Zack is pretty focused on one thing only: soccer. He’s a rising senior and he’s most likely to be captain next year. The graduating senior Ryan, currently captain, basically guarantees Zack that he’s next. When Ryan does something stupid, Zack takes the fall for him. Ryan says his chance at college will be jeopardized if anyone finds out he was responsible for the prank. So, Zack claims it was him. He thinks it’s what’s best for Ryan and best for the team.
Zack gets assigned community service. He winds up working at seaside conservation center with his new crush Chip. If he must spend his summer doing community service, he can’t think of anything better than spending it with Chip.
But Chip won’t give him a chance at a date. Because Chip thinks Zack pulled the prank. And the prank involved a dead shark. And Zack idolizes Ryan, who Chip dislikes. Ryan is Chip’s cousin. He doesn’t like that Zack seems like Ryan’s go to.
In addition to things being rough with Chip, Zack finds out that the team is upset with him. Because of the prank and Zack’s community service hours, everyone has to do soccer practice at about six am every day all summer. This isn’t what anyone wanted.
And Zack doesn’t even know what matters to him beyond soccer because of the amount of pressure he feels from his parents about being a soccer star.
Poor Zack is feeling a lot of pressure from all directions. His parents aren’t happy that he’s devoting less energy to soccer, his friends are upset that he’s keeping secrets from them, his team is upset that he’s being selfish and also screwing up their summer plans, and even as things improve with Chip he still feels like he’s being kept at a distance. And nobody has even bothered to ask what Zack wants, even Zack hasn’t put any time towards his own happiness.
I thought Zack was a kindhearted guy. He has good intentions. He makes mistakes sometimes. But he’s lovable. I like Chip too and Zack’s best friends.
I also think the background character Foster could do with a story of his own. He seems like he’d have an interesting story.
I received an ebook arc of this book from NetGalley and won a physical copy of the book from BookishFirst. Thank you! I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.
Zack gets assigned community service. He winds up working at seaside conservation center with his new crush Chip. If he must spend his summer doing community service, he can’t think of anything better than spending it with Chip.
But Chip won’t give him a chance at a date. Because Chip thinks Zack pulled the prank. And the prank involved a dead shark. And Zack idolizes Ryan, who Chip dislikes. Ryan is Chip’s cousin. He doesn’t like that Zack seems like Ryan’s go to.
In addition to things being rough with Chip, Zack finds out that the team is upset with him. Because of the prank and Zack’s community service hours, everyone has to do soccer practice at about six am every day all summer. This isn’t what anyone wanted.
And Zack doesn’t even know what matters to him beyond soccer because of the amount of pressure he feels from his parents about being a soccer star.
Poor Zack is feeling a lot of pressure from all directions. His parents aren’t happy that he’s devoting less energy to soccer, his friends are upset that he’s keeping secrets from them, his team is upset that he’s being selfish and also screwing up their summer plans, and even as things improve with Chip he still feels like he’s being kept at a distance. And nobody has even bothered to ask what Zack wants, even Zack hasn’t put any time towards his own happiness.
I thought Zack was a kindhearted guy. He has good intentions. He makes mistakes sometimes. But he’s lovable. I like Chip too and Zack’s best friends.
I also think the background character Foster could do with a story of his own. He seems like he’d have an interesting story.
I received an ebook arc of this book from NetGalley and won a physical copy of the book from BookishFirst. Thank you! I look forward to seeing what the author writes next.