unfortunately i struggled with this and ended up dnfing at around 40% - with a story like this i need to emotionally connect with the book and i wasn’t able to with this.

thank you so much to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the arc 🫶🏻

I honestly couldn't finish this book. It was kinda bland and I didn't enjoy reading it. I'm sure it's got an audience somewhere but I kept wanting to do anything but read this book. Maybe if I managed to push through past the first 15% but it was just so difficult and I knew it would send me into a reading slump.
I can't offer any feedback on the writing as the book is no longer available for me to read through. I just know I didn't like it at all

A strange and wonderful growing-up story about the meaning of friendship and family. How can one person change the course of another's history? Bud and Jeremy negotiate a changing relationship that leave your heart satisfied.

I was surprised, hurt, and happy for the character as the story unfolded. Worth reading on the beach, in the bus or train, or when you want to live someone else's happy ending.

I enjoyed this book. It’s written from the point of view a 12 year old boy, with good description of his feelings and situation. An easy summer read.

S.E. Stanley's cozy coming-of-age family story begins in the Squirrel Hill area of Pittsburgh and moves to Nancy, Kentucky near the Kentucky and Tennessee border, along US 27. Twelve-year-old Jeremy's parents are killed in a car accident and the family's lawyer finds Bud, an estranged paternal uncle, who writes science fiction novels and lives on a houseboat on Lake Cumberland. After the drive from Pennsylvania to Kentucky, Jeremy adjusts to living in a two-bedroom houseboat at a summer resort. Jeremy learns to fish, socializes at the pool, and reads his uncle's novels as the two strangers get to know each other. Highly recommended for high school and public library collections, and especially for regional public library collections in southeastern Kentucky and northeastern Tennessee.

I really can't believe that this book is being published. It reads like a deposition transcript. Every miniscule detail is included: if Jeremy makes a bowl of cereal, you'll know every step he took while doing it. There is absolutely no emotion in this book and Jeremy's parents died! Tragically! Where's the sadness?? So bad...

I was really excited to read this book as it sounded so interesting. Unfortunately there were multiple aspects that made it a 2 star book. There was a ton of fishing and I feel there was too much focus on that instead of plot and development. One of my issues was the book felt very stiff to me and very formal and I wasn’t able to connect with the book which is probably why I didn’t enjoy it as much as I thought I would. It more felt closer to a series of events being told through a third party with a lack of emotional development or interesting dialogue. The thing that made me the most uncomfortable was the maturer sexual content. I’d recommend changing the rating or removing the scenes all together as I felt it was highly inappropriate for 13 year olds to be “French kissing” and “bulges in their pants” along with “no doing the hanky panky” as Bud said. The ending felt overly quick and I felt very disconnected. Thank you to NetGally and the publisher for giving me the chance to read and review!

This was somewhere between coming of age and slice of life. I feel like I learned a lot of things about boats and fishing that hopefully I'll remember. Gotta write that stuff down!

Jeremy loses his parents at the tender age of 12. His family has left him a decent amount of money but he has no relatives or close family friends to take him in.

Enter Uncle Bud. He lives on a houseboat! Can you imagine?! It sounds cool to me in my 30's, not sure how I'd have felt at 12. Jeremy is a good kid and he's agreeable though so he should be a good fit.

Jeremy has never heard of Bud. He's been estranged from his family for longer than Jeremy has been alive. Why? And why is he willing to step up now?

I liked this and it was a quick read. I didn't feel a lot of emotion behind it and Jeremy seemed younger than 12 to me. He wasn't bursting with personality, which happens I suppose.

It was a fine evening read and threw a few loops in there.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review!

[arc review]
Thank you to NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for providing an arc in exchange for an honest review.

12-year-old Jeremy has recently lost his parents in an accident, and is now living with his estranged uncle on his houseboat.
Throughout the summer, Jeremy learns new skills that include fishing and diving, and has his first summer fling with a girl.

The writing was very monotonous and stiff. Aside from the endless dialogue, there was very little to break up all of the “telling” of things that were happening, which was a rinse and repeat of mentioning that the uncle was writing, them eating a meal and washing their dishes, or doing an activity such as swimming, fishing, or playing basketball.

I think this story would have done better if it was a historical piece set in the late 80’s or something, because the characteristics didn’t feel suitable for the 2023 setting.
I can’t imagine 12-year-old kids being overly polite with every single response, shaking hands with other kids their own age, putting on loafers, or having a phone but not once mentioning social media or the internet? It felt too formal and not of the right generation.

The whole thing with the DNA was a last minute effort in trying to close out the story in a meaningful way, but the delivery came across the same way you would ask someone about the weather, lacking any emotional build up.