I was pretty bored at first, but I continued because I heard great things and the author is super nice, and I'm so glad I did. Girl Out of Water was AMAZING overall. It cheered me up, and it was exactly what I needed. Anise's anxiety felt so real and just like mine. This was the first time I actually could fully relate to a character's anxiety.

I didn't read the description before the book, so I didn't expect Lincoln to be black and have one arm, but it added more to his characterization. I loved how Anise was forced to tackle the topic of her mother, but how it wasn't the major plot of the book.

In the end, this book easily makes my list of favorites and I definitely would recommend it.

I loved this book, it is a strong debut and the perfect summer read. the title of the book matches what is on the inside, a beautifully written story about a girl named Anise who spends the majority of her time hanging out with friends and surfing in the waters of Santa Cruz. Anise and her father move to Nebraska for the majority of the summer to help care for her cousins after their mother was in horrible car accident. There are strong themes of family friendship and growing up. Anise tries new things, makes new friends and really does grow up in Nebraska. The characters are diverse, and I can't wait to see what Laura Silverman comes up with next.

Anise is a true surfer girl. She does look forward to spending the whole summer with her surfer friends at the beach in Santa Cruz. But then her father announces that her aunt, who is a single mom, has had an accident and needs their help. So for that summer they move to her aunts house in Nebraska.
Gone are the amazing fun plans she had with her friends on the beach! Instead of that, she has to take care of her nephew and cousin. Well..that is a great way to spend the summer...not.
But then she meets Lincoln. A skater who is missing one arm but he is so nice to her, and very charming. She slowly loses touch with her friends back in Santa Cruz, as Nebraska gives her new friends, family bonds and quite some more adventures than she had expected.

What a nice read! I hear quite some buzz around this book, but sadly it was not about the book but just a lot of nasty stuff around it. Seriously...I don't get it. Just give this book a try!!
I really enjoyed reading it. Altough I didn't think it was the most original YA story out there, it was good and well written. I really wanted a book to escape with as I am going trough some health stuff again (to the author: Hi fellow spoonie! ;) ) and this was just the perfect fit. I really liked the storyline. What is worse as a teen to be flown away from your friends to a dull place where you have to do chores you don't want? The main character Anise just makes the best of it though, and Nebraska opens a new life for her. The bond between her and Lincoln was so cute!! He really was a good guy and a perfect match! I loved how the plot went into so many unexpected directions.Girl Out of Water is the debut novel of Laura Silverman and this book made me very curious for her next books.
A very well written and good new YA novel, really enjoyed it and it is a perfect read for this spring!

First of all, I seriously cannot believe that this is a debut novel! Laura Silverman is definitely a pro!
Girl Out of Water is the perfect coming of age novel. This is the story of Anise Sawyer and her unexpected summer away from home. Anise had big plans for her last summer with all of her friends, before college life separates them.
Anise lives and breathes the ocean. She loves surfing and does it every day; which means that going aaaaall the way to Nebraska is LITERALLY taking the Girl Out of Water. (Get it?)
So yeah… Sadly, Anise is unexpectedly forced to spend the summer away from home. Her aunt got severely injured in a car crash, which means that Anise must help to take care of her aunt and her cousins. She is far from her friends, her passion, AND she’s stuck babysitting! Oh, and to top it all off, her friends are back home having all sorts of summer fun, while all she can do is see their pictures. But our main character isn’t the kind of teenager that will get mad and stomp her feet; we actually see Anise dealing with it, while she’s learning and growing through the summer; which is probably my favorite part of the book… her character development!
During her summer in Nebraska, Anise gets stuck babysitting, and takes her cousins to the park. On her trips to the park, Anise meets Lincoln, a one-armed skater boy that will make everyone fall in love. Seriously, Lincoln is such an interesting love interest… can I meet him? Lol! He’s the kind of guy that will help you get over your fears and out of your comfort zone, but he will not force you into doing it. He’s just THAT good.
I really wish I could do a better job reviewing this book, but honestly… let me make it short and clear; Girl Out of Water is a simple yet AMAZING story about love, loss, abandonment, family, friendship and GROWTH. I loved that this book gives family a HUGE role, and the relationship Anise has with her dad, is one I wish I could see more of in YA lit.

~4.7/5~ (review posted on Goodreads on 4/7/17)

I was pleasantly surprised by Girl Out of Water, and the book left me speechless because of the ride that was Anise's journey (props to the author for the unique MC name, by the way). Problems left and right, yet room for fun and lighter moments. Perfect.

