Ronnie is forced to spend the summer with her dad who she hasn’t spoken to in three since her parent’s divorce. At first she is furious and doesn’t want to spend any time with her dad or be there really at all. Even though she knows her Dad loves it she tells him she doesn’t even want to look at a piano as she quit playing after the divorce since her Dad was her teacher (and one at Julliard) and though she was great at it to the point that Julliard promised to take her when the time came, she stopped playing as she associated it with the Dad who abandoned her and her family so she thought. He even builds a wall to cover it for her. When leaving a volleyball game she goes to check out she runs into a guy who gets her soda spilled all over her. Angrily she stomps off to the pier where she runs into a girl who gets her drink spilled all over her again. Her name’s Blaze who has a group of friends whom she doesn’t like or feel safe around especially Marcus who to be frank gives her the creeps as she thinks he’s pretty much crazy. Blaze’s boyfriend Marcus and his friends do a show on the pier that involves fireballs. When conflict stirs between Marcus and his friends and the guy who spilled soda on her’s friend she intervenes and stops it saving a crying kid who she returns to his mother. Marcus’ group and Blaze part and Ronnie follows only to be busted on by an officer who escorts her home by what she assumes is request by her father. Outside their house she finds an endangered turtle’s nest which she sleeps outside to protect and calls the aquarium to come cage, properly protect and such. The next day a person from the aquarium comes, a volunteer actually, who just so happens to turn out to be the guy who spilled soda on her. His name is Will, he promises to get call the aquarium to come by and set up a cage, and takes in interest in Ronnie. At a party Marcus hits on Ronnie and makes it appear as if she did on him making Blaze so jealous that the next day she places merchandise from the music store inside her bag which Ronnie doesn’t realize until the security alarm goes off when she leaves the store after an infuriated Blaze does. Ronnie has a history of shoplifting which she admitted to in court; however, saying that the last time which she got sent to court for was a complete accident. They promised not to leave anything on her record so long as it never happened again, and so this is very much not good and the owner presses charges. Blaze won’t admit to putting the things in Ronnie’s bags either. Over the summer Ronnie and Will spend lots of time together falling in love as they walk the beach, fish, visit one another’s homes though Will’s Mother doesn’t approve of Ronnie, and watch the turtle nest which eventually gets a cage put on after she went and yelled at Will who swore he called them and that they are coming soon. Ronnie also spends time with her Dad as she has forgiven him and loves him very much, and so do he and her lil brother Jonah spending a lot of their time on a stain-glass window her Dad’s making for the church that burned down. The church belongs to a Pastor that’s a good friend of his, his first piano teacher. At Will’s sister’s wedding Marcus appears and when he and Will are fighting unpegs a tent that sends it tumbling down and ice sculptures crashing down getting a couple people injured and all in all ruining her wedding. Ronnie receiving the blame leaves in tears promising never to see Will again. The character’s relationships are neatly built and the different POVs the story is from throughout helps in development of these strong characters. There’s much suspense and mystery as well added to this romance novel. The various complications and conflict are intertwined well into the plot.
Will’s newlywed sister Megan convinces Ronnie to go the volleyball tournament to cheer her brother on. She assures her she knows all about the trouble Marcus causes and that she doesn’t blame Ronnie and that she didn’t ruin her wedding. Ronnie and Will make up and Ronnie tells Will to play his hardest. They make it to the finals, but then Will rushes out when he sees that Blaze is on fire from getting hit by a fireball during her and Marcus’ group’s show. Will and Ronnie save her as they take her to the hospital. Then the day the turtle’s hatch which is quite beautiful Ronnie’s Dad coughs up blood and they take him to the hospital only to learn that it was due to his stomach cancer which he’s long known he had, it was why he wanted to spend the summer with his children. It doesn’t have a cure and he only has months to live. Will gives Ronnie the IMTF (In my thoughts forever) bracelet him and his sister had each made when their little brother died. Will and Ronnie help Jonah in finishing the stain-glass window for her father. Will tells Ronnie the truth about why Marcus keeps taunting him about a bottle rocket for he had kept his friend’s secret about the fact that his bottle rocket had caused the fire that burned down the church as he felt he owed him for pulling him, his mother, and died from impact little brother from their car when it fell off the bridge and into the river that day so long ago. Ronnie leaves him not wanting to see him again. Blaze and her mother, who had kicked her out making Blaze have to deal with Marcus’ crap as it was her only place to stay though Ronnie offered for her to stay at her house, make-up, and Blaze no longer hangs with that group. She apologizes to Ronnie and tells the judges the truth about her putting CDs in the bag getting the charges dropped for Ronnie. Blaze who likes to be called her real name Galadriel now wasn’t pressed charges against as she gave them information about the arson crime with the church. She told them the truth that Marcus had lit fire to the church. It wasn’t Will’s friend’s bottle rocket after all, Marcus just wanted to make it appear so. Marcus was the real cause to the church being destroyed and Pastor Harris burned, and Marcus had burnt other establishments as well. He is sent to prison. Ronnie leaves Will messages with her apology though he only calls a couple of times. They are still over, he is at college and she still in Wilmington as she had chosen to stay with her father and help him while he was sick. He grows weaker and sicker each day. She reads the letters he had written her over those three years and cares for her father. She finishes the piece on the piano he had tried to compose. She reads his last letter to her. One day he goes to the hospital extremely ill, but she tells him to hold on and prays. She with the help of Galadriel tear down the wall he built to cover the piano. She with the help of the nurse release him from the hospital so that he will pass at home and not there. When home she plays their piece for him which he loves. He dies in his sleep in December and while he did so Ronnie played their piece on the piano for him. At the funeral which nearly no one attends as her father didn’t have many friends and both his parents passed away Will’s parents attend she realizes when leaving and tell her that Will is there. They talk and she apologizes, they make-up, but they part their separate ways. She off to Julliard and him back to the college his mother wanted him to attend. Months of grief she spends practicing on the piano before college starts up for her. Then one day while practicing Will calls and tells her he is in New York then she turns around as he is there right behind her. He tells her that he got transferred to the school he always wanted to go to Columbia in NY. They will be together now, in love and together.
A heart-wrenching story I was totally shocked about her father’s incurable cancer. I balled my eyes out and was saddened by his loss. I was happily surprised though about the charges being dropped and that Marcus was the true cause to the fire and justice was served as he was imprisoned. I was glad Galadriel got herself together, too. I was once more distressed that Will and Ronnie had to go their separate ways, but was totally surprised and overjoyed that he got to transfer to Columbia and they get their happily ever after.
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