My Shirley Temple is about...
Small town, Hawaii girl - Kala is moving to Australia. A place where everyone is supposed to be someone, where people know their name, not because you see them at the markets, but because of who you are, people are important. But as much as she hates it, Kala isn't like that. She grew up where everyone knew her name, not because she was important, but because she grew up like that. You would see and talk to each other at the market, and people would know your name. People would see you surfing and yell and wave- saying "make sure to be on time!" Now here she is moving to Australia, away from her home, her family, her friends, her whole life. A fresh new start. With her mother (Kamilia) and her father (Anthony), as well as her two older brothers, (Kilo and Kai). When looking for something to cool off after a nice surf, she stumbles upon a tasty surprise...
Ryder Marks, a well known Australian boy. Ryder has lived in Bondi, Australia his whole life. Surfing, skating, pretty girls, lifeguarding, and some sharks. He's worked it all through with his mother (Charlotte) and his two younger sisters (Talia and Kiera). They make this whole Australian thing look easy. With their beach blond hair, and a perfect tan, surf boards for days, and sand in everything, it looks so simple. But everyone has secrets up their arse, some are just better at hiding it. When he sees her staring through the window, drooling at the Shirley temple he's sipping on, what will happen next...
As Claire aims to leave her oppressive stepfamily behind, she befriends Zion. Will he be her ticket to freedom or a distraction in achieving her dreams?
*****
Claire Olsen has had a crush on Zion Petrakis since the first time she laid eyes on him, but he never noticed, instead only having eyes on the school's it girl, Maddie Jennings. Knowing she couldn't compete with Maddie, Claire hid her feelings for Zion, satisfied with admiring him from afar. However, when a series of events led Claire closer to Zion, her feelings for him grew from infatuation to love. And despite fighting hard to keep her feelings contained by distancing herself from Zion, he was determined to show her that he's earned a spot in her life.
[[word count: 100,000-150,000 words]]