A coming of age summer story with a little romance. Soccer star, Zack is set to have his best summer ever. He plans to spend the summer practicing soccer, hanging with his friends Meyer's and Beckett, and to be voted the next captain after the charity match on the 4th of July. Then current captain, Ryan pulls a stupid prank and won't admit to it, so to keep the whole team from getting in trouble, Zack takes the blame. He ends up with community service which after meeting a cute guy, Chip, on the beach, he convinces a teacher to let him serve at the marine institute. Meyers also volunteers there and Zack can get to know Chip, so his summer is looking up. If 6 am practices and rivalry don't cause the soccer team to fall apart. The more time Zack spends working at the marine institute and with Chip, he starts to question what is important to him and why he tries be like Ryan. Can Zack figure out what he wants and get the guy?
While the cover says cute summer romance, this story is more of a coming of age dramedy with a slow-burn romance. Zack deals with some issues about himself. The characters are likable and well written. Some parts of the story were funny and some were heartfelt. The romance between Zack and Chip moved slowly with most of their interactions happening in the second half of the book. I liked this fun summer read that is perfect for fans of Jenn Bennet, Kasie West, Alice Oseman, and Becky Albertalli.
While the cover says cute summer romance, this story is more of a coming of age dramedy with a slow-burn romance. Zack deals with some issues about himself. The characters are likable and well written. Some parts of the story were funny and some were heartfelt. The romance between Zack and Chip moved slowly with most of their interactions happening in the second half of the book. I liked this fun summer read that is perfect for fans of Jenn Bennet, Kasie West, Alice Oseman, and Becky Albertalli.