Summer Days, Starry Nights

by Vikki VanSickle

A famous rock star, a family secret and a boy with a great smile make for one unforgettable summer.

It's 1962, and thirteen-year-old Reenie Starr comes alive the minute guests begin to arrive at her family's summer resort. She dreams of the day she can run Sandy Shores, and she spends her time helping out at the resort, swimming, climbing trees, and singing under the stars.

One day, Reenie's mother announces that she thinks the resort could use some entertainment. She invites Gwen, her best friend's almost-grown daughter, to come and teach a dance class. Although Gwen seems sad and remote, Reenie's thrilled to have her there.

As Reenie starts to learn more about the world beyond Sandy Shores, she comes up with a plan that could really put it on the map. She also finds herself caught between the simpler world of her childhood and all of the wonderful new discoveries (boys) and heartaches (boys) that growing up can bring. Reenie thought she wanted Sandy Shores to never change, but after this summer nothing will ever be the same again.

With the same humour and insight that she brought to the acclaimed Words That Start With B, Vikki VanSickle expertly captures those lazy, hazy, crazy days of the last summer before high school. Though set in a different time, Summer Days, Starry Nights is sure to resonate with all young readers on the verge of adolescence.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Canada, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Coming Of Age

240 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2013

About the author

Reader, writer, Taurus. My work ranges from cozy mysteries featuring snarky detectives to contemporary middle grade fiction to magical, storytime-ready picture books. I am always exploring a new writing era.

Currently, I live and work in Toronto. Everything I do, I do for my cat.

Reviews

[hana · Rating 5 out of 5]

took me back to middle school when i would devour every single scholastic red maple award nominee :')

my copy is signed: "For Hana– swim, read, repeat!" 💜

[Anannya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though this was an amazing book, at times there were moments where I lost interest.
It starts off with Maureen Starr, a young teen, who lives in her family’s inherited resort, Sandy Shores. One day in the summer of 1961, Maureen is woken by her younger sister Scarlett only find her mom missing. With a sudden disappearance, everyone is disturbed. A few days later, her mom arrives, with different approach to improve the resort, and bring in a few customers. That idea was to hold a talent show, and dancing lessons. Maureen’s mom invites her friend’s daughter named Gwendolyn, a ballerina, to spend her summer in Sandy Shores. Gwen shows Reenie that there is more to climbing, swimming, and helping around the camp. With this thought she ask a rock'n'roll star, Johnny Skins to pay a visit at Sandy Shores.


The thought of a rock'n'roll star at Sandy shores for the talent show was a great idea, it would bring publicity to the camp and Maureen would be famous at school. Later does she know that this could be a problem. During her realization of her mistake, and she learn a dark family secret that would changes the way she ever thought.

This was a great book, though at times, I found myself lost, and I couldn't relate myself to her as much. There many scenes that caught my attention and made me eager to read on, I enjoyed the book overall as I could make connections to other books such as dark life where it is all about survival and saving your home. The author’s writing was like a grade 7th student’s diary, she wrote dates on chapters and included detail which described her whole day. Like on pg. 3 it stats
“Summer of 1961.
I wonder if Gwen had agreed…
I knew it had something with...”

These quotes show that the protagonist is thinking to herself and questioning what happened in her day, which is normally written in a diary format, and if it was in a third person’s view it wouldn't be what one person thinks.

I would recommend the books to students as it focuses on intermediate specially. I would rate this a 3 stars, as I couldn't relate the circumstances that the protagonist is in with me. The plot doesn't seem to be captivating the reader’s attention. But an example of when it caught my attention was on page 31

“ It has a chip in it”
“That’s because you're bad. You went without saying goodbye”
“They marbles stayed where they were. Mimi never asked about them again.”

This sparked my curiosity, why didn't she ever say the reason? Why did she disappear all of a sudden? And why didn't she ask further about the chip in the marble? Does it have to do with the family secret?
These questions are quickly answered in the book. It is a fantastic book filled with humor, and excitement, and enjoyable by every reader.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say? I really loved Summer Days, Starry Nights. Reenie is a believeable character, dealing with her mother's mysterious sadness, helping to care for her little sister, Scarlett, and learning how to become a teenager with the help of the older friend of the family, Gwen, who comes to stay at Sandy Shores for the summer of 1963. I loved that the book is focused mostly on friendship, family, and Reenie's aspirations for life - to be the one to inherit and run Sandy Shores when her father retires - with only a fluttering of romance. (Yes, this may be the case of most MG reads, but I'm new to the genre, so it made a pretty big impression on me.)

