I really enjoyed the preface and introduction.
But then the book became a bit confusing. There were elements of biography, memoir, psychology/self-help, and info dumps. The last third was definitely the most enjoyable and interesting for me and more of what I wanted the whole book to be like.
It was very readable but not what I was expecting from the book description.

This is a fun little book, it’s a quick read about two friends who open a surf shop on the island of Aruba twenty years ago.
It’s a feel good story about success. The author has fun writing about friendship between two people. And that’s what it’s about….friendship, perseverance and never giving up.

ARC by NetGalley

This book is an ode to David and Yair's friendship. Together they opened up a little surf shop on Aruba. Having no background in business or retail, they start from scratch and learn by making mistakes, together. They refused to conform to typical business strategies such as marketing and franchising, and instead chose to stay true to themselves and focused on connecting with the local community.

It's a fun and easy read, the story is well-paced, and contains short interviews and pictures of Bula and its people. I enjoyed the variety and depth of it.

★★★

I approached this book expecting to read of true friendship, of achieved dreams, of success against all odds.

I walk away from this book feeling like it was more of a self-actualization journey for the author and an info-dump of research studies and inspirational quotes than a record of Bula’s history and hardworking owners.



The Preface and Introduction correctly set the tone of the book as casual and welcoming. From beginning to end, I felt like I was part of the Bula family, as if once I was done reading this book David and Yair would take me surfing the way they are mentioned to take employees surfing after a day of work. As someone who is not a surfer and had never heard of Bula before this book, this effect is a sign of success!

Out of all the Acts the book is split into, the third— the final one— was my favorite. I felt the magic of Bula when they sponsored Sarah-Quita, designed their Dushi yiu! shirts, began hiring employees, and worked with Karim and Maurice Neme.

I also loved the tidbits of Aruban culture sprinkled into the story (the ubiquity of kites, “balashi cocktail,” dushi yiu, etc.). This gave life to the location beyond its name and the preconceived association a reader would have with it.



It’s clear Heath did extensive research and compilation of resources to write a cohesive story, and I commend her for that. It added some nice extra depth. However, there were many instances of using examples from psychology, philosophy, pop culture, etc. one after the other as a way to illustrate points that didn’t require such extensive bolstering. I noticed this kept taking the focus away from the story and made the writing feel clunky. I would’ve been more engaged in these discussions had they instead drawn on examples from David and Yair’s lives. In fact, this actually occurred when elaborating on Bula’s minimalist business approach. Heath connected their approach to the way both owners live simplistic lives: remaining in their original homes, with their first wives, without children.

Heath also reflected on events in her own life, and her own journey to becoming an author. I liked this aspect of the book, but I wish there was more seamless entanglement of her storyline and Yair/David/Bula’s. Especially, as she is (I think?) David’s father’s wife. The way her story and thoughts are inserted here and there, seemingly at random, took me out of my reading flow.

The last few paragraphs of the epilogue also felt like this book was more about the author’s journey than Bula’s. I enjoyed her reflections, I’m glad she’s finding her purpose, but placing that at the end of another’s story weakened the conclusion.



All in all: Through the tone, photographs shared, and interviews conducted, the essence of Bula was captured. However, I leave this story feeling as though I don’t know as much about the owners, their friendship, and their business as the blurb led me to believe I would.



Thank you NetGalley and L’il Nob Press for the DRC!

***will post my review on Goodreads if/when this title is available on that platform

Little Giant is Marcia Heath's debut book. It is about two friends who left their corporate jobs behind and created Bula Surf Shop in Aruba. Little Giant: The Story of Aruba's Surf Shop and the Rebels Who Built It is a unique book. It is about the owners, David and Yair, their lives and friendship; about creating a new business and about the culture in Aruba.

Bula Surf Shop has now had their 20th anniversary. David and Yair had no experience in retail. They have made a lot of good choices and have stayed true to themselves.

I was not sure how many pages Little Giant was when I was considering reading the advance read copy. It was definitely longer than I had anticipated. The ebook is 289 pages. Lots of beautiful pictures.

I found Little Giant to be very enjoyable and was very "balanced" with its writing.

I don't see this book on GoodReads and the link provided is the request to the GoodReads librarians to add this book to their database. I'll add this review to GoodReads once it has been added to the library.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the L'il Knob Press for approving my request to read Little Giant in exchange for an honest review. Publication date listed on NetGalley is Jul 9, 2024; on the book website is Aug 13, 2024. Website is littlegiantbook.com

An intriguing true story of how two college friends built Bula Surf Shop into a bustling iconic brand. Fascinating!