May 7, 2024 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
Izzy loves living in Pearl Beach, and working at the Surf Sisters shop with her best friends, Nicole and Sylvie. When geeky Ben comes in to the shop, asking them to hang a poster for his employer, Parks and Rec, she is intrigued, even if he is wearing coaching shorts and white socks pulled all the way up. He's not from around the area, but is visiting for the summer from Madison, Wisconsin while his parents are embroiled in a bitter divorce. The two quickly feel a connection and start enjoying summer together; getting pizza at Luigi's car wash, taking surfing lessons, and hanging out at the beach. Ben even impressed Izzy's parents, who are both high school teachers, and Ben and Izzy's father bond over their shared love of cross country running, and even mention training together for an upcoming race. Izzy gives Ben a "beach makeover" so he doesn't look so ridiculous, and have long talks. Ben has just broken up with Beth, and Izzy feels that he can't really be interested in her, but he is. He tells her that she is unique, and wants to hear what SHE has to say. This leads to sweet kisses and a lot of time spent in each other's company. Ben even pushes Izzy out of her comfort zone a little and encourages her to enter a local surfing contest that determines the King of the Beach. Izzy is leery of her own skills, but Ben tries to show her how good she can be. There are a few rocky moments, but the two go to fourth of July celebrations together, and enjoy their fledgling romance. Ben has to go back home to deal with his parents right before the contest, but has the Surf Sisters shop design a custom surfboard for Izzy... inspired by her eyes. When he comes back, things are tense because he will leave forever all too soon. He manages to further cement himself in Izzy's good graces by saving the Surf Sisters shop from being bought out, and in the end has the best news: his mother didn't send him to Pearl Beach to escape the acrimonious fighting going on with his father, but because she wants to relocate to Pearl Beach and bring Ben with her. The two can look forward to a senior year filled with car wash pizza and sweet kisses along the sandy shore.
Dalton's work is classic young adult romance at its best, with ordinary teens working, hanging out, and falling in love in fun locations, stressed only by questions about how long the romance can last before they are cruelly parted by fate. This makes books like Pulled Under perfect for today's middle grade readers, but may leave today's angst-ridden teens wanting more complications and more mature language and situations.
I loved that both Izzy and Ben had jobs, and had to work seeing each other in around those obligations. It was also fantastic to see Izzy's parents in the picture, telling silly jokes and having embarrassing questions about American History with her new boyfriend. I would think that teenagers probably see more of each other's families, even today, than most books show.
There are some things in this that seemed dated; one of Izzy's jobs at Surf Sisters is to help women pick out bathing suits that make them look comfortable, and the dialogue around this aspect of body image has changed very drastically since 2014. It's a short scene, and easily glossed over, but I would be curious to see what readers who were born when this was originally published would think about this.
This would have been a favorite of mine when I was in high school. To me, aspirational romances go smoothly and are not beset by trauma and tragedy. Hand this to romance readers who want a great beach read that's not too different from the work of Kasie West or Jennifer L. Smith, and is less angsty than Blecher's Listen to This, Miller's Not if You Break Up with Me First, or Jones' Courtesy of Cupid.
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