Author:  Phyllis Reynolds Naylor          
Publisher: Atheneum Books
Genre:  Young Adult
Source: Purchased

Goodreads:  In her last adventure before starting college, Alice takes to the open sea for the summer and nothing can stop the tides of change.

Everything Alice has ever known is about to change from where she sleeps at night to how close her closest friends will be. So Alice is meeting that seasick feeling head-on by setting sail as staff on a Chesapeake Bay cruise ship. And like any last great adventure before starting college, Alice knows she will need sunblock, an open mind, and oh yeah, all her best girlfriends. It is the perfect summer job. Perfect, that is, when things are going perfectly. But when they are not, Alice has to figure out how to weather unexpected storms of all sorts. Which could be perfect after all;perfect training for her next big adventure college.

Ope’s Opinion:   It was great to see a young lady work before she leaves for college.  Alice was very independent.  

I have lived near the ports that the ship stopped at, so it was interesting to read about them.

I did feel like nothing really happened in this book.  Alice and Patrick’s relationship did not move forward – they did not break up.  Actually, they had little contact with each other.  The other girls in the group did not change their relationships much at all.

I will read the last one to see what happens when they all leave for college.

Rating:  Three Chairs – I like the book enough to suggest it to a friend or two.