A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorcé dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancée and her kids. The fiancée's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great.

Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

Filled with authenticity and raw emotion, Whitley is Kody Keplinger's most compelling character to date: a cynical Holden Caulfield-esque girl you will wholly care about. (taken from goodreads) 

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

Published June 5th 2012 by Poppy

Received: ARC at TLA

Um, I LOVED it! Imagine if you will a family reunion where you wake up 3 hours before everyone else to a silent house. Could there be a better way to fill that time? Nope! I read this in one sitting before anyone else in the house even woke up. Could. Not. Put. It. Down. I HAD to know what was going to happen!

Whitley has just graduated from high school and is about to spend the summer with her dad. She loves summers with her dad, just the two of them, it's great. Funny thing, dad didn't tell her a) he's engaged, b) future step-mom has two kids, c) they will all live together like one big happy family. The new family might have been an easier pill to swallow is she hadn't had a graduation one-night stand with her future step brother. Not exactly the summer she was planning. 

Now that I think about it, I'm kind of amazed that everyone slept through my reading this. There were so many "OH NO HE/SHE DIDN'T" moments where I literally screamed out loud at the characters.So, I guess it is safe to say I was wrapped up in the story and truly cared about every character. 

This was a fabulous summer time escape. And I'm  embarrassed that it was my first Kody Keplinger book. I enjoyed it so much that I read The DUFF the next day. :) 

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

“One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.”


The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?


A dreamy summer read, full of characters who stay with you long after the story is over. (taken from goodreads)
 

 

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Published: June 14, 2012 by Dial Books (Penguin Teen)

Received: ARC for review from NetGalley & Penguin

Ok, let's face it, at some point almost all of us have hoped/dreamed/prayed for the perfect boy to move next door. I know I did. I love boy next door stories for that exact reason. Now I have moved on and am dreaming about the house for sale next door. In my new perfect plan someone will move next door and we can have babies at the same time and those two future children will fall in love (I know, I know it's crazy.) Let's just say if that hypothetical future neighbor grew up to be Jase Garrett I would be THRILLED! 


When Samantha is young the Garrett family moves in next door. Samantha comes from a single parent family of three. The Garrett family, well, there are ten of them. Samantha's mother quickly makes it known that she is not to mix with the crazy huge family next door. As they grow up Samantha watches from afar until one day she and Jase finally meet. Their relationship is so sweet and so real. From the very beginning you are cheering for the two of them to find a way. 


The story is great, but it's the characters that made me love it. The Garrett family is, in a word, amazing. Parents who actually like each other, brothers and sisters who pick on each other one minute but stand up for each other a second later. Family. A family I would love to hear from again.


A great summer read. I have a feeling I will be reading this one again.