Porch Swing Girl {book review}

Have you ever read a book and felt like it needed to be a movie?  Yeah, that's what happened to me with this book.

Now, most of you have probably already heard wonderful things about this book (if you haven't, where have you been?), and I'm here to tell you that they are all completely justified.  Taylor Bennett has written a wonderful story of grief, God's redemption, and summer beach days.  And because she is one of the sweetest people ever and I'm part of her street team now, she sent me a copy to review for you today! (And yes, I do already have a copy of "Sand Castle Dreams", and yes, I'm going to be reading it very very soon)

Porch Swing Girl



Author: Taylor Bennett
Genre: Christian fiction
Content: None
Main Character: Olive Galloway
Placement in Series: 1 of 3

Synopsis:
What if friendship cost you everything?
Stranded in Hawaii after the death of her mother, sixteen-year-old Olive Galloway is desperate to escape. She has to get back to Boston before her dad loses all common sense and sells the family house. But plane tickets cost money—something Olive gravely lacks.
With the help of Brander, the fussy youth group worship leader, and Jazz, a mysterious girl with a passion for all things Hawaiian, Olive lands a summer job at the Shave Ice Shack and launches a scheme to buy a plane ticket home before the end of the summer.
But when Jazz reveals a painful secret, Olive’s plans are challenged. Jazz needs money. A lot of it. Olive and Brander are determined to help their friend but, when their fundraising efforts are thwarted, Olive is caught in the middle. To help Jazz means giving up her ticket home. And time is running out.

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What I Thought:

This was exactly what I wanted it to be, oh my goodness.  The setting, the characters, the faith content, it was just perfect. 
Things I loved:
- Brander (*heart eyes*)
- Jazz (I want to be her friend please)
- Macie (she's the cutest)
- Olive (eventually. she had to grow on me)
- The setting (even though I haven't been to Hawaii, I felt like I was there!)
- The Shave Ice Shack (can I go there please?)
 - The way Taylor handled grief.  I have to talk about this.  As someone who has lost a parent, I really appreciated it.  Olive handled it differently than her dad, who handled it differently than Macie, who handled it different than Gramma.  And that was perfection.  How Olive doubted God and her Gramma clung closer to Him.  It was amazing, and I applaud Taylor for writing it.
- The ship... I loooooved it. (and I just loved how pure and adorable it is and I can't wait to see where it goes in the next books)
- I want to visit the church, it seems so awesome.
- It was just so nostalgic feeling and wonderful.

Overall Rating: 5 shave ices out of 5

((I made an edit ooooh)

((also I made a Spotify playlist ooooooh))



If you're looking for a summer-y read that's gonna give you all the feels and has awesome faith content, I can't recommend this book highly enough.

~ Abby