What do you think?
Rate this book
Laguna Cove
In Alyson Noël's Laguna Cove, moving to sunny Southern Cal feels like punishment to 17-year-old Anne. The hippie-ish school is different from her old one on the East Coast, and the social scene is all about hanging out at the beach and surfing. And then there's beautiful, competitive queen of the social scene who takes an instant disliking to Anne. So when Chris--one of Ellie's oldest friends and, oh yeah, the most gorgeous guy in school--reaches out to Anne and offers to teach her how to surf, sparks fly...in more ways than one ...
216 pages, Paperback
First published July 25, 2006
About the author
Alyson Noel
58 books15.7k followers*Note to readers: I'm slowly adding to the long list of books I've read, books I'm reading, and books I want to read. I only add books I loved, hence all my ratings are 5 stars.
Alyson Noël is the #1 NYT best-selling author of many award-winning and critically acclaimed novels for readers of all ages.
With 9 NYT bestsellers and millions of copies in print, her books have been translated into 36 languages, and have topped the NYT, USA Today, LA Times, Publisher’s Weekly, Wall Street Journal, NCIBA, and Walmart Bestsellers lists, as well as several international bestsellers lists.
She is best known for THE IMMORTALS series, THE RILEY BLOOM series, and SAVING ZOË, which was adapted into a movie now available on Amazon.
Upcoming works include:
RULING DESTINY- book 2, in the STEALING INFINITY series
STEALING INFINITY- Optioned for TV by Valhalla Entertainment - available now!
FIELD GUIDE TO THE SUPERNATURAL UNIVERSE - Optioned for TV by producers Charles Matthau and Michael Zoumas with Andrew Orenstein and Matt Hastings attached as show runners
Born and raised in Orange County, California, she’s lived in both Mykonos and Manhattan and is now settled in Southern California. Learn more at www.alysonnoel.com.
Instagram:
http://instagram.com/alyson_noel
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AlysonNoel/
Facebook:
Official me: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alyson...
Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/alysonnoel/
Alyson Noël is the #1 NYT best-selling author of many award-winning and critically acclaimed novels for readers of all ages.
With 9 NYT bestsellers and millions of copies in print, her books have been translated into 36 languages, and have topped the NYT, USA Today, LA Times, Publisher’s Weekly, Wall Street Journal, NCIBA, and Walmart Bestsellers lists, as well as several international bestsellers lists.
She is best known for THE IMMORTALS series, THE RILEY BLOOM series, and SAVING ZOË, which was adapted into a movie now available on Amazon.
Upcoming works include:
RULING DESTINY- book 2, in the STEALING INFINITY series
STEALING INFINITY- Optioned for TV by Valhalla Entertainment - available now!
FIELD GUIDE TO THE SUPERNATURAL UNIVERSE - Optioned for TV by producers Charles Matthau and Michael Zoumas with Andrew Orenstein and Matt Hastings attached as show runners
Born and raised in Orange County, California, she’s lived in both Mykonos and Manhattan and is now settled in Southern California. Learn more at www.alysonnoel.com.
Instagram:
http://instagram.com/alyson_noel
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/AlysonNoel/
Facebook:
Official me: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Alyson...
Pinterest:
http://www.pinterest.com/alysonnoel/
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
April 16, 2016
This book is a light summer read . I got attached to the characters. However i wasn't really convinced with the ending it's missing a lot . Nothing was resolved . It would be way much better if there's a sequel so we can know what happens to the characters
June 10, 2023
The storyline was very mild and the ending was missing a lot, but let's be honest; I still liked it because it was about girls who surf in California.
January 12, 2009
This was typical modern teenage fare. Rich girl moves from East Coast to Laguna Beach, becomes girl surfer, gets cute boyfriend.... One wonders if modern teenagers relate to this sort of thing. One thing about '80's teen novels- they were mostly about average girls..the ones today are always about the fabulously wealthy doing things and going places most people never will. I usually love anything about surfing, but this one was nothing special.
January 4, 2014
This book was pretty boring and just plain stupid. The characters were underdeveloped and shallow--no real substance to the story whatsoever. The ending wasn't even an ending, just the end of chapter with nothing else after. The story was not completed at all. All the loose ends weren't tied up, the story just abruptly stopped. There's so much that could have been added to make it a more enriched novel. This book was a HUGE disappointment. Do not read this book unless you want to be sorely dissatisfied.
