Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

This is a really great summer read.  Not the most substance, but it does deal with some issues that face girls today.
Anna, Francesca (Frankie), and Matt have been best friends forever.  When Anna turns 15, the friendship between her and Matt shifts to something...more.  They are ready to embark on a wild romantic relationship, and Matt promises to tell his sister Frankie when they vacation in Zanzibar Bay, California a month after he and Anna begin seeing each other, but on Frankie and Matt's last night at home, driving home from an impromptu ice cream, an unknown defect in Matt's heart causes his heart to stop and the teens to get in a car crash.  Frankie and Anna survive, but Matt's heart had stopped before the accident even occurred.  Because of the promise that Anna made to Matt, one year after his death, Frankie still doesn't know about Matt and Anna's mutual feelings.  The girls, along with Frankie's parents Red and Jayne, travel to Zanzibar Bay and embark on the A.B.S.E., or Absolute Best Summer Ever.  The goal? meet 20 boys on the trip.  This quickly goes awry when Anna meets Sam.  Gorgeous.  Beach babe.  A year older.  Kind and gentle.  Anna is finally starting to let go of her love for Matt after going out with Sam, but it scares her.  Anna finally starts to open up to same, even ditches Anna's Albatross a.k.a her virginity, but after a sweet walk down the beach back with Sam, she finds Frankie with her journal in hand, furious...
You can read to find out the rest, but it is a very good story that deals with death, love, not love, sex, and friendship.  These are things and choices that all teenagers are dealing with these days!  Sarah Ockler does a really good job capturing the heartfelt emotions between Matt, Anna, Frankie, and Sam, as well as how the death of their only son effects Red and Jayne.  It's a really good story that captures you from the first page.
I really encourage you to pick up this book if you're headed out to the beach for vacation (like me!) because it's a perfect summer story for when you're soaking up those rays like Anna and Frankie!

Teaser Quote: “He loved to read. He loved words, the way they string together into sentences and stories. He wanted to study them, to know and create them, to share them with the world. ”-Anna