Sienna and Austin find something special on Tybee Island the summer before their first year at college, beyond the sweetness of a summer fling.

Laura Johnston's first novel is a very much better than average young adult romance. Although she writes from a Christian perspective, it avoids any hint of preachiness or heavy handed morality lessons guised in fiction. Instead she provides a story with great depth with echoes I expect to last quite a while for me.

The one issue I had is when Sienna did something in anger that would have logically been damaging to her younger brother, throwing out something that was a reminder to him of their dead father. Although I fully expected the consequences of that act to be woven into the story, it never arose, leaving me with a slightly dissatisfied feeling despite the otherwise moving conclusion.

Full confession here. REWIND TO YOU was a very difficult read for me. I lost my father not long ago and the death of Sienna's father is central to the plot, bringing back a large helping of sadness. Despite this the strength of the story kept me going, and in the end, perhaps I found some healing as a result.

REWIND TO YOU is at heart a summer-sweet romance but the issues it confronts of forgiveness, loss and the value of following one's heart are timeless, making this a terrific choice for anyone's bookshelf, not only the young adults toward whom it is targeted. Laura Johnston's next book, Between Now and Never is due out in March 2015.