Sharks and Boys by Kristen Tracy

Publisher: Hyperion
Date: June 2011
Series or Standalone: standalone
ISBN: 142314354x
Format: Hardcover, 272 pages
Source: ARC
Cover thoughts: Goes with the story very well

Rating: B
First line: Seeing yourself on TV changes you.

The thing that really attracted me to this book was the title. Sharks terrify me but they also fascinate me. Boys, well, I like those. I was expecting a light and fun read. I soon realized that it was a story of survival and it kept me enthralled until the end.

When fifteen-year-old Eden's boyfriend Wick tells her that he needs a break from their relationship and goes to Maryland for a party Eden follows thinking that he is going to cheat on her. She soon finds herself sneaking onto a house boat and locking herself in the bathroom. Then the boys decide to take the boat out in a horrible storm and the boat sinks landing the kids floating in a yellow life boat on the ocean with no food or water. To make matters worse, hungry sharks are circling the boat. Eden and the other kids learn they must work together and trust one another to survive. If they survive?

The thing that I liked most about this book was the visual the author created. When the characters were almost dying and having to do the unimaginable I could see it inside my head. When Eden described the scene inside the lifeboat with the disgusting conditions, I wanted to go bathe. It was so real the way it was described when the characters were starving and thirsty and what they were willing to do to make it subside. I loved the visuals, even if they were horrible.

The thing I really disliked about this book was Eden. She follows Wick five-hundred-forty miles to see if he is cheating, how desperate can you get? Maybe she is in love with him, but she is fifteen. She hasn't even lived. It was annoying to see someone so needy.

Sharks and Boys will keep you reading late into the night and not knowing right up until the end in the characters will survive.

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