content warnings: underage drinking, depictions of injuries sustained in a car accident, descriptions of minor injuries
representation: main interracial relationship, black amputee side character, samoan side character, black side characters, side interracial f/f relationship


“Good things are infinite too.”


I was incredibly surprised at how much I enjoyed this book. I first heard about it, as did many people, because of the author receiving antisemitic attacks and receiving one-star ratings before the book was out because of her political stance. Many people picked it up in support of her, and I became interested in it when those people also really enjoyed it.

This book is about Anise, a seventeen-year old who has lived her whole life in Santa Cruz and lives and breathes surfing. But, at the start of the summer before her final year of high school, her aunt gets in a car accident and she and her dad move to Nebraska to help her aunt and kids. While there, Anise discovers that there are some sports that could rival surfing with the help of cute skater, Lincoln.

This was an extremely quick read, full of fun characters and cute scenes. I wouldn't go so far as to saying that Anise is easy to love, especially initially, but even if you don't like her you understand her. The characters that surround her, in particular Lincoln and Tess, were so great and endearing and I loved them.

I also loved Anise's relationship with her cousin's. There are the nine-year old twins, Parker and Nash, and twelve-year old Emery. Anise has quite a close relationship with them, clearly seeing them as siblings she never had, and I loved seeing moments of her bonding with them. Her relationship with Emery in particular was incredibly sweet as Anise takes on a sister/parent relationship with her younger cousin.

This book also had a surprisingly great theme throughout of Anise being worried that she's becoming her mum. For her entire life, Anise's mum has drifted in and out of her and her dad's lives, seemingly not caring about how they feel when she leaves. Anise constantly worries that she could become her mum, especially when she starts to spend less time talking to her friends from back home and more time with Lincoln and her cousins.

With her mum being absent, this meant that Anise's relationship with her dad is incredibly strong and it might have been my favourite aspect of the book. They're extremely close and have several lovely quiet moments throughout the book of them talking and connecting.

It was amazing to see a love interest who's not only black but is also an amputee because I don't think I've ever seen a disabled love interest in YA before. Lincoln being an amputee isn't the defining feature of his character, though. It's definitely an important part of him, but he makes it a point to never let it define him and there are a few great moments of him and Anise talking about it.

This is a quick summery read that I would recommend to anyone in the mood for a cute romance with some deeper things happening underneath.