Slept Away by Julie Kraut

Overall Rating: 6 out of 10 
Warning: This is not your average summer novel, ladies and gentleman. The city girl doesn't get shipped off to sleep-away camp to suddenly find a connection with nature and a love of the wild. She doesn't form that deep connection with her bunk. And she doesn't return home wishing she was back in camp.
No, Laney Parker, a native New Yorker, has a miserable time in camp. Her bunkmates, albeit the one single friend she makes, torture her. Laney finds that she despises most camp activities, especially swimming or anything else that requires some sort of exercise, and has no unexpected love for nature and all things wild. And when Laney returns home, "home sweet home" has a whole new meaning.
But maybe that's what made this book so enjoyable. Despite the very humorous and witty narrative of Laney, the unique and funny characters, and the countless allusions to pop culture, the fact that this book is different from most usual sleepover camp books actually makes it a fun and fresh read.
However, despite the high points of the story, this novel lacks a fast plot and it takes a while to get into things. For example, Laney pursues a romantic interest, but you only meet the boy two thirds of the way into the book. Additionally, several times the plot goes very slow and it gets a little boring. When Laney first arrives at camp, there is just this lull in the story where all she does is moan and groan about her misery and the terrible torture that her bunk and the camp staff inflicts on her. It gets a little tired after a while.
But this book is still very funny and very enjoyable. It may not be the most deep read, but it's a nice story and is very entertaining. Those who enjoyed Sleepaway Girls by Jen Calonita, Cruel Summer by Alyson Noel, or Hot Mess: Summer In the City, also by Julie Kraut, will especially like Slept Away. However, it's a great book for all readers.

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Overall Rating: 8 out of 10

Isabel, aka Belly's, life revolves around the summer. Because during the summer, Belly, her mother and her brother live at Cousins Beach with their longtime friends Susannah, Conrad, and Jeremiah. Conrad and Jeremiah: Belly's best friends, almost to the point of being her brothers. But that wouldn't work, because Belly just so happens to be in love with Conrad. In The Summer I Turned Pretty, Han spins a tale of summer love, friendship, sadness, and growing up into one tear-jerking novel that will leave one craving the sequel, It's Not Summer Without You.
The worst part about this novel was the confusion caused by the random flashbacks. Each chapter is either the present day or a flashback, and if one forgets to read the title of the chapter, they will certainly be confused (which happened to me many, many times)
But otherwise, The Summer I Turned Pretty was an amazing book. The character development was one of the many high points. To start, Belly was about as complex as a real person. I really could connect to Belly when her best friend, Taylor, comes over for the summer and Belly can't help but feeling as if the two parts of her life should not mix. She also feels a little possessive over the boys, and jealous too, when they start paying attention to Taylor. What was great was being able to read about something, and then say, "oh, Jeremiah would do that", or "that's so Conrad". Han creates complex and realistic characters and makes the reader feel as if they had known them for their whole life.
Another great element of this story is the deviation away from the cliche summer romance novel. Sure, Belly loves Conrad. But this story twists even deeper into family problems, a summer fling, the fun of Cousin's beach, as well as an unexpected and heart wrenching illness. When one sees the cover, they might think that inside rests an ordinary teenage girl novel, but don't be fooled, because there is so much more.
The best part of this book, I would have to say, is the emotions. Han conveys emotions so accurately and  deeply that it is impossible not to feel the same thing and get caught up in the story. You'll laugh at loud when Jeremiah sings to Belly during karaoke, feel angry when Conrad forgets Belly's birthday, and cry when... (You'll have to read it to find out that last part)
Overall, a terrific book. Those who enjoyed Just Listen or Keeping The Moon by Sarah Dessen, in addition to Summer Boys by Hailey Abbot will especially love this book.
Coming April 27th: It's Not Summer Without You, the sequel