YA Book Review:
Love & Olives
LOVE & OLIVES
BY JENNA EVANS WELCH
Young Adult Literature | Contemporary
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
November 10, 2020
512 pages
BUY IT ON AMAZON
FIND IT ON GOODREADS
Synopsis
Liv Varanakis doesn’t like to think about her father much, which makes sense—he fled to Greece when she was only eight, leaving her with just a few painful memories of their shared love for the lost city of Atlantis. So when teenage Liv suddenly receives a postcard from her father, who explains that National Geographic is supporting a documentary about his theories on Atlantis—and asks if she will fly out to Greece and help—Liv is less than thrilled.
When she arrives in gorgeous Santorini, things are just as awkward as she’d imagined. There are so many questions, so many emotions that flood to the surface after seeing her father for the first time in years. Liv doesn’t want to get sucked back into her father’s world. She also definitely doesn’t want Theo, her father’s charismatic so-called protégé, to witness her struggle.
Even so, she can’t help but be charmed by everything Santorini has to offer—the beautiful sunsets, the turquoise water, the sun-drenched villages, and the delicious cuisine. But not everything on the Greek island is as perfect as it seems. Because as Liv slowly begins to discover, her father may not have invited her to Greece for Atlantis, but for something much more important.
Do you know what I love the most about this place? You are never quite alone when you are in a bookstore. So many voices are jammed into one place, it is impossible to feel alone.”
review
Love & Olives is a journey — a transportive and unexpectedly emotional story about trying to find something that was once thought to be lost.
Jenna Evans Welch is so good at what she does! Her ability to completely transport a reader to the setting of her books and evoke every emotion is top-tier. The feeling of complete immersiveness when reading her stories is incomparable!
Love & Olives is very layered. On the surface is a story about a teenager who gets a second chance at a relationship with the father that abandoned her while going on the adventure of a lifetime. Beneath that is a coming-of-age story with a lot of emotional depth as Olivia tries to keep moving forward with a future of her own while also trying to piece together all of the brokenness from her past. There’s also a charming boy in the mix! My emotions were basically in a blender for all 500+ pages!
Speaking of, I think the length of the book was its only downfall. 500 pages for a YA contemporary seems like a lot. Personally, I feel that if a reader isn’t super interested in reading and learning about Atlantis, they’re going to struggle with this one. While I really enjoyed that element, those parts of the story seemed overwhelming at times, in the sense that they take up a large amount of the real estate in this book.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Love & Olives! Check this one out if you’re looking for those summer vibes with a magical setting, a fun adventure, a sweet romance, and lots of feels!
*Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book. This did not affect my opinion or the content of my review.
pin it
wildandwonderfulreads.com contains some affiliate links. If you buy something using the retail links on this site, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. For more information, please read more on our Disclosure Policy page.
Leave a Reply