Finally, Vikki Vansickle builds up a lot of excitement and offers unexpected twists in the plot, which make perfect sense to the reader and Reenie once she's aware of them. You won't see the end coming.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's not secret that I adore middle grade books, especially ones that are realistic and thoughtful. But you know what I love even more? Middle grade novels that tackle the past, in this case in the late 1960s in Ontario. Vikki VanSickle has written a wonderful story about a young Canadian girl looking to learn the truth about her family, and one remarkable summer she may never forget.

First odd, I loved Reenie. Her voices was clear, infectious, and I loved how methodical she was. She wants a role model, she wants someone to look up to, and when her mother walks out on her (for a week, interestingly), she has a hard time trying to understand what would make her favourite role model just up and leave her.

This book has a lot to do with family secrets, and while they aren't difficult to figure out, I love the overall approach. Nothing is ever easy to learn or accept and Reenie and her sister really struggle throughout this story to understand a lot of their mother's odd behaviour. There's just so much heart in this story, and while the warm and fuzzies don't appear until the very end, the book plays with your emotions on numerous occasions, reminding the reader that nothing is ever simple.

I devoured this book in an afternoon and it's a great summer read. I loved the choice of setting with it being a family-owned resort, because those are so typical in Canada as summer "getaways" for people who really can't afford big vacations. At the end of the day VanSickle writes a beautiful and thoughtful story about growing up and comes to terms with new-found changes that are... unexpected shall we say. I honestly cannot wait to track down her Words That Start with B series, because I think I will probably be in love with it too.

But honestly, if you want a sweet story with a loveable protagonist, Reenie really is your girl. Her whole family truly is a joy to read about, and the secrets are worth the discovery.

[Aiyana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rennie knows everything she needs to know about running her family business. She loves the resort with all her heart, but she loves her family even more. The resort is in trouble financially, so when Gwendolyn arrives, Rennie is ecstatic. The summer flies by, and Rennie learns a thing or two about being a teenager, including that sometimes, it's okay to leave well enough, alone.

I picked this book up because it's a red maple nominee, and it looked pretty good. It also looked like a typical fiction book about a teenager with problems, so I wanted to see if that was the case.

I finished this book because it was so interesting, and I wanted to see how Rennie's plans played out.

I recommend this book to Katie. I think she could relate to Rennie and all the things she's going through because of the many siblings.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who reads very little middle-grade fiction, I wasn't sure what to expect from this, the fourth book by Vikki VanSickle. I was thrilled to be greeted by a story with an incredible sense of life, written in a way that does not write down to its audience. The issues and psychology explored in this coming-of-age story ran with such depth, while the narrative remained engaging and well-paced. I am thankful that there are authors such as VanSickle who are writing the smart, thoughtful, engaging novels for a middle-grade audience.

[Christine H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it’s not explicitly described this way, SDSN is a love letter to middle children everywhere. The Starr family live in and run the beautiful cottages at Sandy Shores, a resort in the Muskoka region, north of Toronto. For protagonist Reenie, this is the only home she’s known—the only place she could ever imagine calling “home”. But even the picturesque beaches outside her front door are not enough to drive away the pains of being a teenager. She’s too young to play games with her older brother, Bo, or even to be let in on the secret of his night-time adventures, but she’s old enough to be held responsible for her six-year-old sister, Scarlett, who enjoys cuddling with her in bed and following her everywhere. When a family friend, Gwen Cates, comes to Sandy Shores, Reenie is excited to have someone a few years older than she is to talk with, hang about, and even look up to. But she gets more than she hopes for, for the arrival of the ballet student from the city kick starts a summer of intrigue, self-discovery, and a few skeletons in the family closet.

Reenie is a great character to befriend. She’s authentic and down-to-earth—qualities that too many other characters of similar age lack. VanSickle truly captures the daily dilemmas of being a new teenager and a middle child. Who wouldn’t feel annoyed at being of an age where you are given responsibilities but are still questioned all the time? Who wouldn’t feel left out with a mom who decides to spend more time with visitors than you? And who wouldn’t be gobsmacked at discovering something at the last (and very wrong) moment that has been right before your eyes the whole time?