March 31, 2018
This was an okay read. I was expecting more from it, but it's still a good read.
April 8, 2018
It was a very good spring read, it was light and funny and a really quick read to read in the park with the sun !
June 18, 2021
It was cute - ish. Overall it felt a bit underdeveloped and incomplete. Like there was just something missing. Or there were too many characters to really focus on a plot. I’m not really sure what was lacking, but there was something.
Like did Anne ever fix things with her mom? What place did she come in? Did she talk to Chris? Then Lola and the guy she liked had no resolution, and the same for the rest - Ben, Jake, Jade, they all just kind of were there and had “problems” but that was it.
Like did Anne ever fix things with her mom? What place did she come in? Did she talk to Chris? Then Lola and the guy she liked had no resolution, and the same for the rest - Ben, Jake, Jade, they all just kind of were there and had “problems” but that was it.
November 24, 2012
Reviewed by Taylor Rector for TeensReadToo.com
Anne feels like she is being punished by her parents by being forced to move in with her dad. Her mom and dad are in the process of a divorce because Anne's mom has been cheating and is in love with her boyfriend. Anne is being pulled from the life that she loves; her amazing boyfriend, Justin, all of her friends, and her beloved diving team, which she was just crowned the captain of.
Laguna Cove, where Anne's dad lives, is a rich neighborhood where the houses share a private beach. Her dad is never home because he is a big movie producer and she's in Laguna Cove for about a week before her dad even decides to come home.
She is picked up at the airport by Jake, her dad's errand runner. He leaves her at the house to go surfing, which she quickly learns is the sport of choice in LC. Before Jake leaves, however, he introduces Anne to Chris, his best friend.
Her first day of school is rough because she is way over-dressed and she doesn't know anyone. Except Chris.
When he sees her before school, Chris calls her over to his group of friends, and introduces her to all of them. Everyone seems really nice, except for Ellie.
Jade and Lola become her friends, and Chris her boyfriend, who even teaches her to surf. No matter how nice everyone is to Anne, though, Ellie is still really mean to her. And Anne has no idea why.
Can Anne and Ellie ever be friends? And can Anne learn to surf well enough to compete in the Surf Fest competition?
LAGUNA COVE is a super-easy, fast, fun read. All you need to enjoy summer is this book, a pool, and a cold drink!
Anne feels like she is being punished by her parents by being forced to move in with her dad. Her mom and dad are in the process of a divorce because Anne's mom has been cheating and is in love with her boyfriend. Anne is being pulled from the life that she loves; her amazing boyfriend, Justin, all of her friends, and her beloved diving team, which she was just crowned the captain of.
Laguna Cove, where Anne's dad lives, is a rich neighborhood where the houses share a private beach. Her dad is never home because he is a big movie producer and she's in Laguna Cove for about a week before her dad even decides to come home.
She is picked up at the airport by Jake, her dad's errand runner. He leaves her at the house to go surfing, which she quickly learns is the sport of choice in LC. Before Jake leaves, however, he introduces Anne to Chris, his best friend.
Her first day of school is rough because she is way over-dressed and she doesn't know anyone. Except Chris.
When he sees her before school, Chris calls her over to his group of friends, and introduces her to all of them. Everyone seems really nice, except for Ellie.
Jade and Lola become her friends, and Chris her boyfriend, who even teaches her to surf. No matter how nice everyone is to Anne, though, Ellie is still really mean to her. And Anne has no idea why.
Can Anne and Ellie ever be friends? And can Anne learn to surf well enough to compete in the Surf Fest competition?
LAGUNA COVE is a super-easy, fast, fun read. All you need to enjoy summer is this book, a pool, and a cold drink!
July 19, 2012
I bought Forever Summer which this book, Laguna Cover, and Cruel Summer were included in it. There have been many negative reviews due to the ending of this book however once finishing it I didn't think it was as bad as I thought it would of been.
Anne is the new girl in town. She is continuously worrying about fitting in with everyone at school but she soon finds out there is nothing to worry about. Anne, I found, was a strong and confident character. She wasn't afraid to take risks that may end up leaving her in humiliation. I felt that many of the other characters lacked depth and when I first began reading this book I was immediately suprised by the different side-stories that were included in this book. This book seemed rushed with open gaps. Jake, who was written as a minority character, I felt, should of been included much more because I felt that he was an interesting character who just wasn't been looked into.
