Good teen and upper YA read about complex romantic and family relationships. There was a lot of emotion that came through but I didn't love the main character.

A mixed response to this one. Before reading I thought I'd find the main character a little bratty - you don't like a sibling's partner, deal with it. Of course there's more to the story than you first think. Shifts in attitude are a little more rapid than I think entirely plausible, but still an engaging read.

I DNF'd this book about halfway through the book because I wasn't invested in what was happening or connecting with the characters.

Even though the blurb hints at secrets, this packed an emotional wallop I wasn't expecting. I liked that almost everything took place in the month the family was at the beach. It gives a sense of things unfolding in real time and it shows the strength of the author, to build the characters and back story into the sort of "everyday" activities that occur.  I didn't love the way the author got rid of one plot point, but the rest was so well done.  A great summer read but with some omph behind it.

To Forrest Shephard, getting away to the family's beach house with her parents and her brother, Brian, is the best part of every summer. Until this year, when her mother invites Brian's obnoxious girlfriend, Olivia, to join them. Suddenly, Forrest's relaxing vacation becomes a mission to verify the reality of Olivia's rumored eating disorder. But the truth behind Olivia's finicky eating isn't at all what Forrest expected. And over the next thirty days, Forrest's world is turned upside down as her family's darkest secrets begin to come to light.

I found Thirty Sunsets a very nice in-between read. The story was entertaining to read, altough it didn't move me very much. Forrest isn't on the good side with her brother's girlfriend Olivia, but then she finds out something about Olivia that changes her point of view. The other storyline with her and Scott was very grim. Secrets just filled this book. I felt that there where some secrets I understood why they kept them to themselves but there was a couple where I felt that they needed to know. Even though nothing should change, it is better for a person to find out from that person rather than hear it from someone else.

It's a fast summer read set against the background of summer. I recommend it to fans of contemporary YA authors like Sarah Dessen.