A Midsummer’s Nightmare by: Kody Keplinger

Synopsis: 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.

Thoughts: Kody Kepliger has done it again. A Midsummer’s Nightmare is a book I easily fell in love with from the beginning. She has a way of making her stories about so much more than a love story. She involves family issues, self reflection, and friendships. It’s everything you could want in a contemporary and more.

We start off with Whitley Johnson, who wakes up in bed with a stranger. She doesn’t remember much about the party but she knows she slept with this boy. Whitley continues with her normal way and tries to forget about him. She’s going to live with her father for the summer and she’s excited about it until she finds out her dad has moved, is engaged, and his fiancé’s son… Just happens to be the boy she just recently had a one night stand with. So much for a great summer before college, right?

Whitley is one of those girls who get the terrible rep, who act the part, but really haven’t done the things to back it up. A girl who’s just been living the life dealt to her. I loved watching her change from the girl she is in the beginning to who she becomes in the end. She’s tough, fun, and gorgeous and by the end of the book she finally puts all her good qualities in the right place. And I was so happy for her.

There’s also Nathan. Who I absolutely adore. He’s exactly what you would consider the perfect “hot nerd”. He admits to not being a saint, but overall he’s a huge sweetheart with an innocent heart. He’s build, sexy, cares about his sister, is smart, a basketball player, loves computers and sci-fi … I mean come on! How can you not love this kid? Not to mention how many boys get out of bed at 3am to come rescue you? I adored watching his and Whitley’s relationship grow. Watching each of them turn into something for the other that they both so desperately needed.

This book touches on family and inner issues in such a right way. I’m sure so many people can relate to divorces, being ignored, needing an escape, and maybe not having as many friends as you wanted. Kody weaves her story so beautifully and I was rooting for the characters the whole way through! Also, Harrison as a best friend would totally rock in so many ways!

I read this book in a few hours because I simply could not put it down. If you want a quick read that is sure to have you smiling,  feeling lots of emotion, yet leaving an ending that is loads of contentment and happiness. Definitely pick this one up!