REVIEW: The Lifeguard by Deborah Blumenthal

 

Author: Deborah Blumenthal

Pages: 268

Genre: Young Adult 

Publisher: Whitman, Albert and Company

Amazon: The Lifeguard

Synopsis. (Goodreads)

It's an unsettled summer for Sirena. Back in Texas, her family's splitting apart, but here in Rhode Island, at the cottage of her free-spirited aunt, it's a different world. There are long days at the beach and intriguing encounters with him. Pilot. He's the lifeguard with shamanic skills. He both saves her and makes her feel lost at sea. Sirena explores her obsession with Pilot and discovers his mysterious--almost magical--gifts.

REVIEW: 3 out of 5 stars

The Lifeguard was kindly provided to me by Netgalley for Whitman, Albert & Company and is due to be released in March 2012.

16 year old Sirena Shane has been sent to Rhode Island to spend the summer with her aunt, a trip her parents feel is the best for her since they are going through a divorce and are in the process of getting everything settled.

Sirena’s aunt’s cottage is the perfect location to forget the happenings of normal life but it is also mysterious and has a wonderful back-story, they also feel it is inhabited by ghosts.

The beach is literally at the doorstep and guarding the beach is a gorgeous lifeguard – Pilot, it is instant attraction for Sirena, he consumes her thoughts, rescues her on occasion and she becomes fixated on him.

Sirena’s attraction and thoughts about Pilot bordered on obsession, it was an instant crush on her part where she constantly had him on her mind but her feelings didn’t initially seem to be reciprocated. We don’t learn a lot about Pilot which is a shame; I would have liked to have known more about his past and his abilities. I don’t feel their relationship was explored or developed enough to form any kind of attachment or encouragement for them being together.

The Lifeguard took us through a young girls grief and how she was trying to cope during what she believed was a total upheaval by her parents through their divorce, her eyes are opened when she volunteers at the local hospital and she sees there are certainly people who are worse off than she is and she also learns a lot from Antonio the painter. 

I loved the relationship Sirena had with her parents, her aunt, Antonio who I thought was wonderful and her best friend, the letters between them let us in on her inner turmoil and thoughts and I really liked learning more about her from these small snippets.

There are so many aspects of this book that I enjoyed but the romance and Sirena’s obsession really let it down for me, it seemed extremely one sided and it wasn’t until Sirena was back home that I felt there was a connection between the h/h. The paranormal aspect I don’t feel was explored fully, it was there but not in the forefront.

I can’t fault the beautiful way in which The Lifeguard is written, it flows so smoothly and is easy to become engrossed in. 

All in all, a light, easy and quick read. I would definitely read more books written by Ms Blumenthal.

 
Obtained: Netgalley