Rating: 5 stars
Cover Rating: 3 stars (Meh.)
Genre: Young Adult
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: June 5, 2012
Publisher: Poppy
Page Count: 291 p.
Add it: Goodreads
Whitley Johnson has finally graduated high school. Though she is glad to be rid of that place she can't help but attend the big bash at some guy's house. She graduated with at least a thousand kids so it's not like she knows everyone. She ends the night in a boy's bed, the host apparently. He wants them to keep in touch, but Whitley wants to be rid of this one night stand and get on with her new life. This summer was supposed to be like all the other ones with her father. They were supposed to chill buy the condo's pool and talk about college, since Whitley is attending her father's alma mater. Unfortunately, Whitley's dad has other plans. In the car her dad tells her that he doesn't have the condo anymore but a house. He doesn't have some flimsy girlfriend, but a fiancée and she has two kids. Whitley doesn't think this summer could get any worse, and then she meets her soon-to-be stepbrother. She's trying to make the best out of the situation at hand, but she ends up getting out of hand. Whitley just wanted things to be like they always were, but maybe it's time things change.
Awesome. This is Kody Keplinger's third book and she has not lost any steam. This book was just so fantastic. A few weeks ago I reviewed Jackson Pearce's Purity and mentioned that I had a hard time relating to that father/daughter relationship; I had no problem relating to this one. Whitley's father is more of a buddy than a father, and has a hard time making time for her. Whitley is drunk so often that she doesn't even seem to realize how much this is true. She puts him up on a pedestal which puts a strain on her relationship with her mother. It was a bit depressing watching her father ignore her and then her finding out some unfavorable things about him. He sort of is a giant jerk though at least his wife-to-be is a good person.
It was interesting reading about a character with zero friends. Whitley didn't seem to even have casual acquaintances, though she went to all the parties. It was good to see Whitley's character change throughout the course of this novel, while still remaining the same girl at the core. She grew a lot having a real family around and that means something. There was a cameo in here of a couple of other Kody characters you might recognize. It was a nice surprise.Whitley does end up finding a friend in Harrison, though she fights it every bit of the way. She also has a friend in Nathan, whether she likes it or not. I loved both of these characters. Harrison was just completely fabulous, forcing Whitley to befriend him despite her desire for friendship. Then Nathan was just great because he kept calling her Whit, even though she despised it.
If you have not read a Kody Keplinger book it is because either a.) you don't like good books or b.) you're crazy (can't be that you don't like realistic fiction). Check this book out this summer, it is a definite hit!
First Line:
"Hangovers are a bitch."
Favorite Lines:
"I spent the next several days avoiding Nathan as much as was humanly possible. This involved lots of the silent treatment and cold-shouldering, mixed with a little bit of immature 'Did you hear something? Must have been the wind,' whenever he tried to get my attention in the presence of others."
Awesome review! I'm so glad you liked this. At first, I thought the 3 stars was for the book, so I got confuse when reading this. I agree about the cover though...it's alright.
ReplyDeleteYou are the first reviewer to mention cameos from previous Kody books. That's cool. I loved the duff, but still need to read shut out.
-Lauren