Sometimes the current is the only thing that saves you...
Release Date: September 23rd 2012
Publisher: Zondervan
My Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
About Like Moonlight at Low Tide:
When high school junior Melissa Keiser returns to her hometown of Anna Maria Island, Florida, she has one goal: hide from the bullies who had convinced her she was the ugliest girl in school. But when she is caught sneaking into a neighbor's pool at night, everything changes. Something is different now that Melissa is sixteen, and the guys and popular girls who once made her life miserable have taken notice. When Melissa gets the chance to escape life in a house ruled by her mom's latest boyfriend, she must choose where her loyalties lie between a long-time crush, a new friend, and her surfer brother who makes it impossible to forget her roots. Just as Melissa seems to achieve everything she ever wanted, she loses a loved one to suicide. Melissa must not only grieve for her loss, she must find the truth about the three boys who loved her and discover that joy sometimes comes from the most unexpected place of all.
"This is not a story about suicide. But you should know that when I was seventeen, the only boy who ever called me by my full name took his own life...Nothing else I do for the rest of my life will ever be able to change this fact. This story is actually about three boys. One who loved me. One who couldn't. And one who didn't know how."
My Review:
This book is one of my favorites I've read so far this year! It truly is a coming-of-age type young adult novel that had me turning page after page until there were no pages left to turn and I was rushing to Goodreads to see if there were any other books by Nicole Quigley I could add to my TBR list. I was astonished to find that this was a debut, as I hadn't realized that when I was provided a review copy. I must say, Like Moonlight at Low Tide was a stunning read!
The novel begins with Melissa/Missy moving back to her hometown of Anna Maria Island, FL. She hopes to fly under the radar considering the fact that when she lived there back in middle school, she was the constant subject of torment and bullying. She'd been given the nickname "Messy" and was truly convinced she was the ugliest girl in school. Melissa is such a strong character, despite the fact that she has been through quite a lot in her life. Men are in and out of her life because of her mother's failure to commit to any relationship for fear of being the one burned, so she's never really had a father figure. There's just her, her mom, her older brother, and her younger sister.
I love the way the author explores bullying and eventually suicide in this book in such an open and honest way. I think that's one of the best way to get people talking about these "taboo" subjects, is to read a book like this. My favorite thing about this novel has to be the way it reads. I honestly felt the entire time like I wasn't reading a book. No, it was like Melissa was sitting beside me in some comfy diner and we were drinking sodas and sharing our life stories. So fresh and original, I already started recommending before I even finished the last page! A fabulous read for teens of all ages, I feel these subjects need to stop being taboo and I will forever be recommending this book. I honestly cannot wait to see what Nicole Quigley has in store for us next and am anxiously awaiting her next book release!
*I received this book for review from the publisher via the Booksneeze program. This, however, in no way affected my review or opinion*
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