Just a Summer Romance

by Ann M. Martin

Melanie finds herself unable to forget her summer romance with Justin on Fire Island, especially when she realizes that Justin is a hot new teenage idol. Reissue.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Summer Reads

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Ann Matthews Martin was born on August 12, 1955. She grew up in Princeton, New Jersey, with her parents and her younger sister, Jane. After graduating from Smith College, Ann became a teacher and then an editor of children's books. She's now a full-time writer.

Ann gets the ideas for her books from many different places. Some are based on personal experiences, while others are based on childhood memories and feelings. Many are written about contemporary problems or events. All of Ann's characters, even the members of the Baby-sitters Club, are made up. But many of her characters are based on real people. Sometimes Ann names her characters after people she knows, and other times she simply chooses names that she likes.

Ann has always enjoyed writing. Even before she was old enough to write, she would dictate stories to her mother to write down for her. Some of her favorite authors at that time were Lewis Carroll, P. L. Travers, Hugh Lofting, Astrid Lindgren, and Roald Dahl. They inspired her to become a writer herself.

Since ending the BSC series in 2000, Ann’s writing has concentrated on single novels, many of which are set in the 1960s.

After living in New York City for many years, Ann moved to the Hudson Valley in upstate New York where she now lives with her dog, Sadie, and her cats, Gussie, Willy and Woody. Her hobbies are reading, sewing, and needlework. Her favorite thing to do is to make clothes for children.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/annmma...

Reviews

[Amanda Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I specifically remember this being the first "romance" I ever read! I was in the 7th grade. I bet I checked this book out of the library a dozen times that year :)

Before this I had only been interested in R.L Stine's Fear Street & The Babysitters Club.

This book holds a lot of nostalgia for me! I recently ordered it for my home library. It makes my heart smile. It reminds me of coming of age and first loves. Junior High and giggling best friends. ❤

[Amber J (Thereadingwitch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating 3.46 out of 5 stars

Mel is a 14 year old girl who spends her summers on Fire Island with her family and best friend Lacey. This summer though she is ready for boys, and as fate would have it, she meets a cute boy named Justin who she stalks a bit before he catches her at it. In no time at all they are dating and falling in love. However as Justin points out, after summer they probably won't be able to see each other again. So it will have to be just a summer romance.

It was a cute story, entertaining for sure. I'm pretty sure that the thought process with the teenagers in the story was a bit too mature to be realistic, and at times not mature enough. However, I did like the story, I find I didn't like Justin much, not even at the end. This book has 2 parts and all I can say is that the end of summer is not the end of this book."

My rating system:
initial feeling= 3
writing= 3.5
story= 3.5
originality= 2.5
unpredictability= 4
ending= 3.5
interest= 4.25

[Ruth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty cheesy preteen stuff. A normal girl meets a soon-to-be-teen-idol cutie and has a summer rated-G romance. Boy does not want to continue relationship, because he knows, come fall, he will have access to countless teen babes. Sounds like a nice guy. She takes him back in the end anyhow.

[Mkunde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to read this book exactly twice a year between 6th and 8th grade. It was really quite good.

[Steph | bookedinsaigon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anyone else only own a few books when they were little and read them dozens of time until they made your list of favorite books besides not being, well, THAT good?

[Jacie Havill · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, my mother got me into this book. It was a book she read when she was a kid, and she handed it off to me. First off, I LOVE romance books, they always keep me on my feet and guessing what comes next in their relationship. But sometimes, it gets a little repetitive. But with this book it really jumped at you with a concept that you didn't even think could happen. For instance, Justin Hart turning out the be a huge actor!? And the amount of determination Melanie had just to find out the truth of Justin, and being a little self-centered on wanting to know what he thinks about her. But then it all came to a predictable end with them getting together. Quite a nice read, wouldn't say it's the best, but overall its a good G-rated romance novel. I espescially loved Melanie, the main character. She was a typical love-struck teenager, and honestly, I related so much to that.

[Marilyne Elasmar · Rating 5 out of 5]

First "romance" book I remember reading 🥹🥹

[Anthony Samanez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this story!!!

[Ashley · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've been reading Ann M Martin's non-BSC books in order, but this wasn't supposed to be the next one I read, that was supposed to be With You and Without You . But I've read that one before, and I'm sick and stuffed up, and didn't feel like sniffling through my feels, so I though Just a Summer Romance would be better for me.

This was okay, a little cheesy and shallow, but I can see how it would have been appealing to teenage girls in the 80s. The writing was pretty simple, read more like a middle grade book than a teen read, but it was a quick and brainless read, which was what I needed.

