Review: A wonderful love story, beautifully described San Diego area & hot sex!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 16, 2012
This is such a moving love story!  There is the conflict of an older woman (30) and a young man, who has just graduated high school, and is legally a minor at 17 (4 months shy of 18) in California.  This situation may cause some thought-provoking issues for some readers and it is noted that many other states have a younger legal age of consent.  Caroline married at a young age to an older man, who looked like a `catch' to her and her mother.  Caroline's life and marriage of 11 years with David, a Navy Doctor, who is emotionally unavailable, and proves to be something to endure.  When Caroline meets Sebastian again after several years (at their initial meeting they were 21 and 8), there is a connection between the two and she struggles to remain unavailable.  Sebastian shows her how different it is to be loved and cared for and both of them find joy together, while anxiously awaiting his 18th birthday.  I loved the contrasting emotions and actions of Sebastian - yes, he is still a teenager and has the pouty, sullen, jealous, and quick-to-anger moments, vs the more adult actions of loving, caring and consideration that he shows to Caro.  Caro also struggles with the issues of Sebastian's age and infidelity.The majority of this story is set in San Diego, California and with the beauty of the location, along with the ocean, surfers, etc., Jane paints a gorgeous landscape.  She has a terrific insight to the military life, customs, rules, expectations, and the separation between officers and enlisted service members.The characters are well developed and it is easy to feel that you are a part of the story.  Some characters are so easy to love and others so detestable!  Some characters are another example that those closest to us, whether by marriage, birth, etc., you would expect to treat us the best, when the truth is, they may treat you the worst.  Sebastian had an unhappy and unloved childhood, while Caro, although she had a loving papa, dealt with an uncaring mother.  Caro and Sebastian's backgrounds affect their thoughts, emotions, and interactions with each other.There are intriguing mentions of Italian food and interspersed with bits of the beautiful Italian language (Caro's father was Italian and came to the US from a small town in Italy).During the story, you can't help but root for Caroline and Sebastian, all the while knowing that there will be a conflict, and the consequences, well...... No spoilers!I am aware that Jane is working on a sequel, "The Education of Caroline" that will hopefully be available early next year and I am anxiously awaiting that release.  As an avid reader, I felt that "The Education of Sebastian" was a true gift from Jane and I look forward to other novels by her.  I highly recommend this novel!