ARC Review: Kody Keplinger - A Midsummer's Nightmare

Kody Keplinger - A Midsummer's Nightmare

• Pub Date: June 5, 2012
• Publisher: Poppy
• Format: Hardcover, 304 pages
• Age Range: Young Adult (mature)
• Source: Amanda @ Stuck in YA Books

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.

This started out tough for me, because I do not approve of the mad partying this girl was doing. Yes, she's 18 and she just graduated from high school. My sister is currently in the same age and situation, and I couldn't see her doing this (even though I think she does..) and don't want to imagine her doing it. So at first I was nervous. I've loved everything else from Keplinger, and by the end this one was no different.

This one starts off with Whitley waking up after a party, hungover and next to some dude she doesn't really know. They've slept together, and she's not pleased with herself. But she leaves and gets herself ready for a summer with her father. Little does she know, he's found himself a new family, which includes a son - the boy she slept with at the party a couple nights ago. JOY! Dad ignores her, so she rebels. This is the story of the rest of that summer - the ups and downs, goods and bads. And it's a good book.

I love the drama and addiction of Keplinger's book's. I literally read this one in hours. I couldn't put it down. I love her characters. A LOT. Harrison is fabulous, literally. Bailey is such a sweet kid. And Nathan. Yum Nathan. Much better than Mr. DUFF from her other novel. This book deals with some tough teen topics, and it's a little weird that they're about to be step siblings, but it's a fun, wild ride. A fantastic summer read!

Bottom line: I love everything Kody Keplinger writes. I hope you do too!

Rating:

4/5 book sharks