April 30, 2017 – Life and Other Disasters

Publishing: May 1, 2017
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Page Count: 320

**I was provided with an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review!**

I found out about this book through rather unfortunate events occurring in fall/winter last year when some Neo-Nazis decided to troll Laura Silverman for absolutely no reason at all and started to give her book 1-star-ratings on Goodreads. As terrible as those events were, I was glad to see the book community rally together for her and I am also very glad that it lead me to discover Girl Out of Water for myself.

This is the perfect summer read, even when it’s not summer. Silverman has a way of just really making you feel like you are right there with the character. I could almost smell the salt of the ocean breeze or feel the sweat of the Nebraska heat without ever thinking that there was too much description. So, even when I didn’t agree with every choice Anise made, I was with her in the moment no matter what. Anise is definitely a flawed person, but I could understand her and even relate in most moments. While I am in no way as athletic as her, I get the level of passion she has towards surfing. And while I do not have this close knit group of friends in my current geographical location, I went through similar difficulties with having to adjust to the distance between me and people I cared about more than once in my life. She makes mistakes, but you know that she is never intentionally out to hurt anyone.

I think one of the things I appreciated most about this book was how much it was about family, the one you are born into and the one you choose for yourself. It’s a theme I am often missing in my YA books, because whether parents or other family members are there for us or not, they always shape us and our youth. So, to see the struggle and the love that both come with this topic just made my heart sing. And it’s not like there wasn’t still room for other things, such as the really amazing love interest. Lincoln totally won me over with his self-confidence, charm and genuine interest and care for the people around him. And yes, also his dimple!

I didn’t mind the swearing and the underage drinking in this one, but if I could have changed something it would have rather been Anise’s storyline with her mother and her final confrontation with her friends when she got back home. Somehow I felt like there was more build up and nerves from Anise compared to the easy way it was finally resolved. That is such a minor thing though, I still adored this book and would definitely recommend it as a book to pick up this summer.

Fazit: 4.5/5 stars! Great book about family, friendship, passion and finding to oneself!