embraces, & Touches (barely-above-not-detailed); Winks
& Blushes; Mentions of forehead kisses & a first kiss (on the
forehead); Mentions of heart-throbs & a celebrity crush; A couple mentions
of a couple that had a baby out of wedlock and while they tried to do the right
thing, it didn’t last; A couple mentions
of Jazz’s father who left when she was a baby; A couple mentions of dates &
not-dates; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of the possibility of a
woman having a creepy boyfriend; A mention of a girl making eyes at a guy; A mention
of prom;
*Note: A couple mentions of beach
babes & bikinis.
-Olive Galloway, age 16
1st person P.O.V.
of Olive
253 pages
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{ Deals
with grief, also has a story that major animal lovers might be sensitive towards.
}
You know when you love a book and
then you starting reading the sequel, you’re slightly nervous about whether you’ll
enjoy it as well or even worrying that it won’t measure up to the first book? “Porch
Swing Girl” is such a special book in my eyes and I’m so happy to say that
I found “Sand Castle Dreams” to be just as good as the first book…if not
even a bit better.
There was so much growth for Olive
between the beginning of the first book and the end of the second book. So
much growth. The character development was very real in the emotions and
reactions Olive had, but also in the time-line.
I really enjoyed “Porch Swing
Girl”, it’ll be forever one I recommend to contemporary YA readers because
of the faith content, light romance, and storyline. However, I enjoyed “Sand
Castle Dreams” so much. (So if I’ve recommended you the first book, just
read both of them, okay? ;) ) I think I would say I liked this sequel more,
actually. The faith content and prayers was phenomenal. Olive wonders about God
in such a retable way and the help she gets about God from her Gramma and
friends was wonderful. When I reread “Porch Swing Girl” prior to reading
this novel, I found myself a little more frustrated with Olive than I
remembered in my first reading of it. And for those who felt that way, I hope
you’ll give this second book a chance. Like I just said, Olive’s growth in this
book is amazing character development, probably one of the best I’ve seen.
I don’t know what else to say,
honestly. I enjoyed this book so much and I cannot wait to start the next (novella
and then the next) book. I teared up at many points while reading and felt for
Olive often because of how raw her emotions were. I truly so very ready to dive
into the rest of the series. :)
See y’all on Friday with a new
review!
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this
author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
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