Anise's character is definitely relatable, with her strengths and weaknesses alike. I found the keeping-in-touch-with-friends conflict to be the most empathize-able, seeing as I struggle with the same issues myself, so I really got into the book as I was reading. Laura Silverman's writing is good, and conveys the emotions well.

Anise and Lincoln's relationship was interesting, but half the time, Lincoln was attempting to cheer Anise up from her stresses. I'm not sure how I feel about that. On one hand, the conflicts center around the main character and her issues (more insight into Anise, yay), but on the other, Lincoln deserved personal conflicts too (it feels weird typing that, and it's not that I want bad things to happen to Lincoln, he just deserved more plot, since he was a good character).

I loved the bond between Anise and her cousins, and it's just heartwarming to see how much she cares for them, especially in the light that Anise feels left out and detached from her life at Santa Cruz. It makes sense how she eventually got lost in everything going on in Nebraska, with Lincoln and everything, but personally, I find it shocking that she'd basically cut off all ties to her friends back home, seeing as she was homesick and they were a huge part of her.

Also, another feeling of mine, it seemed like Anise could've felt homesick more, or at least thought of her home more frequently, because it's just a tad unrealistic to not have one's thoughts at least somewhat connected to somewhere as significant as home. Maybe it's just me, but I would've liked for Laura Silverman to connect the settings more throughout the book. Either way, Girl out of Water is wonderful the way it is, and summer love and family issues are perfectly reasonable to occupy the mind.

The ending was okay. I feel like the final part of it should've made me feel the "ooh the book's gone full-circle" sort of content, but it just didn't provide much sense of closure, for whatever reason.

Overall, great read, and given the chance, I'd probably reread it, just for fun.

I absolutely adored this diverse read. Anise is a fierce surfer. She's content with her beach life in Santa Cruz until her aunt gets into a car accident and Anise and her dad go to Nebraska for the summer to take care of her cousins while her aunt recovers. Anise is bummed about the summer away from surfing but meeting a cute boy, learning to skateboard, and bonding with her family make the transition easier.

Anise was such a real teen character who is grappling with wanting to be helpful to her family but also wishing she was back home with her friends. She makes mistakes, says mean things, and complains because she's a realistic teen dealing with an abrupt change of plans. Anise has an absent mother who occasionally checks in only to leave a few days later. She is sensitive to other people's pain because of the disconnect with her mom. She is also cautiously aware of how her mom has influenced her own relationships and abilities to make lasting connections. She questions if she's destined to run away like her mom does. Anise makes a new friend, and later love interest, with Lincoln, the guy who teaches her how to skateboard. Lincoln's past, losing an arm due to his biological mother's neglect and being given up for adoption, helps Anise start to accept that our parents don't define what we can be. Anise uses her new found friendship to help guide her in accepting her mother for what she is and realizing that her mother won't define her own future.

Anise is also a surfer who quickly picks up skateboarding in ocean-less Nebraska. Though Lincoln starts out as a superior skateboarder, Anise catches up and the two enjoy a healthy, competitive relationship but in and out of the skatepark. This will be an insta-read for teen readers looking for more books about girl athletes. Anise shines in her determination to excel at surfing and skateboarding.

This book will become a beloved summer read. It has diversity (friends from many different backgrounds, a lesbian best friend, a black amputee boyfriend) that rings with authenticity of the actual diverse world we live in. There's no stereotypes or gimmicks. Anise's story, friends, and passions will make readers remember her and want to return to this book again and again.

Deep and insightful, the book was not a let-down like some contemporary titles are these days. There was no insta-love, there was just enough teen angst and the main character was not an air head. Beautifully written. Loved it

