Corner of Ocean and Bay by Gina Azzi
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Release Date: June 15, 2015
Buy Links:
Amazon ♥ B & N
Book Description:
Nessa Moore has sought reliable stability since her father’s death. Now, she’s over it. Tired of always being the mature adult, constantly worrying about her alcoholic mother, stressing about being able to afford college, she wants to have one normal, carefree, fun summer. And be more like her best friend Jacie.
Jacie Hayes is struggling to overcome the recent breakup with her first love. The one that ripped out her heart and left her devastated. Frustrated and bored with her own self pity, Jacie wants nothing more than to forget about Dylan, to go back to her old ways, her old self. To be the fun loving, live-in-the-moment girl who gossips about boys and sips mojitos.
Best friends since childhood, Nessa and Jacie have been through all their ups and downs together. No matter what. Now, the summer before their senior year of high school, they accept an invitation from Jacie’s aunt to join her in Lockwood Quay, New Jersey, a summer beach getaway.
Determined to make this their best, most memorable, summer yet, both girls push their own boundaries, accept new challenges, and find themselves keeping secrets from each other.
But sometimes, stepping out of your comfort zone has consequences.
And some secrets can’t be forgiven.
Or forgotten.
The unique scent of the ocean, a fusion of sea salt and secrets, blows into the open windows of Jacie’s Jeep Wrangler minutes after we pass the sign welcoming us to Lockwood Quay, New Jersey, population 2,700. The wind whips my hair around my face, tying it in knots, and I breathe in deep, holding the air in my lungs, committing its deliciousness to memory.
I ride shotgun, sitting next to Jacie, as she reaches over and turns up the volume to Kid Rock’s “All Summer Long.” We sing the chorus in unison, Jacie’s fingers tapping the beat on the steering wheel, as we near Aunt Beatrice’s beach house. Jacie throws her arms up, dancing to the music, shaking her head as her long, straight blonde hair snakes down her back.
I immediately reach over and grab the steering wheel. We swerve slightly and the man in an oncoming car blares his horn, giving us the stink eye as he passes. Jacie giggles and waves to him. I join in her laughter as I try to squeeze the panic from my chest, reminding myself that this is my shot at a normal, carefree summer, my chance to have some Jacie kind of fun.
When we round the next corner Aunt Beatrice’s house unfolds before me. The house is sprawling, ranch style, transporting me back to my childhood when my father would rent a beach house for the summer. He always loved the Jersey shore.
Aunt Beatrice’s house is a pale gray, almost blue, with large bay windows and a wraparound porch. In one corner, a swing sways slightly in the breeze and white wicker chairs beckon. The path up to the house and the wide driveway are dotted with pale pink brick pavers; the front lawn isn’t a lawn at all but a stretch of various sized stones, broken seashells, and sandy pebbles; the flowers are in full bloom. Beautiful flowers are everywhere: hanging from the window boxes, falling to the porch in various shades of pink, purple, yellow, blue.
“Let the summer shenanigans commence,” Jacie says, shoving the gear stick into park and opening the Jeep door. She stretches her arms overhead and her T-shirt rides up, revealing a glimpse of the ink she had tattooed on her lower abdomen the night before she turned seventeen, precisely nine days ago. Her cousins even gifted her a fake ID.
“I seriously can’t believe we are going to live here!” I push my sunglasses up on top of my head, sweeping my side bangs off my forehead.
“I know, right. It’s going to be such an awesome summer!”
Author Bio:
Gina Azzi was born and raised in New Jersey. She is a passionate reader, frequent globetrotter, and coffee enthusiast.
Gina enjoys writing YA and NA fiction with relatable, interesting characters. Corner of Ocean and Bay is her first novel.
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