To conclude, the ending of the book was...open ended. It is for the readers interpretation is one was you could put it. Yes, it did leave many linguring questions however I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would. Yes, there are some that I wish were answered however I did like the open ended-ness and I thought that it worked well for this book.
However, I don't really think it's much of a romance book, I felt it was more about friendship, how you look at someone who is new in town and everything that comes with it.
Anne is the new girl in town. She is continuously worrying about fitting in with everyone at school but she soon finds out there is nothing to worry about. Anne, I found, was a strong and confident character. She wasn't afraid to take risks that may end up leaving her in humiliation. I felt that many of the other characters lacked depth and when I first began reading this book I was immediately suprised by the different side-stories that were included in this book. This book seemed rushed with open gaps. Jake, who was written as a minority character, I felt, should of been included much more because I felt that he was an interesting character who just wasn't been looked into.
To conclude, the ending of the book was...open ended. It is for the readers interpretation is one was you could put it. Yes, it did leave many linguring questions however I didn't mind it as much as I thought I would. Yes, there are some that I wish were answered however I did like the open ended-ness and I thought that it worked well for this book.
However, I don't really think it's much of a romance book, I felt it was more about friendship, how you look at someone who is new in town and everything that comes with it.
July 6, 2015
I read this book pretty slowly. June was a busy month and I didn't feel like reading. I still enjoyed this book a lot.
It had a lot of the modern teenage clichés, but if you are able to get past those it is a laid back summer book.
Anne moves to Laguna cove to live with her dad. This place is totally different than New York. Anne doesn't feel like she fits into until she meets Lola, who introduces her to Jade, Ellie, and Chris. Ellie has liked Chris for years, but when she notices that Chris likes Anne she is instantly jealous. The story evolves from there. Anne grows a lot over the course of this book. Although Ellie could be really mean, I really liked her character. Jade and Lola were also great additions to this book.
I liked that each character had a different story, but they were all interconnected as friends. As I said earlier this book is pretty laid back. It isn't fast paced, but I enjoy this pace of books sometimes. The ending came fast and I still had a lot of questions. I wish there was a sequel with these same characters.
It had a lot of the modern teenage clichés, but if you are able to get past those it is a laid back summer book.
Anne moves to Laguna cove to live with her dad. This place is totally different than New York. Anne doesn't feel like she fits into until she meets Lola, who introduces her to Jade, Ellie, and Chris. Ellie has liked Chris for years, but when she notices that Chris likes Anne she is instantly jealous. The story evolves from there. Anne grows a lot over the course of this book. Although Ellie could be really mean, I really liked her character. Jade and Lola were also great additions to this book.
I liked that each character had a different story, but they were all interconnected as friends. As I said earlier this book is pretty laid back. It isn't fast paced, but I enjoy this pace of books sometimes. The ending came fast and I still had a lot of questions. I wish there was a sequel with these same characters.
September 26, 2019
Laguna Cove is a nice easy, fun read about a typical teenager.
Anne’s parents who are in the midst of a divorce, decide that she should live with her dad, she thinks that they are punishing her as she wants to stay with her friends and her amazing boyfriend, she wants to stay on her diving team as she just became captain.
Anne moves to a rich neighbourhood into a house with a private beach which she basically has all to herself as her dad is never home due to his job but he has left his assistant Jake to babysit her although he would rather be out surfing.
Her first day at her new school doesn’t go as she planned as she doesn’t know anyone other than Chris who is Jakes friend and she is over-dressed. Chris introduces her to his friends Lola, Jade and Ellie.
Jade and Lola become friends with Anne and Chris becomes her boyfriend but for some reason Ellie is mean to her and Anne doesn’t realise that it’s because Ellie has liked Chris for years and she is jealous when she notices that he like Anne.
Anne’s parents who are in the midst of a divorce, decide that she should live with her dad, she thinks that they are punishing her as she wants to stay with her friends and her amazing boyfriend, she wants to stay on her diving team as she just became captain.
Anne moves to a rich neighbourhood into a house with a private beach which she basically has all to herself as her dad is never home due to his job but he has left his assistant Jake to babysit her although he would rather be out surfing.
Her first day at her new school doesn’t go as she planned as she doesn’t know anyone other than Chris who is Jakes friend and she is over-dressed. Chris introduces her to his friends Lola, Jade and Ellie.
