A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger
Published: June 5, 2012 by Poppy
Received: ARC from publisher

Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorced 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. {goodreads.com}

I'm a Kody Keplinger fan.  Ever since I read The DUFF a few years ago, I was hooked to this chick's writing.  She always has the ability to add a fresh, young voice to her characters which make them feel believable to me.  I'm always placed right in the mix, usually the juicy gossip when it comes to her stories, and flipping the pages as though I'm watching a scandalous teenage drama.  This book in particular definitely brought the drama!  A one night stand with your future stepbrother?! Oh holy hell. DRAMA!

Whitley is the girl every girl loathes.  She's a party girl.  The one who shows up in the skimpiest outfit, draping herself over any guy (whether he's available or not), and never thinking twice about her actions.  She's been ignored by both her mother and father (who have left Whitley in the middle of their nasty divorce for nearly 6 years now) and a brother who lives miles away beginning a family of his own.  She wants attention, she craves it, no matter if it's negative or not.  One night the attention she receives is from a hot boy who she thinks is just a "one night" kind of thing, but turns out being an entire summer thing when she goes to stay with her dad & his new family for the summer.  Oh boy.

I was very curious to see how this would play out.  I mean, there's no way around this - right?  She slept with her future stepbrother! Ick.  I had a very hard time accepting that.  Yes, I get that they're not actually related, but still.. how awkward is that?!  It was this hang up which made it difficult to believe the romantic relationship that was building between Whitley and Nate.  But if you can get past that, then I assure you this book will capture your drama-lusting heart in no time.

The character growth that Whitley experiences through out the summer has it's rocky parts.  We see her hit rock bottom, and just when things couldn't get worse... they do.  I really felt for this girl.  All she wanted was to be loved, and accepted.  In the least likely place she eventually finds this.  Kody Keplinger writes stories that convey deeper meanings, but always giving them away with a subtle push so you don't feel as though you're being preached to.  I respect that type of writing.  If you're looking for a sizzling, juicy read this summer then I recommend picking this one up.  It may begin as a nightmare, but it definitely evolves in to something quite different.