A Midsummer's Nightmare

May 14, 2012
Whitley Johnson has been looking forward to spending the summer after high school graduation hanging out with her divorced father at his condo near the beach, drinking and relaxing. So she is dumbfounded to learn that he has moved to a boring small town and has a new fiancée. Adding insult to injury, Whitley’s future stepbrother, Nathan, turns out to be her one-night stand from a graduation party. “Get to know each other. You’re family now,” advises Whitley’s father. “Yeah,” she thinks. “Family who’ve banged each other.” Despite Whitley’s anger, her bad habits, her feelings of abandonment, and a Facebook group maligning her, she makes close friends over the summer, becomes a role model for her soon-to-be stepsister, and discovers what her father is really like. In her third novel for teens, Keplinger (The DUFF) creates a wonderfully blunt, caustic, and self-possessed heroine in Whitley. While the ending is a bit drawn out, the story’s emotional realism, Whitley’s transformation (and acid narration), and the romance between her and Nathan make for a fiery and engrossing read. Ages 15–up. Agent: Joanna Volpe, Nancy Coffey Literary & Media Representation.

May 15, 2012
Family breakups are the pits; six months into hers, Whitley Johnson is a one-girl disaster--partying more and loving it less. Coping isn't her strong suit. Whitley's embittered mother is obsessed with her ex-husband, a newscaster Whitley sees only for a few weeks each summer. Her brother, married with a new child, lives across the country. Throughout high school, Whitley self-medicated with tequila and drunken hookups. She's not happy to discover that her graduation-night hookup, Nathan, is the son of her dad's fiancee, Sylvia. There's a lot to love about this story. Whitley's genuine--abrasive and outwardly tough, inwardly miserable and self-lacerating--a smart, assertive girl and a refreshing change from the passive, wryly observant heroines of non-paranormal fiction. Her gay best friend is a collection of stereotypes, though, from his fashion obsession to his vocabulary. Why Whitley is so drawn to Bailey, Nathan's rather dull younger sister (her passionate quest to make the high school cheerleading squad goes unquestioned), isn't clear. A half-hearted, preachy rationale for Whitley's excesses surfaces occasionally, but luckily for readers, she's complex enough to transcend didacticism, emerging as a rounded human being with her own internal logic. With her third novel, this young author continues to evolve; a talent to watch. (Fiction. 15 & up)

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July 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-Whitley's latest mistake: a one-night stand with someone whose name she can't remember, the night of graduation. She's still dealing (and not well) with the fallout from her parents' divorce years earlier. Her bitter mom grills her for info about her ex-husband's life, and she sees her dad only during the summer. The teen copes by drinking, partying, having sex, and not caring. The two bright spots in her future are college and a final fun summer hanging out with her dad in his condo by the lake. But, surprise: dad's moved, gotten engaged, and his fiancee has two kids: cute, sweet almost-high-schooler Bailey and Nathan, who, as it turns out, was the guy she had sex with on graduation night. Feeling helpless, Whitley lashes out, parties as hard as she can, and begins to experience life as the "slut" in a small town-and realizes that this is not who she wants to be. Will her new family be able to help her make the changes she needs? Keplinger definitely knows her teenagers. The characterizations of Whitley, Nathan, and Bailey are spot-on. However, the adult characters are too one-dimensional: Whitley's mother is tuned out, and her father is fun, until he gets engaged. This is a small quibble, and in some ways, it works with the plot, since Whitley also thinks of the adults in her life as black and white, good and bad. There are no huge surprises here. This a realistic read, with a few issues (cyberbullying, a near-rape) addressed nicely.-Kelly Jo Lasher, Middle Township High School, Cape May Court House, NJ

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