4.5 STARS
I really love this book! It brings a fresh twist on the whole YA coming of age story. I find that most coming of age stories are focused on the identity of the character. They find out who they are in the story and everything else is basically just background noise. In this book on the other hand, the main character Anise, already has a sense of self. While she does discover more about herself, the book mostly focuses on friendship and family.
Anise is a flawed main character, but she isn't stupid. She thinks things through, and acts mature even when things are difficult. And while she does make mistakes, they are age appropriate and not something a seven year old would have had more common sense to do or not to do.
There's great diversity in this book seamlessly woven in, and in fact the love interest is both a person of color and has a disability. These things are discussed when necessary but not shoved in the reader's face as a testament that the author used diverse characters, which I appreciate.
I also love the family, friendship, and romance aspects of this book. Each one is complex and detailed. There also are many different types of relationships within her family and friends and each one is unique and fleshed out.
I was also happy to see the way Lincoln's disability was handled. He has one arm and the only time it mentions how that effects him, is when there's something that the reader wouldn't understand how he'd do. For example it never discusses how he skates so well even with one arm, because you don't need two arms to skateboard. But it does discuss how drives because that can be more tricky to do with one hand. I also liked how there was conversation between Anise and Lincoln about him being one armed and how those conversations were there and important, but not the focus of their relationship.
Anise's friendships were also a major focus of the book and I liked how she had a group of friends rather than her one best friend. You could see how each of the relationships were unique, but it was also clear to see why this group of very different people worked well together as a cohesive friend group.
The familial relationships were all good, but I found the twins to be a little too stereo-typically childish to really enjoy them. However, I did appreciate Anise's relationship with her dad, and how he was a big part of her life.
While I liked almost everything about this book, some of Anise's choices frustrated me. For the most part she was very level headed and made good choices, but she seemed to continue to make bad choices in one area. It didn't overshadow the good parts in any way , but it did detract a little from my overall enjoyment of this book.
All in all I'd definitely recommend this book because I had a wonderful time reading it. It's refreshing and new, while still containing the cute, fun elements that I enjoy in my contemporary books.

I thought this novel was fantastic! It’s a coming of age story of Anise who is juggling the love of her family and the love for her friends. She’s also confused about her own mother and the influence she’s made in their lives. I liked the novel as it is not overly heavy in the romance or the drama department and the novel made me laugh and smile repeatedly.

Anise is a surfer and a darn good one at that. Living at a beach house with her father, many of her friends will be leaving after this summer to pursue life after high school. Anise and her childhood friends are looking forward to spending every minute this summer together including the end of the summer, Surf Break Party. As she enters the house one evening, her dad crushes her plans. An accident has left her aunt immobile and she needs assistant. With no one to care for her three children, her dad has volunteered for them to spend the summer with them in Nebraska. No surfing, no friends and definitely no Eric, just when they had their first kiss. Anise is torn between her love of family and her friends, the ones that she feels she so desperately needs. Every day her friends will be together without her, doing the things that she loves, making memories without her, it just will not be fair. I could feel the pain and the heartache that Anise was feeling, some of her friends would be gone before she returns back home and others would be relishing in the stories that occurred while she was in Nebraska. Stories without her in them. Landing in Nebraska, she is torn between loving her family that is awaiting her and hating the situation that she is now placed in. It’s Nebraska, its hot and humid and the scenery is nothing like what she is used to. The children are antsy, they’re nervous about their mother and its summer and they want to do something. Anise is in charge of the children now, her father is working a temp job, and her aunt in the hospital still. Anise is worried about her mother, her mother the-revolving-door, will this summer be the time when the door opens and she shows up or will door continue to be shut? It’s all so confusing and being in this house is even more confusing. Taking the children to the park to get them out of the house, the story becomes richer and extensive as more characters walk into their lives and numerous events transpire.

I liked that Anise is not just thinking of herself but she is thinking of others in this novel. She is committed to her family and knows that they need her but she is also worried about missing out with her friends over the summer. She is torn but she cannot be in both places. She also is concerned about her mother, the impact that she has made on them and how she has affected Anise as a person. I liked the relationships within this novel. The relationships with family, with friends and with the males in her life. I really enjoyed this novel and I highly recommend it.
I received a copy of this novel from NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire in exchange for an honest review.

I flew through this book it was so easy to read but after turning the last page it left me feeling underwhelmed, the ending wasn’t satisfying although I’m not sure what I would have wanted instead. I have a problem with the beginning and the ending but loved almost everything in between. In the first chapter your introduced to a group of friends who all seem to have a strong bond and a lot of potential. But after Anise moves she stops talking to them and all that potential goes practically nowhere. After she moves to Nebraska the story becomes more interesting Anise is completely out of her comfort zone and family takes center stage as she takes care of her cousins. Her cousins are adorable and just annoying enough to be realistic, I love her whole family her aunt and dad don’t have a ton of page time but are still good, distinctive characters.

