Friday 22 March 2013

Review: Riptide by Lindsey Scheibe

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Title: Riptide

Author: Lindsey Scheibe

Publisher: Flux

Publication date: May 8th 2013

Format: ebook | Netgalley

Genre: YA | Contemporary 

Goodreads



Grace has one summer to prove she’s good enough

For Grace Parker, surfing is all about the ride and the moment. Everything else disappears. She can forget that her best friend, Ford Watson, has a crush on her that she can’t reciprocate. She can forget how badly she wants to get a surf scholarship to UC San Diego. She can forget the pressure of her parents’ impossibly high expectations.

When Ford enters Grace into a surf competition—the only way she can impress the UCSD surfing scouts—she has one summer to train and prepare. Will she gain everything she’s ever wanted or lose the only things that ever mattered?



My thoughts:


I've never read a book about surfing before so this was something different for me.


I really loved the descriptive writing when it came to the sea and Grace actually surfing. At times I really felt like I could look out of the window to find myself looking at the sea. Its power, beauty and even smell are all amazing to look at and experience. It made me miss going to the beach, just throwing myself in the water and revelling in the peace and relaxation it can bring. I felt like I was there at times which is great in any book.


The biggest problem I had with this book was the relationship between Ford and Grace. At first it was really sweet but it took way too long to change. They both needed a lot of pushing and even then they still didn't do anything about it. That led to it changing too fast when they turned the relationship around - it wasn't a gradual thing so it made it feel a little unrealistic.


This book deals with domestic abuse in a few different ways. I thought it was really well done in that the author didn't hesitate when it came to describing feelings and the really intense stuff. However, I thought Grace herself didn't come across as a victim sometimes. She was a lot more concerned about her surfing and academics than what was going on at home. I understand that it can be an escape but I don't think that was made clear enough.


I also thought that nothing was actually resolved at the end. Some characters played a part in the story and then just disappeared. They were mentioned but they made enough of an appearance that they needed some kind of send off in a way. There were some who weren't even mentioned and it frustrates me because they came across as important to the story and then they just disappeared.


That being said, the ending was really sweet. It took the biscuit for me. I thought the whole book led up to it really nicely.  


My rating: 6/10


Lindsey Scheibe:

Goodreads | Website | Twitter 

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