‘Nantucket Blue’ is a young romance suited for summer / Rita Watson
To fall in love again, “Nantucket Blue” might lead the way
For the young at heart who still believe in love — no matter what your age — here is a book by a California author from Rhode Island who attended the Lincoln School in Providence.
“Nantucket Blue” by Leila Howland (Disney-Hyperion) is a perfect summer read. Ironically I was reading the book when news of the fairy-tale wedding between George Lucas, “Star Wars” creator, and Mellody Hobson, CBS financial analyst, made headlines. At 44, it was her first marriage. Love is in the air.
What I most enjoy about reading young adult romance is the simple reminder of the heart flutters that we all experienced as teenagers.
“ ‘Nantucket Blue’ is a novel about first love, in all of its messiness and euphoria,” Howland said, “but it’s also about the depths and vicissitudes of female friendship, the importance of family, and the everlasting beauty of the New England landscape.”
Howland added, “My book is about finding love not only in an unexpected place, but also with an unexpected person. Cricket Thompson falls for the very last person she should be with. She knows this, but she can’t help herself. She’s young, only 17, but who among us doesn’t see ourselves as our rebellious, idealistic teenage self when we fall in love?”
This is a first novel for Howland, who teaches English as a second language in Los Angeles. She has been a member of the award-winning Flea Theater in New York City and an extra on “The Young and the Restless.”
“Feelings are feelings, no matter what our age may be,” Howland said. “Summer is the best time to shed one’s armor and think outside of the box. For students, September through June is predictable and full of rules and regulations. But July and August have always been ours for the taking.”
She chose to focus on the youthful idealism of young love for her fiction debut.
“When I was thinking about writing a young adult novel, I knew it would be a realistic, contemporary book, most likely with a heavy dose of romance,” she said. “I thought back to the moment when I discovered that falling in love was not about achieving some sort of social security, but about an actual feeling — the best feeling.”
She added: “It happened when I was 17 years old. Although I was not on Nantucket when I first fell in love, for me the island is a physical reflection of first love — a sweet, idyllic isle of windswept moors and pristine beaches. Nantucket is a gorgeous, arresting place to transform and become oneself.”
Curl up with summer reading. Dream of love. Then heat up your relationship with the same breathless passion you once felt during your first romance.
Rita Watson (ritawatson.com) is an All About You relationship columnist and an incurable romantic.
Providence JournalByline Rita WatsonSunday, August 04, 2013Page: H3Section: All About You