Review: The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland

Title: The Summer My Life Began
Author: Shannon Greenland
Series: Stand Alone
Published By: Speak (May 10, 2012)
Source: ARC provided by the Publisher
Genre: YA Realistic Fiction
My Rating: 4 Stars

Goodreads Description:

 Elizabeth Margaret—better known as Em—has always known what life would contain: an internship at her father’s firm, a degree from Harvard and a career as a lawyer. The only problem is that it’s not what she wants. When she gets the opportunity to get away from it all and spend a month with the aunt she never knew, she jumps at the chance. While there, Em pursues her secret dream of being a chef, and she also learns that her family has kept some significant secrets from her, too. And then there’s Cade, the laid-back local surfer boy who seems to be everything Em isn't. Naturally, she can’t resist him, and as their romance blossoms, Em feels she is living on her own terms for the first time.

My Review:
 

Elizabeth Margaret, affectionately known as Em by her sister, wants something different. Her whole life has always been planned out for her. Where she will go to school, what she will be, what she will become, who she will marry, even how she will spend her last summer at home.

All of it.

And she has finally had enough. She wants something different than what her parents expect of her, than what they have planned out for her.

When she gets an invitation to stay with an aunt that she didn't even know existed for the summer in North Carolina, she finally decides that this is it, her chance to make a stand and demand a little time to get away and just breathe.

What she doesn't realize is how much her life is about to change.

I immediately liked Em, maybe it was because I could relate to her so well and I truly felt for her.

Tilly, Fredrick, Cade, Domino, they were all just fabulous. I couldn't even tell you which one I liked more.

Cade and his sweetness, quietness and strength. I loved watching him overcome his demons and move on as well. But Em was the one that stole the show. She was the one that had to overcome so much. She had to find herself and learn to stand on her own two feet. She had to become her own person and she did beautifully.

This was such a sweet tender coming of age story that will really speak to your heart. I loved every minute of it and am sad that it is over.