Summer Lovin'

Girlfriend Material
By Melissa Kantor

The cover of this book just screams “summer beach read.” I actually avoided this one for a bit because it looked a little too cute for my taste. (Yes, I’m working to get past that whole “judging a book by its cover” thing.) But after a man came into the library and asked for a copy for his daughter recently, I was intrigued enough to flip through the first few pages.

Summary
A summer on Cape Cod sounds great, right? Generally, yes, but unfortunately for Kate, she’s been dragged to the coast against her will as part of her mother’s need “for some me time” that arises from a dispute with Kate’s father. Though Kate’s summer had been going great in her hometown of Salt Lake City, she suddenly has to fly east with her mother to stay with their family friends, the Cooper-Melnicks, and their daughter, Sarah, whom Kate hasn’t seen for several years. Though Kate begins the journey with a happy fantasy about bonding with Sarah and spending the summer living it up east coast style, her dreams are quickly dashed when she realizes Sarah isn’t too keen on the idea of having a new BFF for the summer.

Luckily, Sarah’s friends aren’t as icy as she is, and Kate soon meets the handsome Adam, with whom she begins a lovely summer romance. Determining how to maintain the easy breezy affair, however, becomes a challenge, and Kate has to ask herself many questions about what she wants and needs in order to move forward and remain true to herself.

Worth staying up past bedtime?
Rating: Good Night’s Sleep

Overall, a great, light read, especially for summer. I read this book shortly after the spring semester ended and it provided a great mental break. Kate was a good character, and I like that she was both smart and cool. She’s an aspiring writer, and makes some references to classic literature throughout the book, which I appreciated. I also found her incredibly relatable when she was debating what to do about Adam. Her internal dialogue was so similar to how thoughts and situations play themselves out in my head ... I’m guessing I’m not the only person who does this. That being said, there were a few times when I just wanted her to SHUT UP and do something! This girl can spend a lot of time considering the “what if’s?” of a situation, and after a few occurrences of “maybe when he said ‘see you later,’ he meant it like ‘whenever we run into each other.’ Or maybe he meant he’d find a way to see me later ... or maybe ...”* I had to resist shaking the book to make her stop debating and start doing. But in the end, I was happy with how things played out, and definitely enjoyed this for a good, light read!

Recommended for ages 13 and up.

*Not actual dialogue from the book.