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.

THOUGHTS:

I love Kody Keplinger, plain and simple. She's what I consider a 'must-buy author' (I really should think of a better term, huh?) because she's brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. She knows how to write compelling stories while addressing current teenage issues through her characters, and Whitley Johnson is no exception.

Whitley is complex and messed-up, and honestly, I don't blame her. She experienced a major upheaval in her life at such a young age, and was never given the chance to properly deal with it. If something like that happens to you, what would you do? You escape. As fast as you can. And that's what Whitley did. To make up for the fact that her mother never notices her, or that her dad is part of a brand-new ala Brady Bunch family, she rebels. She pushes everyone away - despite of how well they treat her - because no one was there for her when she needed someone to lean on. Unreasonable? Maybe. Selfish? Maybe. Realistic. MOST DEFINITELY. 

We've all been there. We need attention, and when we don't get it, we act out. Why exactly do we act out? Because it's the only way we get noticed. Keplinger hit the nail on the head. In the end, we do regret acting the way we did and doing all those things that now make us cringe, but then again, we wouldn't have grown - we wouldn't have matured if we never did what we did. Keplinger got that right as well. In this book, we were able to watch Whitley act out, rebel, feel sorry for herself, and likewise, grow, mature, conquer her fears, and ultimately move on with her life. She wasn't the easiest of characters to read about, sure, but that's what made her relatable. That's what made her story resonate. 

Wow. I got pretty emotional there. Oh well, that just goes to show how much I loved the book. Anyway, let's move on to others things I liked about A Midsummer's Nightmare.

I loved, LOVED that we got to see how Bianca and Wesley are one year after the happenings of The DUFF took place. I was positively ecstatic to find out that they are still together, that Bianca is still as sassy and as in-your-face as ever, and that Wesley is still obviously completely enamored with Bianca. I also loved that we finally got to meet Harrison as a supporting character this time around. He was the perfect guy to deal with all of Whitley's craziness and drama, and I just adored their friendship.

Also, you have to hand it to Keplinger - she knows how to make readers squeal and swoon (who doesn't remeber that scene with Wesley and the note, or when the boys of Shut-Out burst into N'Sync's Tearin' Up My Heart), and this time is no different. The chemistry Nathan and Whitley have is positively off-the-charts, and Nathan is just an amazing guy. He's sweet, kind, and he cares for Whitley - a lot. I loved all of Whitley and Nathan's interactions, from the simple conversations to the really steamy scenes, because we really get to delve into their characters through them. Also, we don't really get to see a lot of guys like Nathan in YA books - usually, we have the hot, broody, aloof and mysterious guy - and quite frankly, I really think that we SHOULD get more guys like Nathan. He's open and not afraid to say what he thinks or feels - we really don't get that enough.

Overall, A Midsummer's Nightmare is another Kody Keplinger masterpiece and is debatedly her best novel to date (I'm still partial to The DUFF though!). It's the perfect summer read! 

Rating: 5 Stars