Review: A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

Author: Kody Keplinger

Publisher: Poppy

Page Count: 304 pages, Hardcover

Date Published: June 5th 2012

Find it on Goodreads: A Midsummer's Nightmare

Source: Purchased

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.

My Thoughts: Funny and cute, with the classic Keplinger style... What's not to love!?

I adore Kody Keplinger's books. They're hilarious, with tons of sass and style to them. They are also very relatable and have great morals to them. Her latest novel, A Midsummer's Nightmare was probably one with the most cringe-worthy, hilarious plots yet. Can you imagine, going to your dad's for the summer, only to find out that he is engaged to a woman who has two kids. One of which, is the guy that you hooked up with on graduation night and promised to never see again. Hello awkward!


I didn't like Whitley all too much to be honest, but I got past the things I didn't like about her character and really enjoyed the story. I just found her attitude to be irritating. I understand that she was upset and lonely, but I believe she could have handled herself differently. The partying and the drinking was not going to help and that's all I wanted Whitley to see.There were many times where I almost had to put the book down because she was being so frustrating! But then when she starts to realize how great of a new family she has, she got a bit better. I loved Nathan, though! He seemed like a guy that any girl would die to have. And, I mean, Whitley knows that. But anyways, Nathan was charming and funny, while also being a huge nerd and a very protective brother. Speaking of, I also really liked his little sister, Bailey. She was just about to start high school, super excited and eager to please. All she wanted was to fit in, and with Whitley as a role model, well... You can see that things may have taken a turn for the worse. But after one incident, Bailey kept to being herself and she seemed like a really cool person. Then there's HARRISON! Agh I loved him! The best friends are always my favorites, and for good reason. Harrison had the biggest crush on Nathan, so while Whitley was trying to flirt with him, he was looking at her once-hookup-future-step-brother. Hehe, oh Ms. Keplinger, the situations you put your characters in crack me up sometimes. Harrison seemed like he was the perfect best friend to have during the summer of your nightmares. I want one. (A Harrison, not a nightmarish summer. :P)


There was tons of humor in this book, and that helped balance out a great, strong message of always trying to see the better in a situation. Also, that too much partying is not a good idea. There were a few instances where the book took on some pretty serious subjects, like rape and cyber-bullying, and that kept the story from being just a fluffy contemporary, to a great book with lots to it. Though it isn't my favorite Keplinger book, (THE DUFF will always be), it most definitely was amazing, in my opinion. It was the first one that I couldn't find much of a double standard, other than Nathan criticizing Whitley's partying and drinking when he was like that too, before. But I could forgive that, after we get an actual explanation for it. Sure, Whitley annoyed me, but for the most part I really liked all of the characters in this book. Except for her dad! He kind of sucked. But he also kind of admitted to that, so that was cool. Whitley and her father just needed to talk more and not treat each other like best friends. This was a great novel filled with family, and a cute romance that gave me book-butterflies. The moral that I got from it had a lot to do with self-worth and that living your life to the fullest, without the use of substances, was the most important thing. Which is great. I loved A Midsummer's Nightmare and I think that any fan of Keplinger's would, too. If you haven't read any of her books, I'd really suggest you do. She's got a fantastic style that will have you laughing until you cry, plus puts a lot of message into her novels that are important lessons for teenagers, and even just people. I am so looking forward to her next book!


Happy reading!
~Kristy