Anise is a refreshing protagonist she’s sometimes aggravating and makes mistakes but learns and grows from them, she really cares about her family and tried her best to be there for them. The love interest, Lincoln is a sweetheart he was really nice to read about, he’s so positive and seemed to always know what Anise needed they worked well together. The romance felt natural and developed at a realistic pace, the characters don’t even say that they love each other that’s not something I encounter often in YA standalones.

If your a fan of diverse, character driven contemporary’s with adorable love interests who have dimples then this book is for you. Perhaps you’ll appreciate it more than I did, I still feel as if it’s missing something. Overall it is a great summery book that you could easily read in just a day it has lovable characters, skateboarding escapades and fantastic and immersive writing

A fun summer read! Anise is a likable main character, and I especially appreciate how Laura Silverman focuses on Anise's passion for surfing and her quest to learn to skateboard--two hobbies I haven't read about before. The romance is really well done, and the family dynamics are, too.

Anise Sawyer is a super confident fun loving surfer girl! She loves her dad, friends, and her town. So much so she plans to never leave. It was really nice to be on that side of someone's mind. I am super close to mom and just moving two hours away has been hard for me. It was really amazing to watch Anise grow into someone a little more independent.
I loved her relationship with her cousins so much! She tried so hard to take care of them and show them love. I loved the binge watching and going to the skate parks. It made happy!
Lincoln my love! He was such a strong character. He has had one arm since birth and that did not define him what so ever. He was confident, sexy, and full of himself at times. Let me tell you I was so here for that! He was also considerate and helpful. Never menacing during any of the situations he had to face with Anise. He was pretty swoon worthy. I could go for a whole origin story book on him. Even a sequel that follows him after Anise going on his trip after high school.
There are a few things that bugged me. Anise is very one sided so she said some super nasty things about skateboarders in the beginning. I understand though because it helped show the progression of her growth as a person. She was super about wanting a relationship with someone in the beginning but one look at Lincoln and its like it never happened. It felt a little pointless to me. I had a hard time feeling sorry for her in the end because she did not handle the situation with him well at all. I felt bad for him the whole time even though I was loving Lincoln.
All in all this was a good fast read that took no time to get through! This is a 3.85 stars but will be rounding up to 4!
Favorite Quote
"Thats dimple is like a go*damn super power."

I am so excited I got to read this book. I've been hearing about it here and there and when I saw I got approved for the arc I was super excited. This book is such a perfect summer contemporary. It's fun and exciting. I loved every second of this book. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of Morgan Matson.

Why DNF? Girl Out of Water is not a bad book and that is the hard part about letting it go. I just know that I could (and have) put it down and forget about it. It is in that middle area of its okay but I’m not engaged by it.

I really enjoyed this book an felt like it was a quick read. Anise is a surfer, California raised and loves her free spirited life. The summer before senior year seems promising before she finds out that she is moving to Nebraska to help out with her aunt's children after her aunt was in a terrible accident. Uprooted from her home and her passion of surfing, Anise needs to find a way to enjoy Nebraska and find a way to get through her summer as it is different than she planned. While in Nebraska she meets Lincoln at the skate park and finds out that there is more to life than just surfing. This is a story about growth and understanding of the world. Anise needs to find herself and escape from the shadow her missing mom has cast on her life. Well written and enjoyable.

Not my favorite book, but I think this will be a good title for teens who like the books of Sarah Dessen. Given her popularity, it's always nice to have comparables for her.

This is an enjoyable read, but the writing style wasn't for me. It's a little bit repetitive and the rhetorical questions every few pages got annoying, The characters are relatively bland but pleasant. Overall it's a nice, diverse story.

I really enjoyed this book! Anise has the summer before senior year all planned out. Before her friends all go separate ways to college, they have concerts, bonfires, and food to enjoy together. But when Anise's aunt is in a terrible car accident, she and her father must pack up and spend the summer at her aunt's helping her cover and taking care of her young cousins.
While there she meets Lincoln and learns more about herself than she had imagined she could. While it wasn't the summer she expected, it was the one she didn't know she needed.
Definitely recommend this book.
I am thankful to Netgalley, Laura Silverman, and Sourcefire books for the opportunity to get an early look at this great debut novel!

