June 5, 2012
Poppy
Young Adult | Contemporary
Standalone
Pages: 304
Source/Format: Publisher/Hardcover
Rating: ★★★★★
Author's Website | Goodreads
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
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.
IN A SENTENCE:
A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger is my new favorite book of hers; it includes it all: an intoxicating forbidden romance, an angry heroine, and her path to change how she is. I absolutely loved this one and would recommend it to everybody.
REVIEW:
I said on Goodreads that A Midsummer’s Nightmare by Kody Keplinger might be my new favorite book of hers, and it’s so true. I loved The DUFF, but it seemed like she hit the sophomore slump with Shut Out. But you guys, I loved A Midsummer’s Nightmare. It’s so freaking GOOD.
Whitley is a character I just fell for; everything about her could make you hate her (trust me, I wanted to) but I ended up feeling so sympathetic for her. Her life sucks. And if I had a stepbrother that I tapped and then had to spend the entire summer with? I would have turned around right then and there and gone home to my mother.
YOU GUYS. Stepbrother Nathan was totally hot and totally forbidden ARGHH. I so wanted them to admit they had feelings and to KISS. Despite awkwardness aside. I mean, they aren’t stepsiblings yet! It’s totally okay, right? :P YES YES IT IS, SO KISS (AGAIN) ALREADY! And *cough* do the deed! *cough*
What I honestly truly loved about this one was that Bianca and Wesley show up; oh yes, they do. Remember The Duff characters? That scene made my heart melt and feel all the feelings. I LOVED it.
A Midsummer’s Nightmare by Kody Keplinger is an emotional book, but I ate it up in a day. It was such a refreshing read and I would definitely recommend it to everybody. I’m such a fan of Kody and her books, and now I’m really excited for her fourth novel (Goldfish) which sounds like a book written for me.
If you haven’t picked up A Midsummer’s Nightmare (or her other two novels!) I highly recommend going to the bookstore right now.
"Hypocrite," I spat. "I didn't hear you complaining last time we were at a party. You got wasted, too. It's not like I took advantage of you. You made the choice to sleep with me."
"I know," he said through clenched teeth. "And you were the biggest mistake I have ever made."
"I drew back, my hand flying to my chest, my fingers curling into my palm. His words hit me like a punch in the gut. I opened my mouth to say something. To yell at him. To deliever a good comeback that would sting him in the same way. But nothing came to me. My throat was closing in on itself.
Biggest mistake. I was his biggest mistake.
He wasn't mine.
He didn't even make the top ten. Maybe not my top one hundred. Because, despite all the shit going on, that night with him had actually been nice. Great, even.- p. 107, hardcover
Other Reviews:
A Good Addiction
Dear Author
Hippies, Beauty, and Books . . . Oh My!
I've never read a Kody Keplinger book before, but since this one has characters from The Duff, I guess I should start with that one and then read this. Nathan sounds awesome, i'm sure there were some wonderful scenes with him and Whitley.
ReplyDeleteyes, you should! they don't necessarily have to be read in order, but YOU SO SHOULD READ THEM.
DeleteOkay, I want to read this. I'm kind of excited for a Biana/Wesley cameo. And I love the excerpt. I never got to Shut Out. it's STILL sitting next to my bed. Sigh. You are not helping my TBR pile. :)
ReplyDeleteI am not sorry at all. ;)
DeleteI agree that this book gave me fond memories of The Duff. I still think that book is still my #1, but I enjoyed this one too.
ReplyDeleteMy problem with the Duff is that it was a little cliche and cheesy, and my step sister read it this weekend and thought so too. Kody definitely made A Midsummer's Nightmare not so cheesy and cliche and better, imo.
Deleteand we're not even going to DISCUSS Shut Out. (okay, we are: I think she hit her sophomore slump with that book.)
I wasn't crazy in love with how the book ended. It seemed like it was wrapped up a little too nice and neat. Everything worked out a little too well for Whitley and I would have preferred to see things run a little less smooth for her character. While I thought that the rest of the book was fairly realistic and well-done, the ending sort of veered in a different direction and it didn't seem true to life. Life isn't always rainbows and butterflies. I like things to be a bit more messy, especially endings of stories. I did however, very much enjoyed A Midsummer's Nightmare.
ReplyDeleteI really LOVE emotional books. I did like bits of the Duff but some parts kind of annoyed me about it.
ReplyDeleteSO, I am glad this one, A Midsummer's Nightmare is fantastic. I shall have to borrow it from my library. :-)
She has a really grown a writer with this one, imo. Mostly my problems with The Duff were it seemed cheesy at points, and I couldn't stop laughing even though it wasn't supposed to be funny. I think A Midsummer's Nightmare is a a lot better, and hope you enjoy it!
DeleteSo, we pretty much had the same feelings though Nathan took a while to get used too! The part where you got your quote made me feel so bad for Whitley but I loved her throughout the book also! I so agree, this is her best yet!
ReplyDeleteat that quote, I basically went: Yup, I feel bad for Whitley now. SUCH a good scene!
DeleteI've had mixed thoughts on Keplinger's previous books, but I think this might be the one I love! Thanks for the fab review, Ashelynn, I'll have to get a copy of this really soon!
ReplyDeleteI was about ready to give up on her books after Shut Out--but everybody kept raving about this one and I was like um yeah, I am going to have to read it. SO good. Hope you love it. :)
Delete