Local Girl Swept Away by Ellen Wittlinger

by:  Ellen Wittlinger
published by:  Merit Press
publish date:  June 15, 2016

Set in the Cape Cod village of Provincetown, Massachusetts, this is the story about 17-year-old Jackie's struggle to overcome her grief and confusion after her best friend is carried out to sea during a storm. Lorna had been the dynamic leader of a tight-knit group of four friends - Jackie, Lucas and Finn - and her disappearance changes the dynamics between the surviving three. Jackie is still hiding her feelings for Finn, who had been Lorna's boyfriend, and Lucas has withdrawn to the point where Jackie wonders if he is keeping a secret even larger than her own. Meanwhile the future looms, and Jackie fears leaving the only life she has known.

This book was a little far-fetched and rather predictable, but overall I did enjoy the story.

Jackie, Lucas, Finn and Lorna are their own world.  There are the 4 of them and no one else counts.  Lorna is their queen.  Until, she is swept away by a wave and lost in the ocean.  Her body never surfaces.  The 3 remaining friends are left to pick up the pieces of their lives and try to exist in a world without their leader.  Jackie and Finn find a new life together only for it to all fall apart again.

While this wasn't the most awesome book, it was a pretty good story.  I found some of the twists to be rather predictable, but still it was enjoyable.  I think most contemporary YA readers would ultimately enjoy this book.