Customer Reviews

Girlfriend Material

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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.

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.

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!

Kate has always wanted to be Lady Brett Ashley. She has always wanted the guys to be all over her. She has always wanted to be cool and sophisticated. She never wanted to be the shy girl who gets tongue-tied around any cute boys she may happen to meet in her hometown of Salt Lake City.

Then, things change. Kate is forced to spend her summer with her mom at an old friends beach house on Cape Cod. Things look horrible from the get go. Her parents marriage seems to be breaking up, the only person she knows on Cape Cod turns out to be a giant witch, and she gets stuck giving tennis lessons to the nastiest teenager on Cape Cod. Could things possibly get any worse?

Yup. She could fall for the wrong guy who makes her think that maybe she doesn't want the summer to end. She could fall for the wrong guy who makes her feel like Lady Brett Ashley. How could anything good possibly come of this?

Okay, first off, this is the first book I have ever read by Melissa Kantor so I wasn't sure what to expect. I loved it. I plan on reading more of her books as soon as I can get my hands on them. Girlfriend Material was cute, funny, romantic, and everything I could possibly want in a good summer read.

Kate was such a likable character, as was Adam. They were just so cute and easy to relate to. Kate was so much like me. She was just so confused by guys. She had no clue how to act around them or even how to talk to them. It was like reading about myself, a little. Adam was also one of my favorite characters. He was so sweet and seemed like he would make the perfect summer boyfriend. I just kept turning the pages, hoping everything would work out in the end.

While the story of Girlfriend Material isn't exactly a new one, it was still a very good one. It's the perfect summer read, whether you are at the beach, the pool, or even stuck at home. I definitely recommend it and I could even see myself rereading this one.

Katie had the perfect summer in progress: hanging out at her best friend's house, creative writing classes, and tons of time to perfect her tennis game so she could make varsity the next school year. That is until her mom decides to take Katie along with her for "time away" from her father so they can reevaluate their relationship.

Katie wants to be home living her life and is mad that her mom drags her along to her mother's best friend Tina's house. In Cape Cod! But Katie decides she might be able to make the situation tolerable - she had visited there once before and gotten along well with Sarah, Tina`s daughter.

When Katie and her mom arrive, Katie realizes that Sarah is just as unhappy with Katie's arrival as she is. Sarah avoids Katie and makes it quite clear that Katie is not invited to her activities.

To help pass her time, Katie accepts an offer to coach a girl in tennis. She struggles to teach the young girl as the girl's father hounds her with criticisms.

Katie keeps trying and trying to make this summer living arrangement work for her. Each time she thinks she has made it doable, Katie finds out she is sorely wrong.

What will Sarah think when Katie starts hanging out with her friends?

And when Adam actually seems to like her..like LIKE her, there has to be a catch! She's not the girlfriend type. She's never had a boyfriend before. And those things just don't happen to Katie.

Or do they?

Will Katie's summer be a complete flop? Or will she manage to survive? Join Katie as she tries to survive outside of her comfort zone, and even learns that things are not always what you think they are at first. Sometimes they are WAY different.

Reviewed by: Dianna Geers

Girlfriend Material is a quick, cute, summer read! It would be excellent to throw in your bag for a day at the beach.

While initially I was expecting quite a bit a fluff, perhaps a summer fling romance, there were some deeper elements at play in this novel. It's more about Kate discovering what type of girl she is, not so much "girlfriend." Deeper element number 1) finding your place when your parents are having problems. Number 2) sibling jealousy, overcoming the closeness you feel one sibling has with a parent and opening yourself up. Number 3) realizing besides being parents, they are also human. Number 4) don't be quick to judge.

And then on top of all that we have this budding relationship between Kate and Adam. It plays out nicely in the beginning stages of the relationship, has a rocky spot in the middle, but instead of progressing steadily as it did in the early stages, there is a race to the finish, that made it just a tad bit to unbelievable for me, even if it's only fiction.

The writing was fun, and enjoyable. The story flowed nicely, but as I said above, the ending was rushed. The characters were realistic, and relatable, each one adding their own element to the story line. Definitely reading material..

Have I ever mentioned before how much I love Melissa Kantor's book? Seriously, they are some of the most adorable reads ever. Sure they are not ground breaking or breathtaking, but they still are well written romance type books. Girlfriend Material was no different of course which made it a fast and fun beach read or in my case pool read.

From the start you are thrown into Kate's cape cod summer with Melissa's writing. Kate was a character that was extremely easy to like for some unknown reason. Same with the other characters. Sadly, they were laking a bit of substance, though what else is new?

The plot was predictable of course, but it still surprised me. I loved Kate and Adam's romance storyline a ton. Since, it always seemed like they were never going to be together, causing me to become engrossed in Girlfriend Material from the start.

While Girlfriend Material is not bringing anything new to the table, it is still a cute and summery romance that I definitely suggest to all. Plus, who can honestly not admit that the cover is stunning? Yeah, probably, none. :)

Grade: B