Girlfriend Material [Hardcover]

Melissa Kantor (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 5, 2009

Kate’s not the type to lose it over a guy.  So she’s appalled by her mom’s summer plan: to drag Kate along to Cape Cod, in a ploy to make Kate’s dad jealous.  But just when Kate’s resigned herself to three months of stoic solitude at the country club, a cute boy named Adam starts drawing her out, and seems intrigued.  Suddenly Kate can’t help but wonder what it would be like if a guy lost it over her.…
 When her breezy romance quickly grows more complicated, can Kate keep pretending Adam is just a carefree fling? Or will she risk telling him her real feelings? Now Kate is asking herself a question she never thought she’d stoop to: Is she girlfriend material?

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 6–9—Salt Lake City native Katie, 16, is planning a great summer with her friend Laura. She is registered for a fiction writing class and has scheduled daily tennis practices, activities that will keep her out of the house so that she can avoid her warring parents. Suddenly her mom announces that she and Kate will be spending the summer on Cape Cod, at her old friends' house. Although Kate is unhappy that her plans have been shelved, she looks forward to spending time with Sarah, the pretty, self-confident and super-cool hosts' daughter. Unfortunately, Sarah is clearly less than pleased to have a new sidekick. Kate determines to make the best of the situation and lands a job teaching tennis, and eventually Sarah mellows enough to be friendly and include her socially. Kate falls hard for good-looking, smart Adam, necessitating her to deal with a complicated romantic relationship while coping with her parents' possible divorce. In this engaging and satisfying novel, nothing earth-shattering happens but the dialogue is witty and readers will relate to the realistically described roller coaster of emotions of a typical suburban teenager. This is the perfect book to give to a someone who loves Maureen Daly's teen classic, Seventeenth Summer (S & S, 1981), or Kantor's earlier books.—Susan Riley, Mount Kisco Public Library, NY END

Review

Praise for Girlfriend Material:

“Realistic dialogue and a quick pace keep the story lively.” —Kirkus Reviews “[A] funny and intimate story of summer romance and family conflict.” —Publishers Weekly

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion Book CH; 1 edition (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423108493
• ISBN-13: 978-1423108498
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,358,311 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Five fun facts about me:
1. The first time I ever kissed a boy, I made a complete fool out of myself. Right before we kissed, the boy asked, "Have you ever kissed anyone before?" I said, "No. Have you?" He said, "Yes." Then I said, "Oh, I forgot. I have too."
2. I'm a Capricorn.
3. I used to unbend a paper clip and put it on my teeth like a retainer because I wanted braces.
4. I didn't learn how to make a grilled cheese sandwich until I was in college. (Does anyone know how to make a grilled cheese sandwich? They're actually kind of hard to make!)
5. I failed Spanish.
Come read the first chapters of all my books for free at melissakantor.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great beach read with a little substance as well, May 9, 2009

By 

M. Knapp "Maggie Knapp" (Fort Worth, TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Girlfriend Material (Hardcover)

Katie (or Kate as she'd rather be called now that she's more grown up) is spending the summer on Cape Cod while her parents are....on a break? She has high hopes of re-bonding with her cousin Sarah, but finds that Sarah is now "all grown up" with cool friends that don't include Katie...er, Kate. Kantor does a great job of capturing the teen voice, and all of her characters are interesting individuals, instead of the all-good or all-bad stereotypes in some books. The books tackles some tough subjects (body image, separated parents, cheating boyfriends) without being preachy, and I found many places to laugh (or sigh with teenage angst) along with Kate.

5.0 out of 5 stars Girlfriend Material, July 22, 2011

By 

Jennifer Rummel - YABookNerd (Norwich, CT) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girlfriend Material (Paperback)

Kate has her summer all planned out - hanging out with her BFF and playing tennis. But she doesn't count on her mother dragging her across the country to visit her college friends and to get away from her husband. Kate knows that her parents have their marital issues - but why does she have to be pulled into their fight. At first she's seriously annoyed at her mother. They have to stay in the guest cottage - which is actually a garage. Kate has to share the one room with her mother who won't stop talking, which is a problem because Kate and her mother have never been close. Tina has a daughter the same age as Kate and the two moms force the girls to hang out. Kate feels more and more like an outsider with Sarah and her friends as Sarah's making it perfectly clear that she doesn't want to hang out with Kate. Slowly Kate begins chatting with her friends and finding her own groove. Celebrating the 4th of July, Kate has a romantic moment that changes her summer. Adam is everything a girl could want in a first boyfriend. Kate's finally happy being in Cape Cod , but in just a few days her world comes crashing down. Will it be a summer to remember or a summer to forget?

Melissa Kantor pens a sweet summer novel filled with romance, family drama, friendships, and finding yourself. The cover is cute and eye-catching. Check it out if you're looking for something fabulously fun.

4.0 out of 5 stars Girlfriend Material, December 12, 2010

By 

Novel Reaction "Read more at Novelreaction(do... (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Girlfriend Material (Paperback)

Kate was just an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl that never had a boyfriend and wants to spend her ordinary summer with her best friend. In Girlfriend Material by Melissa Kantor, Kate's mother dragged her away from the perfect summer halfway across the continent to spend it staying with people she hadn't seen since she was six. They were practically strangers to her! Not only has Kate's parents' relationship always been far from perfect, but Kate really starts to worry when her mom starts flirting with an old high school flame. The worst part was when she told her dad, he acted like he didn't care. She's not just worried about her parents, but her best friend back home all of the sudden has a boyfriend and never takes time to talk to her. Then Kate meets Adam. He seems perfect! Adam is popular, enjoys reading, and is really attractive. Kate enjoys being with him, and is thrilled thinking about how their relationship might grow and develop! Then she discovers a terrible secret that changes everything she ever thought about Adam...

I enjoyed most the very well defined relationships in Girlfriend Material right from the beginning. I didn't really like how it sometimes felt like Kate was just feeling sorry for herself. Aside from those two things, the book was very good and a very quick read! I like how easy it was to picture exactly what Melissa Kantor wanted to paint in the readers mind because of her detailed descriptions. Kate was forced to spend all summer completely out of her comfort zone. She was staying in a stranger's house, she didn't have any friends, and her best friend, Lauren, was spending all her time with her new boyfriend. Kate had a summer full of changes, and they all made her focus on what was really important. All around, Girlfriend Material was a very well-rounded novel!