Also absent were a lot of Ann M-isms. Aside from part of the book taking place on Fire Island, which is a fave of hers to write about, there weren't any Perkinses or huge families or Kristy/Mary Anne best friendships.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just a Summer Romance

I remember reading this book when I was younger and I loved it. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to visit Fire Island...of course when I was younger, I wanted this whole summer romance to happen!!! Great book, easy read!!! Very enjoyable!!!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always liked this book! It's a cute story and an easy read.

[Molly Polak · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book and it had one of the best romance plots that I have read. Melanie had the best summer ever with Justin and has to forget him but she can’t stop thinking about him. As Justin became famous on magazines and on a tv show it made forgetting him ten times more difficult for Melanie. This book made me cringe, smile, and made me not able to put the book down.

[Sarah Robbins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one my favorite books growing up so when I saw it on Hoopla from my library I couldn't resist the nostalgia. It was nice taking a trip back in time but also funny to see how times have changed especially reading it now as a parent (14 year olds on their own in New York City 😳🙈).

[Flora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly charming and entertaining

[Julie Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweetest young love book. Found a box of my old junior high books and re-read it. I found it to be cheesy but it's junior high so that's alright! Always loved Ann M. Martin back in the day.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I grew up loving The Babysitters Club so when I found this book at a library book sale I picked it up due to the author name. This book was ok. Nothing special. Sort of bland and predictable.

[Emilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite book growing up

[Casey · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still have my paperback from the late 80's, but I just read a digital copy from the library. I've read this book probably a dozen times, it's like comfort food.

[Megan Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this so many times as a teen!

[Sue Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

a great romance
reminds me of books I read as a teen
very good

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished this book with a lovely smile on my face. Sweet book.

(On a side note - Mel arranged to phone Justin at 9pm so she passed the time by writing "an extremely sad poem.")

[Aubrey McCune · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good but could have used way more at the end

3 stars ***

[Kelly Z!(:]

I loved this book! It truly was a heart- wrencher!! I just absolutely loved everything about it! It had so much suspense and drama!!!!
I really liked just the way this book was written! The entire time they were at Fire Island waas so sweet! Even though her friend was mad at her for spending time with someone else... I think that anyone would be! But since she's her bestfriend she forgave her very easily! I also just loved how sweet Justin was to her! He was like a dream guy!
I really didn't dislike anything about this book! I loved it!
This book REALLY surprised me once they left Fire Island. Mel started seeing Justin on covers of magazines and she thought she was going crazy but then found out that Justin is an actor in a TV show!!! So shocking!
Overall, this was a great book! I love reading books about romances...especially summer romances! They're so adorable!

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book a girl, Lacey, meets a boy on the beach. Well, she more like stalks him. When Lacey is sitting outside of the boys house, in the sand dunes, he spies her, creeping on him. When he asks what she is doing he finally finds that he likes her. Their love grows strong threw the summer, but they can't a relationship past the summer, they live too far away. When they go home the boy has a secret and everyone knows but Lacey....


What I loved about this book is right from the start it gave you the personality of Lacey and described it so well that I found it easy to relate to her. One thing I didn't like about this book is how rushed it felt, I don't know if it was because I didn't want to put it down or if it was suppose to be rushed because of the short time they had together.

[Cerridwen Nicneven · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore this book. I’ve read it about 50 times since I was 11. It’s about a girl Melanie Braderman who meets the gorgeous Justin Hart on Fire Island the summer before high school. They date for the duration of the summer. Shortly after she gets home she finds his face on the cover of People Magazine and is determined to find out just who was she dating. It is pretty corny for certain but it was written in 1987 so that’s expected. It’s an easy read and a good book to kick start summer reading.

Check out more reviews here.

[Mallori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by the same woman who wrote the Babysitter's Club, this is a nice and sweet book. However, this is not a YA book that would really be enjoyed by adults. While the main characters are a Freshman and Sophomore in high school, the sentence structure and prose of the book are very simple, making it seem more appropriate for Middle Grade readers.
This felt very light, lacking depth or urgency. But then, while it was a quick read, I felt it ended abruptly. I wanted a few more chapters or a sequel to see how things ended with Justin and Mel.

[Wanda N. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I fell in love with this book. It filled me with surprises and the unexpected! It's one of those book that turns in to a movie in your mind! Your imagination grows once you begin reading the book! It amused me with detail and romance. There's a surprise in the story that you never expected, a twist of curiosity. I really recommend this book!

[Teresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was cute for the occasional read. It wasn't really worth all I went through to find it, though. It moves too quickly, and there is some things that weren't even relevent to the story. The writing is simple, but some of the banter between characters is funny. 3 stars.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a quick read and a cute story. The summer spent on Fire Island was fun, and the romance was cute. There are some silly parts, which I liked. Most of those were after summer vacation ended. The ending was happy, which was expected, but I was surprised by how it happened.