In Laguna Beach, California, sixteen-year-old Kendra Dimes is preparing for the 2010 USA Surfing Prime West. She’ll be competing this year in honor of her brother, who was a surfer too, but who died from a drug overdose. Kendra has suffered anxiety attacks ever since her brother’s death, and surfing is what’s been helping her heal.


Brock Parker is the new bad boy at school; he deals drugs to the high school clientele for his parents, who work for a Mexican drug lord. Though Brock and Kendra come from two different worlds, sparks fly when they meet at the homecoming dance—their attraction is magnetic. When they start a game of 21 Questions one night, they begin to learn more about each other—and, surprisingly, about themselves too. But some questions aren’t answered with the whole truth; after all, Brock can’t tell Kendra what his parents do for a living.
As Kendra and Brock experience all of life’s most exciting firsts, they prove that even when life throws you the perfect storm, you can make it through and come out stronger than before. 21 Questions is a coming-of-age journey packed with passion and heartbreak, risk and romance. Will keep you reading and enjoying right to the very last page…

This is an opposites attract romance that deals with some tough subject matter. Brock is a stoner, coerced into selling drugs to his fellow high school students by his father. Kendra is a champion surfer who lost her brother to a drug overdose. She meets and falls for Brock unaware of his role in the local drug trade.

Well the premise is interesting and inevitably calls for drama, I think the execution of the actual story could have been better. It’s possible it may have been a formatting issue but the book is just sentences and lacks paragraphs. The writing is often dry and clinical. When I read books they almost always play out like a movie being projected in my head. In the case of 21 Questions the way it was written invoked little to no imagery and there was nothing to infer from any situation. Because of that I was never invested in the plot or characters.

I definitely think the story has potential, it's just not there yet.

Thank you to #Netgalley and #SparkPress for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do not go into this book thinking that it is a sweet, fun, contemporary-romance novel! This is dark and talks about drug use, toxic and unique family dynamics, and some "realistic" parts of teenagers' lives. Also go into the novel knowing that the main male character, Brock, can be very disgusting at times. While I am not a teenage boy writing this review, I can say that I do hope that Brock's point of view is not how boys in my day to day life see the world.

(FAIR WARNING FOR SPOILERS) Here are some examples of things Brock does that may be triggering to readers if you are thinking about reading this book: he objectifies Kendra on multiple occasions, belittles and slut-shames other girls for showing a bit of skin, and there is a lot of drug use, overdose, survivors guilt, and suicidal thought and actions.

Many of these triggers, however, are part of the story and contribute to the character arcs (not always in the most efficient way). The story was developed and the characters did have motivation for the things they did.

I love young adult literature. It always seems to take complicated issues and deal with them in clear manner. 21 Questions by Rizik did not disappoint. Kendra Dimes is a surfer hoping to make it to a national competition. She competes to honor her brother, who died of a drug overdose. The she meets Brock Parker, a new guy at school whose family works for a Mexican drug lord. Through the game 21 Questions they learn a great deal about each other. and themselves. This is a well-written and researched teen novel. The book thoughtfully addresses many teen issues and concerns - drugs,alcohol, LBGTQ, high school, sex and teen relationships. Rizik does not sugar coat these situations and demonstrates that there are consequences for your actions. Title comes out August, 2021.