MY ALMOST EPIC SUMMER
Adele Griffin
G. P. Putnam's Sons
Fiction
ISBN-10: 0399237844
ISBN-13: 9780399237843
176 pages

After being fired from her mother's salon, Irene has to find a summer job quickly. She'd rather be drawing the hairstyles of heroines from literature, her passion. She carries her notebook and a few classic books everywhere, looking for inspiration.

However, the job she ends up taking doesn't seem to provide much inspiration. She will be spending the summer babysitting young siblings Lanie and Evan in a house that only has television for one hour a day.

Luckily, Irene is creative. She comes up with Food Chicken, a dare-style game where each person puts a food item into a bowl, mixes it up and takes turns taking a couple of bites. But getting sick is not her plan for the summer, especially as she continues to receive emails from her far-away friends about all the acquaintances and boyfriends they're making at their camps and relatives' houses.

At the beach, where Irene and the kids bike to in the afternoons, Evan is "rescued" from a fake injury by gorgeous Starla, the lifeguard. Starla has the nerve to ask Irene for $10 to pose for a drawing in her notebook. Then she starts telling Irene about her love gone wrong, D., who dumped Starla at the end of the school year. She's out for revenge and wants Irene to be a witness to the nasty things she does to get his attention. Then she posts information about these actions on her blog along with her horrible poetry. Is this the kind of friend Irene wanted to make?

As she grows more uncomfortable with Starla, she becomes sort of comfortable with D., who turns out to be Drew, a boy she knew in grammar school. Irene thinks he's a hottie --- and he's interested in Irene, too.

Watching the kids, keeping Starla from going too crazy, and maintaining Drew's attention make for a busy and exciting summer after all. Irene quickly makes decisions about what --- and who --- are most important to her and why.

Adele Griffin is a National Book Award Finalist who has created a fun and very human character in Irene. MY ALMOST EPIC SUMMER will be a hit with anyone who worries about having a boring summer.

   --- Reviewed by Amy Alessio

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