Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley

Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley
Publication Date: January 1, 2008
Versions: paperback, kindle

Summary (from goodreads):
The worst thing about having it all is having to deal with it all-th good, the bad, and the just plain weird. Like seeing more of my dad when he's on the cover of Business Week than I do in person. Like the surgeon whose schedule was too jammed with professional ballplayers to deal with my busted up knee...until he heard who my parents were and miraculously his calendar was wide open. Like the pseudo boyfriend who was more in love with my last name than with me.


Everybody thinks Syrah is the golden girl. After all, her father is Ethan Cheng, billionaire, and she has everything any kid could possibly desire, right down to a waterfront mansion, jet plane, and custom-designed snowboards. But most of what glitters in her life is fool's gold. Her half-siblings hate her, her best friend Adrian's girlfriend is ruining their friendship, and her own so-called boyfriend is after her for her father's name. Where her broken heart results in a snowboarding accident that exiles her from the mountains-the one place where she feels free and accepted for who she is, not what she has-Syrah must rehab both her busted-up knee, and her broken heart, and learn that she's worth her weight in real gold.

I really enjoyed this book. It makes you realize what you want in life and how sometimes you have to go against your parents wishes to make it happen. Syrah and Age are really good friends who both have passion for snowboarding. Syrah has always wanted to be a professional snowboarder but when she gets into a snowboarding accident-her parents cut her off and are no longer supportive of her love. When Age and Syrah start growing apart-Syrah will do anything to gain back her friendship even if it means breaking up with her boyfriend who she believes is dating her because of her parents and her money.

I've previously read Justina Chen Headley's other novel, North of Beautiful. Justina has really beautiful writing that she weaves into an interesting and life learning novel. I liked how Syrah cares about other people so much and wants to do better things in life. Age was also a really great character. And I love the whole premise of snowboarding-which usually doesn't take a main role in young adult novels.

Will I reread it?
I will probably pick this one up again. I really enjoyed it and recommend it to anyone who has read and liked Justina's previous novel, North of Beautiful.