Summer State of Mind

Gr 8 Up—In this coming-of-age story, 15-year-old Harper is the spoiled daughter of a wealthy music producer. Her plans for the summer consist of shopping, hanging out with her mean-girl besties, and attending all of the hot parties. But after charging one too many frivolous purchases to her dad's credit card, he decides to ship her off to summer camp to remind her of who she was before they struck it rich. Harper has a difficult time adjusting to the environment and alienates most of the other campers with her obsessive vanity and her dependence on electronics. As the summer progresses, she slowly begins to win some of them over, manages to save the day, learns a little bit about herself, and begins a romance with a camp "lifer" who goes to her high school. Her romance with Ethan feels a little forced and shallow, and the plot is somewhat anticlimactic, but teen girls who can't get enough summer-romance novels may enjoy it. Purchase only where beach reads fly off the shelves.—Candyce Pruitt-Goddard, Hartford Public Library, CT