[Review] Changes in Latitudes - Jen Malone

Summary: After concluding that her mother is to blame for her parents’ recent divorce, Cassandra McClure is hoping to stay as far away from her as possible. With a summer of freedom right around the corner, it shouldn’t be too hard. But when a forty-foot sailboat appears in her driveway, and her mom announces that Cassie and her brother Drew will be accompanying her on a four-month sailing trip down to Mexico, Cassie’s plans for the summer go, quite literally, overboard.

Once the three set sail, tensions quickly rise. So meeting Jonah—a gorgeous, whip-smart deckhand—is an unexpected bright spot on an otherwise dim horizon. Though she tries to keep him at a distance—considering the upheaval of her home life—their chemistry is impossible to ignore, and Cassie soon finds herself questioning everything: Should she go for it with Jonah? Can she forgive her mom? Will home ever feel the same? With life’s unpredictable tides working against her, Cassie must decide whether to swim against them, or dive right in. (Pub Date: Jul 25, 2017)


Review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. I also want to thank the publisher for giving me this opportunity.

This was a well written and well researched book. I could really feel like I was traveling on the Sunny, along with Cassie, and got to learn so much. It's hard to find YA's like that. However, I think it lacked some magic. But first things first.

Cassie still hasn't accepted her parents' divorce, especially when it was all her mother's fault and now her father needs to work in Hong Kong. Now she needs to follow another of her mother's crazy ideas and sail down to Mexico all summer long, stuck in the boat with her mother and her younger brother. On the bright side, she meets Jonah in the caravan.

The characters were great. Even though Cassie's rebellion got on my nerves for most of the story, I think that's exactly how I'd behave if all that happened to me. Her brother Drew was such a lovely kid I wish there had been more of him in the story. And Cassie's mother was as complex as though she were my own mother. Jonah was the I've-seen-the-same-in-every-book character but it wasn't a big problem.

I actually can't point out a problem alone. It's more about emotions. The book could have taken my breath away, could have made my heart beat faster, could have made me laugh harder. In all of those aspects, it was lacking. It was so interested how it made me travel along with all the sailing part but the plot itself fell flat.

The ending isn't bad. But again, it wasn't great. Also, it ended a little sudden. I understood how everyone got but I feel I needed a less abrupt parting from the characters I grew to love. I think the author has potential but this book could have used more spice.

Rating: 3 out of 5.