I swear I saw this pitched somewhere as Mystic Ice Cream (well, as Mystic Pizza with ice cream – you know, a coming of age story about working at an ice cream shop over the summer.) In any case, what did I think about this book about life and love and ice cream? Check out my Review of Stay Sweet!

Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian

To be published on April 24, 2018 by Simon and Schuster

Source: thanks so much to the publisher for sending an ARC on my request 🙂

Synopsis from Goodreads: Summer in Sand Lake isn’t complete without a trip to Meade Creamery—the local ice cream stand founded in 1944 by Molly Meade who started making ice cream to cheer up her lovesick girlfriends while all the boys were away at war.

Since then, the stand has been owned and managed exclusively by local girls, who inevitably become the best of friends. Seventeen-year-old Amelia and her best friend Cate have worked at the stand every summer for the past three years, and Amelia is “Head Girl” at the stand this summer.

When Molly passes away before Amelia even has her first day in charge, Amelia isn’t sure that the stand can go on. That is, until Molly’s grandnephew Grady arrives and asks Amelia to stay on to help continue the business…but Grady’s got some changes in mind…

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Review of Stay Sweet

After reading the blurb, I went into with finely honed rom-com expectations about exactly what would happen. I loved that Stay Sweet was able to deliver the sweet story I expected and also really surprise me.

What I loved:

The story within a story. I’ll be honest: this narrative technique isn’t always my favorite. It has risks – that the reader will prefer one story to another. But I really loved both Molly’s story about a fiancé who goes missing during WWII and Amelia’s story of becoming Head Girl, just to have the proverbial rug pulled out from under her.

The girl power. On the surface, this feels like a pretty conventional story. Molly grew up in a different era, a time when a soldier went to war with a photo of his sweetheart, whose job it was to wait patiently at home.

And even Amelia’s contemporary world feels a little retro, with a gaggle of girls scooping ice cream wearing pink polos. But by the end, I felt that the story showed women being strong and independent in more subtle ways.

The accurate portrayal of a certain type of female friendship. Of course I love reading about true-blue BFFs, but realistically, those are few and far between. Amelia and Cate have one of those tricky friendships. They have very different personalities – Amelia is dutiful and organized, while Cate is more breezy and reckless.

They were both up for Head Girl at the ice cream stand, and while Cate seems supportive of Amelia, the story shows all the ways she subtly undermines her. I recently had a long conversation with someone about a friendship like this – whether it’s better to accept someone’s strengths and weaknesses, or confront them, or just drop them. I don’t want to spoil what happens here, but I really thought this was an interesting – and realistic – relationship.

A romance that wasn’t what I expected. I liked that Grady was a fully-developed character with his own issues. And I appreciated that romance wasn’t the main focus of this story. This is a slowly developing relationship, and one that felt nuanced and realistic.

The ice cream. I’m a huge Food Network nerd, so I really loved the scenes about ice cream making. I could have read about ice cream churning and tasting and testing all day long. If there is a Home Sweet Home ice cream out there, I need to try it ASAP!

If you’re a fan of Mystic Pizza, or of ice cream, or of rom-com type stories that surprise you, I definitely recommend that you check out Stay Sweet! 

After a bit of a book slump, this contemporary YA about family, friendship and backpacking put a smile on my face. Read my review of Starry Eyes below!

[Read more…]

I’m not always a fan of a book with more than two or three narrators, so I was a bit wary of this story about a group of teens at a crossroads before and during New Year. But I ended up a fan, and recommend this to those who enjoyed another popular YA book. Read more in my Review of Together at Midnight below!

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Together at Midnight by Jennifer Castle

Published on January 2, 2018 by Harper Teen

Source: eARC from publisher

Synopsis from Goodreads: What does it really mean to be kind ? High school senior Kendall, who just returned from a life-changing semester in Europe, and Max, who is drifting his way through a gap year before college, struggle with these questions when they witness a tragic accident in New York City.

Wracked with guilt, the two accept a dare to perform random acts of kindness to strangers. The challenge pulls these two teens, who have a history together from back home, closer and closer as they explore a vibrant city filled with other people’s stories and secrets. 

Kendall and Max can’t deny their growing bond, even though they both have other romantic entanglements and uncertain futures. As the clock counts down on New Year’s Eve, will they find themselves together at midnight?

Review of Together at Midnight

There’s something fun about reading a book that’s set during the same time you’re reading it. I started this right before the New Year, which is when the story takes place. It also takes place in New York (where I am!) during a snowstorm (check!)

That said, it did take me a while to adjust to this story. There are multiple narrators, a romantic set-up which could have felt rectangle-y, and a plot involving random acts of kindness that zigs and zags a bit.

Kendall has spent a semester away from high school and is gearing up to head back to high school midyear as a senior.

The day after Christmas, she impulsively follows her older brother and his boyfriend to their apartment in New York.

She’s hoping to connect with Jamie, a guy she likes. Max, who’s staying with his grandfather in New York, also seems a little adrift. He’s deferred his enrollment at Brown because his ex-girlfriend needed him, and he seems afraid to move forward, toward college and away from her. Kendall and Max have a bit of history, having shared a kiss back in high school.

Kendall and Max cross paths in New York because Jamie is staying with Max. After their group witnesses a tragic accident, Kendall and Max accept a stranger’s challenge to perform random acts of kindness. These acts, and the very slow-burn romance between the two of them, drive the story forward.

As I said initially, I’m usually not a fan of stories with too many narrators. This story is told in alternate chapters by Kendall and Max, with snippets of narration from the people they encounter in their project. If you’ve read Nicola Yoon’s The Sun is Also a Star, it’s a bit like that. I also thought the two books have a similar feel – New York setting, a compressed timeline, a bunch of serendipity, and some random narrators thrown in the mix.

Together at Midnight was a great book to kick off 2018. It had an optimistic, altruistic vibe that I liked. Though I think a short epilogue after the ending would have been nice (I wanted updates on Max, Kendall, Emerson and Andrew!) But overall I really enjoyed this and definitely recommend it to fans of realistic YA.