Ava's Big Move 
Author: Mary Van Reyk
Publisher: Hachette Australia
Release Date: September 2017
Pages: 129 pages
R.R.P: $12.99
Meet five very different girls with one thing in common: they've caught the surfing bug!
Ava has grown up in a big city. But everything changes when her parents decide on a sea change- they're moving to the small town of Beachcrest to open a cafe. Ava will be starting high school that year, and now she has to say goodbye to her life in the city. Her new school is very different and Ava misses her friends. When she hears that surfing is going to be offered as a sport for the first time, Ava uses her snowboard skills to give it a try. Not everyone thinks she can become a surfer but Ava is determined to prove them wrong, and she's making new friends along the way!
Ava, Alex, Bronte, Janani and Molly form the Surf Riders Club to help each other practice, but it quickly becomes much more than that. Whether it's learning how to get barrelled, problem parents or annoying boys, the Surf Riders Club are there for each other, no matter what.
My reviews
Thoughts on the book: Ava has the perfect life. Her best friend lives across the road from her, she has her whole holidays planned with a trip to NZ with said best friend to go snowboarding and she is about to start high school. Well that is until her parents drop the massive bombshell that the family will be moving from their amazing city lifestyle to a small beach town to open a cafe which has always been their dream. Ava can't believe that her parents would do this to her at such a critical moment of her life, she's going to be starting high school where the only person she will know is her brother. Upon moving down to Beachcrest, Ava and her older brother Shane hit the beach most days where Ava learns to bodysurf thanks to the amazing teaching her brother does. When the first day of school hits, Ava thinks that she is going to be friendless forever until Alex comes along and tells her that she should sign up for surfing for sport with her, which of course she does and nearly instantly she has new best friends. The small group of five girls form a sort of club where they all agree to help each other learn to surf as this term they are all in the beginners class but if they can catch five waves by the end of the term in one afternoon then they can progress into the intermediate class. The pressure is on to move up but will a accident mean the end of moving up for one of them?
Ava's Big Move is a fantastic read for tween age readers, even though I am well past this age. Reading Ava's Big Move reminded me of when I first read The Baby-Sitters Club series and I think they are both suitable for the same age group. I felt like I was back to the age of the girls and could really identify with what they were all going through. Besides being about friendship the book also has some really useful information about surfing and ways to identify rips and what some of the different surf boards are. I thoroughly enjoyed Mary Van Reyk's first book in the Surf Riders Club series and can't wait to read more of this series. I will be giving my copy to my oldest two kids to read and I know they will absolutely love it.
Rating: 5/5
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