Jade and Lola become friends with Anne and Chris becomes her boyfriend but for some reason Ellie is mean to her and Anne doesn’t realise that it’s because Ellie has liked Chris for years and she is jealous when she notices that he like Anne.
March 8, 2013
I honestly didn't like this book at all. There were only one or two good parts and that was it. It was a quick read, but I had to push myself to keep reading it. I felt like there were so many things in the book by the end that I was hoping that there would have been a sequel that would have tied up the loose ends. Like what happened with Chris and Anne or Diego and Lola and everything with Anne and her mom. I felt like this was a reoccurring theme throughout the book. Like with Justin and Anne. The author never clearly stated that they had broken up, but it was obvious that they had. And I honestly couldn't relate to any of the characters that much. They didn't seem real to me. I was very disappointed in this book and definitely would not recommend it to anyone that I know.
July 11, 2013
Though this is a fun light summer read, I thought the story was a bit hurried and I wasn't a particularly huge fan of the ending. At first I was a little doubtful that the multiple points of view would work, but then I thought they worked quite nicely together. In reaching the end I realized that so many iteresting aspects to the characters were introduced, but they were never really developed. So to me the entire novel seemed almost too light, and the characters a bit too 2-D. But I found there was potential to this story. It almost felt as though the author had been in a rush to finish the novel and never really got to developing the rest of the story (background, reltionships, etc.). But if you're looking for a light summer beach read, you'll enjoy this.
July 14, 2014
I TRIED. I really did.
I couldn't finish it.
It was unbearable. Clichéd plot - which I wouldn't have minded, I was only looking for mindless entertainment, after all - but it was badly written, too.
Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy a little bit of cheesy contemporary as much as the next person but this was just so BORING and uneventful that I couldn't get through it. I did not even remotely relate to any of the characters and kept confusing them all with each other because nothing about them stood out to me
Just no. Don't do it.
I never liked Alyson Noel's writing. Not when I read Evermore four years ago, and not now.
I couldn't finish it.
It was unbearable. Clichéd plot - which I wouldn't have minded, I was only looking for mindless entertainment, after all - but it was badly written, too.
Anyone who knows me knows I enjoy a little bit of cheesy contemporary as much as the next person but this was just so BORING and uneventful that I couldn't get through it. I did not even remotely relate to any of the characters and kept confusing them all with each other because nothing about them stood out to me
Just no. Don't do it.
I never liked Alyson Noel's writing. Not when I read Evermore four years ago, and not now.
January 3, 2024
3.5 ⭐
ALTHOUUUT i think it is gonna be one of the books that are stuck in my mind for a while , i think this book has that effect on me and the great asset in it is that i came to understand the people from the book and actually feel like I'm crazy for believing that they actually exist
So the charecters ? 2000/10 ... Yep yep yep ! I love each and everyone of them ! I wouldn't be surprised if i changed the rating to a four !
Recommend it for a light fun summer surfer vibe books AND real people very well described!
ALTHOUUUT i think it is gonna be one of the books that are stuck in my mind for a while , i think this book has that effect on me and the great asset in it is that i came to understand the people from the book and actually feel like I'm crazy for believing that they actually exist
So the charecters ? 2000/10 ... Yep yep yep ! I love each and everyone of them ! I wouldn't be surprised if i changed the rating to a four !
Recommend it for a light fun summer surfer vibe books AND real people very well described!
September 25, 2016
This book is breathtaking, because there are intence love moments that I even forget to breathe. It made me feel like is I was living it,it felt so real. I learned that when you are jealous because someone stole your boyfriend don't get mad at the person that he loves because it is not her fault. And I would recommend this book to those who love romance books about teenagers,because it is about young love.
September 11, 2015
I loved the whole California vibe as its one of my favourite places in the world, and I really loved the whole surf scene. Other than that I struggled to love other aspects of Laguna Cove. I felt there were too many characters to get a real grasp on their personalities and the story I felt didn't have too much structure in terms of passing or time scale.
June 17, 2014
If you're looking for a light summer read, this is not it. I just finished He's With Me by Tamara Summers and even though it was juvenile, it was a cute read. This book was awful, and it doesn't even have a real ending. I wanted to stop reading it about 20 pages in, but I decided to give it a chance. I never regret reading anything, but this was really not worth my time.