Summer Days, Starry Nights is one of those books that shines quietly in the corner but will grab hold of you as you spend the summer with Reenie. By story’s end, you’ll be like me, looking online to see if Sandy Shores exists, and wondering if somewhere near Orillia, there really is a resort full of the promise of summer days, starry nights, and scintillating magic.

A complete version of this review can be found at http://squinklebooks.wordpress.com.

[Michelle (FabBookReviews) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have mentioned Vikki VanSickle's name more than a few times on my book review site! Her debut novel, Words That Start with B struck such a chord with me, and fantastically evolved into a three-book series that I recommend when I can. Now, stepping away from the contemporary Clarissa Delaney series, VanSickle has brought us readers a coming-of-age novel set in small town Ontario during the 1960s. Taking me back to my own summer reading memories of Kit Pearson, Paula Danziger, Judy Blume, and Jean Van Leeuwen, Summer Days, Starry Nights is a thoughtful and beautifully explored Bildungsroman featuring a terrific narrator named Reenie Starr.

With a number of more momentous topics being addressed- such as losing faith in a parent, talk about maternal depression, unplanned pregnancy and women's choices- I think this novel will appeal as much to older readers as it does to younger readers. In an interview with The National Post, VanSickle was asked why, even though she touches upon arguably universal themes of independence, young love, etc., she set her novel in the 1960s. And in her answer, the author replies that that hugely agitated time period adds significance to most everything, including Reenie's desire to take over the family cottage business. She is not the oldest sibling, nor is she the son, so what are her options? In a contemporary time period, VanSickle notes, these problems wouldn't carry as much "weight or relevance, but in the early 1960's, the stakes were much higher".

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and would recommend it for readers who love a solid coming-of-age story. If you've been a fan of VanSickle's Clarissa series, then I think you will also love this. And if you like any of the authors I mentioned a few paragraphs up, then do try this. Not only tackling some serious issues, but also with a little bit of Dirty Dancing-type nostalgia and the potential of a promising first love, Summer Days, Starry Nights is summer reading at its best.

[Jennifer Rayment · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Good Stuff

Fabulous opening prologue, hooked me in right away
Honest and real, just the type of story that girls in this age group want to read
Reminds me so much of Judy Blume (huge compliment)
You can't help but fall in love with Reenie
Truly captures the essence and heart of a girl on the cusp of being a young adult
I could feel, taste and see Sandy Shores, it reminded me a little of these cottages that my friend, Cathy Payne's, family owned in Bracebridge that I used to stay at (met the band Northern Pikes once when I stayed there)
Canadian
She acknowledges Nikole Kritikos, from Scholastic Canada, who is one of my favorite people
Couldn't put the story down, was totally enthralled in Reenie's world
Has a Dirty Dancing type feeling to the story. Hard to explain the significance as the story really has nothing to do with the plot of the movie, mostly just the time period and the character development of the main character
Perfection

The Not so Good Stuff

I tried, and slightly understood Mimi's disappointments, but I still disliked her

Favorite Quotes/Passages

"She dropped in on us like a rag soaked in gasoline, and the sparks that had always been there, biding their time among the coals, flared up and set everything ablaze."

"She was a girl used to having things carried for her. I didn't mind, I was a girl used to being at the service of someone else."

"It was the thing I missed the most in the winter, when the lake was checked with ice and everything I loved was sleeping under a few feet of damn, heavy snow. If you stare long enough into the fire, all the noise in your head that builds up during the day disappears and the only thing that left is peace."

Who Should/Shouldn't Read

Perfect for the middle grade girl who can't get into the paranormal or dumb diary books
Those who enjoy style AND substance
Just the book I wanted to read when I was that age (ok and still do)

5 Dewey's

I purchased this from Chapters Shawnessy

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book Summer Days, Starry Nights is a excellent novel. It is about a girl named Reenie Starr. She has 2 siblings. A younger sister named Scarlett and a older brother named Bo. One day, Reenie is in her hiding spot when Scarlett walks over and complains that she's hungry. Reenie says to Scarlett "Go tell Mimi." Mimi is their mother. But Scarlett says that she can't find Mimi anywhere. "Did you look in the office?" Reenie asks. "She's not there,"says Scarlett. In the kitchen?" asks Reenie." She's not there either," says Scarlett. "Maybe she went to help Daddy," suggests Reenie. "Daddy went into town. He was by himself; I saw him leave," said Scarlett. Reenie asks Scarlett if she checked Mimi and Daddy's bedroom. Scarlett says yes but Mimi's not there. "She must be checking in on a cottage then,"says Reenie because they run a resort named Sandy Shores and they are supposed to clean out the cottages today."Did you check all of them?"Not all of them,"Scarlett says."Well then. She's probably in the one you didn't check,"Reenie says which sends Scarlett off. Later, Reenie goes to the bar and finds Scarlett sitting at a table stabbing maraschino cherries with a little plastic sword meant for the fancy drinks. Later their mom comes back and then she invites Gwendolyn Cates over to teach them dance...

[Ley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This takes place during the summer of the 60’s, as you can see, and I found that most of the time I forgot about the 50 year difference and actually sometimes thought that it was set during the 21st century! Then obviously I got back on track, but I love the similarities.

I think Reenie is a typical thirteen year-old. She’s looking for some kind of role-model to sort of get her started through her teen years, and she likes excitement.

I really liked all of the characters, though, but I didn’t have a favorite. Actually, maybe that famous idiot singer, I forget his name, but, he was an idiot. What's in a name? He was the mean, selfish person in this book.

Anyway, the plot was very well placed and thought out, and I like the resolution of it all. I also liked how Gwen’s character was the most difficult to understand, as well as the most complex. Same with Reenie’s mother, who had so many secrets.

I don’t know what else to say. The story was mostly about Reenie loving the resort she grew up in, putting up with her mother, finding a friend in a glamorous dancer, and MAYBE she finds a potential boyfriend (ooooooooooooo). Very quaint and a nice summer read.

[Hayley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book to be very interesting. I liked how the author showed how Reenie changed over the time when Gwen came. It showed her girly side more than it did at the beginning. I thought that it was a good idea that the author made such a loveable singer not do loveable. I was shocked when Reenie's mother came back. I felt bad for the family that she left without telling anyone. I thought it would tear the family apart. I liked the plot twists like with Johnny and Gwen, and Gwen being the long lost sister. When I saw that Bo and Gwen were kind of together, I was happy but shocked. Then I found out that they were brother and sister and I changed my mind really fast. I thought it was sweet that Reenie had her first crush. I gave this book 4 Starr's ( Starr is the family's last name) because I enjoyed reading it. I recommend this book.

[Liralen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read, but too much Dirty Dancing and (woe!) not enough psychedelic hippies for my tastes. All told, VanSickle does a good job of steering the book away from an obviously Dirty Dancing setup, despite the similarities—and I'm not knocking DD; I love it for many reasons, and not just these ones—though I wondered if that wasn't one of the reasons the story is told from Reenie's perspective rather than from Gwen's.

I'm not sure I ever really got a great sense of who the 'real' Gwen is, nor who she hopes to be. How different would her choices be if this book were set in the present day? (How different would Reenie's mother's choices have been?)

[Randy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reenie's family runs a summer resort in Ontario's cottage country. She loves it there, but as the summer begins, she feels out of place with her own teenage self. When Gwen, the daughter of her mother's best friend, arrives to teach dance to the guests, Reenie begins to discover what being a teenager is all about.

I picked this book up because it is one of this year's Red Maple nominees.

I finished it because I was drawn into the setting of this novel. Reenie's love for her home, the lake, and all that is living in the country comes through. I could feel her anxiety about her mother, and about herself through the writing. I was happy to read this book.

I would recommend this to Aiyana. I think she would appreciate the emotions that Reenie begins to explore.

[Nicole02 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer Days, Starry Nights is a very relaxing but can also be very suspenseful book. The book was about this 12 year old girl named Rennie and her family owns a resort, they bring in a old friend who is a ballet dancer to come teach the guests at the resort. Her name is Gwen. Rennie really seems to connect with her throughout the book. I found that characters were developed very quickly. The book had a very realistic plot, the resort was in the woods by the lake I'm going to say that's pretty realistic!The ending of the book was very well written and suspenseful. I found the ending wasn't satisfying.. It ended very quickly not telling what really happened to the characters..

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised how much I liked the book Summer Days, Starry Nights by Vikki VanSickle! The book was never slow or boring. There was always some drama going on in the Starr family. The book was fast paced, and kind of easy to understand. It was very descriptive, dramatic, and kept me in suspense for most of the time until the end where I was VERY surprised! The ending was something I never would have expected to happen. I think that everybody could relate to the main character- Rennie Starr. She just wants to make her family proud of her. So I give the book Summer Days, Starry Nights four stars.

[Ricki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Middle-grade novel about a 13-year-old girl and her family who own a resort at a beautiful sandy ocean shore. Had a twist I didn't see coming. It was an enjoyable read and I thought it had a lot of heart. It reminded me somehow of books I'd read in my middle-grade years and what it felt like to be 13.

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty great. Set in the 1960's, we follow Reenie Starr on a summer filled with new experiences and family revelations. Being Canadian, I particularly enjoyed the Canadian setting. This is definitely a book I would want in my classroom library, if I had one!

[Suzanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this ode to summer and the 60s!

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review pending - simply put, a lovely nuanced story that draws you in and keeps you reading!

[Susan Earle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vikki's writing just keeps getting better and better. Well done!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

LOVED it! Here's my review: http://thefunlibrarian.blogspot.ca/20...

[Suzanne Sutherland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful read that made me totally campsick. A fabulous summer book.

[Storytime With Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer Days, Starry Nights by Vikki VanSickle and published by Scholastic Canada is the quintessential summer read.
Taking you back to the summer of 1962, VanSickle tells the story of the Starr family, owners and operators of Sandy Shores summer resort. A coming of age story focusing on 13 year old middle child Reenie. She's caught in between being a kid and being a teenager. She loves the resort but doesn't think her Dad recognizes that in her and she's not beautiful and musical like her mother Mimi so she just doesn't know where she belongs. When a new dance teacher arrives to drum up business to the resort, Reenie has someone to look up to and someone who will change her life forever.
When I first started reading I immediately made a connection between this book and the movie Dirty Dancing. The music, the setting, the confusion of trying to navigate the beginnings of becoming a teenager are all part of this story. The similarities end there, the story is vastly different than Dirty Dancing. It is the perfect book to take to the beach or pool and leave the 21st century behind and read about a different time, when families went to summer resorts, rock and roll music was all the rage, and times were seemingly so much simpler.
An amazing novel for the middle schooler or yourself to enjoy on the lazy, hazy last few weeks of summer.

[Veeda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really want dot like this book but at some points it felt like the author was just writing to fill in space. If you like fluffy books, this is good but wasn't for me.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the characters, the Dirty Dancing feel, and it's just a magical coming of age story.

[Mabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's summer and Maureen Starr spends all her time at the place that she loves and wants to own one day, her family's summer resort (a.k.a. Sandy Shores). One day, because her mom thinks that they need some entertainment at the resort. She decides to invite her best friend's daughter, Gwen, a ballerina, to spend her summer at the resort. Along the way, Gwen teaches Maureen how to be more "mature" bringing her out of her innocence side. Choices are being made everyday and she realizes that after this summer, nothing will be the same again.

I picked this book up because it is one of this year's Red Maple nominees, and it looked like it was going to be a pretty good book. The summary also intrigued me because it sounded exciting.

I finished it because the plot was very well placed and thought out. After a few chapters, I couldn't stop reading because I always wanted to know what was going to happen next.

I liked all of the characters except for that really famous superduper selfish singer in the book, Johnny Skins. I didn't like how he was smoking all over the place, ruining all the furniture and stuff. He also hurt Bo, even though Bo wasn't really "with" Gwen, he was just accompanying her on stage. At first he was pretty cool, I got to admit. He sounded really funny and nice on the telephone, but when he got to the resort, he wasn't that nice anymore.

I didn't like how the characters had many nicknames. It was really confusing and hard to follow up with. I wish they had only stuck with one or two names per character. (My opinion)

I recommend this book to Katherine, because she also owns a summer resort/cottage and I definitely think that she could deeply relate to it. She also does ballet, so I think that she could relate to Gwen, of how Gwen's ballet teachers always correct her tiny mistakes.

*Note- don't skip the beginning because it will be important in the future. Read further on and you will see why.

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Vikki VanSickle's YA novel Summer Days, Starry Nights was published by Scholastic Canada Ltd. on June 1st, 2013. This novel has been commended for OLA Best Bets 2014 and also has been commended for CCBC's list of Best Books for Kids and Teens 2013.

Summer Days, Starry Nights is a charming summertime read, set in cottage country Ontario. Filled with colourful characters who struggle with typical teenage conundrums such as identity issues, disapproving parents, relationships, and family drama, readers both old and young will find themselves falling in love with the story. Moreover, they will find a piece of themselves in this book.

Young girls everywhere will see themselves in Reenie. We all want to be treated like an adult as we enter our teen years. The book forces us to see the wise truth of the matter, which is that being an adult and knowing about the adult world is not a wonderful thing. Ignorance is bliss. Knowing about marital problems, the complications of love and sexual relationships, of knowing your parents' secrets... all of this knowledge comes with growing up. And all young girls, like Reenie, want to grow up too fast. Sometimes it's easier to be happy and young and free of the pain of growing up.

This is a beautiful novel from a masterful Canadian storyteller, and I was surprised by how easily and how quickly I fell in love with this book. I've never read anything else by Vikki VanSickle, but I can now agree that she's a brilliant writer and she deserves all the acclaim she's received and more.

Summer Days, Starry Nights is a fantastic choice for classrooms and libraries. The story is so beautifully crafted and reads so eloquently that teachers and librarians will find this YA novel offers substantive value to their classrooms or collections, while also speaking volumes to its young readers.

4.5 Stars

[Simran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thirteen-year old Reenie adores everything about her family's summer resort, Sandy Shores. She loves the bonfires, the lake, fishing, climbing trees, getting to meet the people that come to stay at Sandy shores and make there visit memorable. In the summer, Reenie found out that Gwen was coming. Gwen is Reenie's friend, and she is coming to teach dance to the visitors' at Sandy Shores. Reenie was thrilled to have Gwen come to teach dance, since Gwen was like a role model to her. Gwen is perfection in Reenie's eyes, and she wants to be just like her. As soon as Gwen comes, Reenie found out that there was so much more to life than just Sandy Shores. She felt like she was stuck between her childhood and teenage years. Reenie never wanted to grow up, but after this summer nothing would be the same. The upcoming years would be unforgettable.

"Summer days, Starry nights" is an amazing book for teens as it deals with changes teens go through. For example, teens have different interests than younger people. This book talks about interests and topics like mysterious love, honesty, and for being proud of who you are and for being yourself. This book has so much detail that you can imagine everything, which means you feel like you're in this book. It keeps you encouraged to continue reading, because you won't be confused and you will not have any questions left, since you will find answers by the time you finish reading the book. The beginning doesn't have exciting or important events which makes it a bit boring, but the end has so many strong, important and exciting events, so you will speed though the end. The beginning would be the only con because it doesn't have strong events and is a bit boring. Over all I would recommend this book to anyone who loves to read books about love, mysteries, and secrets.

[Theodora Belle · Rating 1 out of 5]

Summer Days, Starry Nights is a book about the tomboyish girl, Reenie Star who happens to live at the resort her parents own.

<> Her mom got depressed and leaves the resort for like, a week, and then comes back. After that, she gets this great idea to bring her best friends daughter, Gwen who is a dancer, to save the resort by having dance lessons. Gwen comes to the resort but Reenie is disappointed because Gwen isn't the same person she was 6 years ago. Long story short, they have this huge event at the resort, and Gwen's mom sent her to the resort to keep her away from her toxic boyfriend, Johnny. But Rennie invites Johnny to the event thinking it will be a nice surprise for Gwen. We then find out that Johnny is kind of a bad guy. After the big incident with Johnny, Reenie's brother wants to run away with Gwen to Toronto because they were secretly dating. Reenie's mom then has to reveal that Gwen and Bo (Reenie's brother) are actually half brother and sister (dumb, I know)

Now that I've got that off my chest, I think my problem with this book is very obvious. The book was headed for three stars for being an average book, nothing exciting. Then this terrible plot twist comes and it takes it down to two stars. I actually wanted to give it a one but I had no explainable reason, so I left it at two. There was something big missing in this book but I'm not quite sure what it is. I also found it extremely boring at times, so boring that I didn't want to read on. There were no amazing characters, they were all dull, which made me hate the book more. VanSickle has left a terrible first impression on me.