Girl Out Of Water Book Review
bookishdiana:https://bookishdiana.wordpress.com/
Posted: April 17,2017


Published: May 2nd

Genres: Young Adult

Reading from: ebook

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Pages:320 pages

Recommend: Sure, great summer/spring read, very fun and light

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:

Anise Sawyer plans to spend every minute of summer with her friends: surfing, chowing down on fish tacos drizzled with wasabi balsamic vinegar, and throwing bonfires that blaze until dawn. But when a serious car wreck leaves her aunt, a single mother of three, with two broken legs, it forces Anise to say goodbye for the first time to Santa Cruz, the waves, her friends, and even a kindling romance, and fly with her dad to Nebraska for the entire summer. Living in Nebraska isn’t easy. Anise spends her days caring for her three younger cousins in the childhood home of her runaway mom, a wild figure who’s been flickering in and out of her life since birth, appearing for weeks at a time and then disappearing again for months, or even years, without a word.
Complicating matters is Lincoln, a one-armed, charismatic skater who pushes Anise to trade her surfboard for a skateboard. As Anise draws closer to Lincoln and takes on the full burden and joy of her cousins, she loses touch with her friends back home – leading her to one terrifying question: will she turn out just like her mom and spend her life leaving behind the ones she loves
THANKS TO THE PUBLISHER WHO PROVIDED A COPY, ALL MY OPINIONS ARE ,MINE THOUGH.

"Is it possible to leave a place without leaving anyone behind?"

Girl Out of Water is a story about Ansie who has to go and live in Nebraska to help out taking care of her family when her aunt gets in car wreck leaving her severely injured. She has no desire to to leave to go to Nebraska. She really cam't imagine leaving her friends behind over the summer, when she has it all planned out. But as she gets to Nebraska she starts to get really comfortable with her life in Nebraska. But she fears to start turn like her mom, who just leaves and then shows up without any warning.

So this book was a fun read, but isn't against to be one of those that sticks with me in the few months. It just isn't something completely unique.

The whole story was really cute, and will be probably(hopefully) what readers will like most of this story. He's really sweet and charismatic. Beyond charming and really fun. He's your nice guy but still really funny, he what people look in a friends and partner (I would think). He's a disabled (he has one arm) and African American male(YAY FOR DIVERSITY)


“Home isn’t a place. It’s people. And I’ve always been with my people.”

So i really loved the whole family relationship for me it was very very very realistic and insanely cute, i loved the boys and whole relationship between the family.....


But the ending felt abrupt for me, it was cute. But it felt like my book was missing about 50 more passages. I didn't really feel closure with the whole sorry. Also I felt it was a bit more open ending than I wanted it to be...... maybe just me??????????????

Overall it was insanely cute, and i recommend it for people who love summery and cute reads.

OH OH OH AND THERE'S SOME SURFERS, AND SKATEBOARDERS....COOL RIGHT

It's quite unfortunate that I read this book over a VERY cold weekend because Silverman's adorable debut novel about summertime & California made me dream of warmer weather <3

Last week I received this ARC from the publisher. I opened it up over the weekend and it only took me a few hours to finish. This is a great relaxed and cute summer read.

This novel follows surfer/Californian Anise Sawyer as she and her father go to Nebraska for the summer to take care of Anise's aunt and cousins. Anise is distraught at leaving her home, and worries about becoming just like her mother who has left her family behind.

I was a bit worried that the "sporty" aspect of the novel would keep me from getting into it, since I am not a sporty person at all, but Silverman balanced that aspect really well with the rest of the plot. The book mainly focuses on Anise's inner conflict and the relationship with her family members. And besides the issue with Anise's mom, her family is amazing. I loved the relationship she had with her father, it was really refreshing and important to see such a positive one. Also Anise's cousins, especially the twins, offer some very adorable and light-hearted moments.

I think the best part, and what will hopefully/likely draw a lot of readers to this book, is Lincoln (male love interest/protag). He was so ridiculously charming and sweet, he is what every young person should look for in a significant other or even a friend. He is a disabled (he has one arm), African American male who loves adventure. Silverman did such a good job with the portrayal of this character. Although Lincoln is very ambitious, he did not feel like an "inspiration porn" disabled character. In other words, his disability wasn't used to make non-disabled folk feel better or inspired.

My main critique of this book would be that the ending felt very abrupt. When I was about 94% done I looked at Goodreads to see if there would a sequel, but from what I can tell this is a stand-alone. It felt like to me with so few pages left there was still a lot to wrap up, especially between Lincoln + Anise. Perhaps Silverman wanted to have it open-ended, but it could have been 15-20 pages longer in my opinion.

Thanks so much to the publisher for the awesome book and I can't wait to see what Laura does next!