2.5 stars. I would've really liked this book ten or more years ago, when I was about 20, 21 years old. At times this book was really romance-novelish. The leading man was so devoted in his love and aching with it the whole time. "He loved her for being so beautiful, and he hated her for it. He loved how she put shiny stuff on her lips for him, and he also reviled her for it. He wanted to run after her and grab her up before she could take another step." Yeah. There was some weak writing but there was some good writing. (The first chapter is excellent; it's what drew me in). The two sisters, Riley and Alice, got on my nerves. Is it really that big a deal that Alice starts to date their long-time friend, Paul? Riley doesn't like him in that way, so...? Things got complicated; Alice's behavior made me feel like, 'why is she doing that?' Still, their motives and decisions were explained enough so that I could shrug off my doubt and go: okay, I guess I can believe that. And the nostalgic parts about leaving childhood behind felt authentic. I feel like this is too long a review for a dramatically romantisized pulpy story like this, YET it succeeded in manipulating my emotions enough so that I give this 3 (2.5) stars. Some good parts: "His body felt sore and nice as they stretched and rose and resumed their walk west, toward home. He reached for her hand. They had nowhere to be, nothing to do, no one waiting for them. The sand stretched out for miles in front of them, but the emptiness that felt like loneliness yesterday felt different today. It was the same beach, the same ocean, the same sun. The same shirt and pants. The same girl walking alongside him. And yet somehow different."