Book Review: Last Wish of Summer by Phillip Overton

• Review: Last Wish of Summer
• Series: —
• Author: Phillip Overton
• No of Pages: 234
• Publication: January 18th 2012 by Strategic Book Publishing

Synopsis:

As the sun prepares to rise on the last day of summer, three friends find themselves totally unprepared for the events that are about to take place around them. For Tanya it is a chance to find peace three years after losing her parents in an auto accident. Deciding she simply can’t continue blaming God for her loss, she places a heartfelt poem in a bottle and throws it into the sea on the eve of her birthday, granting her birthday wish to whoever finds it.

 Early the next morning, her best friend Anton and his buddy Johnno find the bottle washed up on the shore and set about putting it to the test. When Johnno falls for the new waitress at the café where Tanya works, it stirs up feelings of jealousy in Tanya. Surely Johnno couldn’t be the man that God had in mind for her? Suddenly, strange wishes are beginning to come true, but is it all a coincidence? Or is God about to change people’s lives for the better?

 Welcome to Kings Beach, where the forecast for the last day of summer promises to be hot, hot, hot, with a definite change in the air.

Excerpt:

Johnno grabbed the bottle and turned it upside down. The letter caught in its neck. Then with a bit of prying using his car key, he was able to gently pull the letter from the bottle and let it fall onto the table. It lay there wrapped only with a small hair ribbon tied in the centre. Anton reached across to untie it as Johnno stood the now empty bottle back in the centre of the table.

“Well here goes.” Anton said as he uncurled the two pages and held them up for his friend to see.

The pages were cream in color, decorated with a border of flowers entwined along the edge of each page in black ink. At the top of the first page before the letter began, was a small turquoise colored love heart someone had painted, again in what appeared to be nail polish. It left a slightly oily stain around the edges which only added to the letter’s charm. Around them, the air filled with the scent of women’s perfume that wafted up from the page. With their curiosity now firmly aroused, Anton and Johnno huddled in closely and began to read.

To whoever finds this,

If I’ve washed up on your distant shore,

From a land far over the sea.

Please tread carefully on the morning sand,

And know you’ve set me free.

Wrapped in my mother’s ribbon,

This letter is but a token.

A plead to let her see the world,

From a young heart torn and broken.

A turquoise heart that was my Aunt,

Left footprints in the sand.

Her magic just a memory,

You now hold in your hand.

So I light a candle for my Dad,

But this gift I give to you.

He always told me to make a wish,

So today may all yours come true.

It’s time to live, to find true love.

Before the winter’s scorn.

Somewhere it’s always summer,

May my true love’s arms be warm.

P.S. Please return me to the sea at sunset.

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My thoughts:

This is a pretty spiritual book. I normally don’t tend to read fiction that is spiritual but I took a chance in the case of Last Wish of Summer and it paid off. Firstly although it does have some pretty heavy spiritual overtones, it’s mostly the main character, Tanya, that is religious and speaks to God. However it isn’t throughout the entire book. Tanya is just lost and looking for a way to not loose her faith, begging God to help her move along with her life after the sudden deaths of her parents.

This story is about loss and faith and all of the greatness about life that we tend to throw away. It’s actually a really funny story but at the same time with every wish I was cringing, hoping something bad didn’t happen!

Every character was interesting. They each had a certain quirk that I liked. Anton was definitely my favorite character and he was supposed to be the lost boy of the group. Although all of them were a little lost in their own ways. The friendships that the main characters shared was amazing even with Tanya trying to push people away, it was another one of her quirks that they had to overlook to be her friend.

I loved that all of the characters had something to learn about life. They each had to grow and Phillip Overton does an amazing job at showing us that growth through a variety of circumstances which are just plain crazy! It was like the entire story was a huge character arc! Even the minor characters learned something or had something to teach the others.

This was a really good, easy read. Definitely perfect for the end fo summer while lazing on a beach. Even the spiritual tones didn’t turn me off. They were a part of Tanya and it made the reasoning behind her actions understandable and believable.

Even if you’re not spiritual I’d say pick this book up when you want a fun, make you feel good at the end of it kind of book. And it got me thinking, what exactly would I wish for if I found my own magic bottle? What would you wish for?

Author Bio

Just as a movie adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel will appeal to people of all ages, so too will this story that follows the adventures of a group of twenty-something’s on the last day of summer. The book not only manages to cut through any pre-conceived ideas we hold on morals, body-image and social status, but delights in helping us discover what may already be right under our nose to begin with.

Phillip Overton’s writing has been compared to none other than Nicholas Sparks (http://www.readerviews.com/ReviewOvertonAWalkBeforeSunrise.html), and his latest novel Last Wish of Summer offers readers the perfect book to spend a summer’s day reading at the beach. In a book that reminds us to be careful what we wish for, it manages to weave the wholesome, virginal qualities of the main character Tanya with her band of misfit friends in their pursuit of being able to reason why a washed up message in a bottle is somehow granting their every wish come true. Often in a manner that is both coincidental and strangely bizarre.

Just as a movie adaptation of a Nicholas Sparks novel will appeal to people of all ages, so too will this story that follows the adventures of a group of twenty-something’s on the last day of summer. The book not only manages to cut through any pre-conceived ideas we hold on morals, body-image and social status, but delights in helping us discover what may already be right under our nose to begin with.

Website

http://sbpra.com/phillipoverton/

Twitter: @phillipoverton

Links to Buy (currently paperback only)

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of Reading Addiction Blog Tours and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by Reading Addiction Blog Tours, no payment was received by me in exchange for this review. There was no obligation to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, publisher, publicist, or readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commision’s 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides Concerning Use of Endorcements and Testimonials in Advertising*

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