February 16, 2011
I read about half this book before I finally just couldn't do it any longer. Everything about it was cliche and it just started to get really annoying how everything was so perfect for everyone all the time. So I gave up. I don't suggest it to anyone! It was beyond boring.
September 3, 2008
this book was a good light summer read! that was great when you just wanted to read when you sitting by the pool!!!
May 1, 2011
Not at all what I expected. Too many characters and not enough story devoted to them. Too much left hanging. Not all that impressed.
April 16, 2021
Is this even a story?
May 22, 2019
When Anne moves to Laguna Beach, California from Connecticut, her entire life changes. Anne doesn’t quite know how to fit into the laid-back California surfer culture. She’s never surfed before, and this sets her apart even more from the other people at school. She finally is able to meet some friends at a Hollywood screening and also decides to give surfing a try. A gorgeous guy named Chris offers to teach her the basics. Most of the others accept her into their group, but one girl named Ellie (who happens to be Chris’s girlfriend) just will not give Anne a break. To make matters worse, Anne seems to be a natural at surfing and is turning Chris’s head in more ways than one. How can she break through Ellie’s icy demeanor?
Laguna Cove is a fun teen novel with an excellent cast of characters. The short chapters make the book flow quickly and smoothly. Readers will definitely be able to relate to Anne and everything she goes through trying to fit in to her new surroundings. The information about surfing is interesting, and you will learn a thing or two about how difficult competitive surfing is and what it takes in terms of practice and commitment. Alyson Noel has a unique style and way to communicate with readers.
Some of the romance elements are a bit unbelievable and things tie up too neatly in the end. Those are fairly minor annoyances, though, and readers who enjoy a good character-driven story will warm to Laguna Cove.
Laguna Cove is a fun teen novel with an excellent cast of characters. The short chapters make the book flow quickly and smoothly. Readers will definitely be able to relate to Anne and everything she goes through trying to fit in to her new surroundings. The information about surfing is interesting, and you will learn a thing or two about how difficult competitive surfing is and what it takes in terms of practice and commitment. Alyson Noel has a unique style and way to communicate with readers.
Some of the romance elements are a bit unbelievable and things tie up too neatly in the end. Those are fairly minor annoyances, though, and readers who enjoy a good character-driven story will warm to Laguna Cove.
June 7, 2017
It has a good introduction of the characters, definitely cliche ending but still its a good book. However, it could be more detailed. It seems like Alyson was trying to squeeze the whole ending in the last 20 pages.
1. There is no closure about Anna's family.
2. There is no the "talk" between Anna and Chris about what happened the day before.
3. Jake was kind of left hanging, he came out strong in the beginning of the book but slowly fade away, resurface near the ending but got swept away again.
4. There is no ending about Jade. The character came out so strong when her father were talking about moving away, wanted to give some emotions to readers but again gone without definite closure. And how about her and Ben?
5. Dean came out too late in the book. Definite surprise tho.
1. There is no closure about Anna's family.
2. There is no the "talk" between Anna and Chris about what happened the day before.
3. Jake was kind of left hanging, he came out strong in the beginning of the book but slowly fade away, resurface near the ending but got swept away again.
4. There is no ending about Jade. The character came out so strong when her father were talking about moving away, wanted to give some emotions to readers but again gone without definite closure. And how about her and Ben?
5. Dean came out too late in the book. Definite surprise tho.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 20, 2017
This was a light summer read but I was pretty disappointed with the ending. As many reviewers have brought up, a number of interesting storylines were introduced but were never followed through or properly explained. Despite the story following the lives of four different people, only one character's story received a proper ending. I felt like this story was underdeveloped in so many ways.
September 18, 2020
3.5 stars. The chapters were short, which I love! You really get to know each and every character and their way of life. The only down side was the ending. I feel like it could have continued with more detail of what happened next but over all I would read it again and recommended it.
July 1, 2021
A beach read for a younger reader - although I usually enjoy YA this one did not transfer well to my adult mindset. The writing and characters were strong, but their concerns were “meh” and the ending unresolved.
February 13, 2018
Easy light summer reading! Perfect for the beach or pool while relaxing. Typical teen summer romance!
August 3, 2018
This was an okay book, I’m not to fond of the ending.
Read
January 2, 2023I loved this! I think it ended kind of abruptly and I wish I knew more.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews