Day Three: Today I'm featuring a great book from one of my favorite authors, Kody Keplinger! I've been a fan since I picked up DUFF a few years ago and this book, A Midsummer's Nightmare, didn't disappoint. I first heard about A Midsummer's Nightmare way back at NCTE last fall in Chicago when I got to go to an awesome session hosted by Keplinger and Jackson Pearce. Lot's of shenanigans ensued.
Kody is one of the most talented authors I know and she happens to be awesomely funny as well. Her books cover some serious and heart breaking issues, but she always handles it with humor and heart. So, without further ado...
By: Kody Keplinger
Release Date:June 5, 2012
Publisher: Poppy
Summary:
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. (from goodreads.com)
My Ramblings:
Like I said in the opener, Keplinger's books deal with those teenage issues that can break your heart, and she does so in a realistic manner. When you are in high school you can feel like you know everything and that the whole world revolves around you, and when suddenly that world starts to fall apart it can send you into a tailspin that it's hard to get out of. Tghat's where we find Whitley, a party girl who is trying to cope with her parents divorce and her mother's new relationship.
I don't want to give a ton away on this one, simply because the storytelling is too good. I want you to go discover it for yourself. What I loved about this book, and all Keplinger's books really, is that you can see yourself in her characters. I was never the partier like Whitley, but I could relate to her feelings of being out of control, of wanting to change and not quite knowing how, and her need to just feel like she was part of something, even if that something wasn't good for her. What we see in this book is a girl trying to climb out of a hole that she dug and create a new life for herself, all while finding her way back into her family. Whitely makes a ton of mistakes, and you cringe with each one, wishing you could climb into the book and give her a bit of advice and point her in the right direction. Instead you have to let her find her own way and enjoy the successes with her along the way.
The Contest:
That's right everyone- one fabulous part of Best I've Read is that there are a ton of giveaways. On my site, on the main BIR site and on all the other participating blogs sites. What could be better then free books right before the holidays!
Rules of the game: All contests will end at midnight on Friday the 21st. Books will be shipped directly from the publisher, so your information will be shared with them in order to get you your prize! Prizes will most likely not be mailed until after the 1st of the year, so hang in there, they will come! Winners will receive an email from me Saturday the 22nd and you will have 48 hours to claim your prize, so check your mailboxes. All contests are US only unless otherwise noted.
Good Luck and happy reading!
Don't forget to check out all the other participating blogs:
Best I've Read 2012
Page Turners
Portrait of a Book
Mundie Moms
Books Complete Me
Reading Lark
Once Upon a Twilight
Cindy Thomas, YA Author
I Am a Reader, Not a Writer
Amethyst Daydreams
I LOVE Kody's writing, so naturally I want to definitely pick up a copy of this!
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