Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley

Overall Rating: 5 out of 10

        Girl Overboard by Justina Chen Headley tells the story of Syrah Cheng, daughter of billionaire Ethan Cheng, who is banned by her parents from snowboarding after surviving an avalanche. Syrah, a disappointment to both of her parents as well as her half siblings, decides to channel her energy into a new project. After befriending another wealthy heiress, Lillian, Syrah learns that Lillian's sister, has cancer, so Syrah then comes up with the idea of hosting a fundraiser/snowboarding competition to raise money and help find a bone marrow match for Lillian's sister. However, this isn't as easy as it seems when Syrah's best friend, Age, is being pulled away by his new girlfriend and Syrah's family refuses to take any of her ideas seriously. Combined with other problems such as weight issues, a moving nanny, the discovery of her mother's estranged family, and an ex-boyfriend who wanted her for her money, Syrah struggles to find happiness. 

       There were both ups and downs to this story. To start with the negative aspects, the story is very confusing at some parts. For example, Syrah rode down the forbidden trail after something that happened with her ex-boyfriend, Jared. But you never actually meet Jared until the end of the story, and what actually drove Syrah to take on the forbidden trail is never revealed. Also, I felt like Syrah was just juggling too many things at once. This story would be twice as good if it just focused on a few aspects, like her snowboarding, and relationship with her family. But Headley threw in the fundraiser, her best friend Age and his girlfriend, her ex-boyfriend, problems with weight, issues with her nanny, and finding her mom's family. It got very overwhelming at parts. But, on the positive side, the characters were original and fresh and the dialogue was very realistic and not stilted at all. For example, Syrah's nanny, was originally from China, and you could hear her accent through the dialogue. Headley did a wonderful job with that. 

       Otherwise, the story was fun to read, but if you are looking for a story that focuses majorly on snowboarding, do not choose Girl Overboard because of the title and cover page. Syrah's snowboarding career is just a miniscule detail in this novel. However, those of you who liked Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock or Nothing But the Truth (and a few white lies) and North of Beautiful, also by Justina Chen Headley, will certainly enjoy this book.