Summer Girls by Hailey Abbott

The Tuttle family is back for another summer at Pebble Beach, but now it’s time for three new cousins to rock the social scene. Jessica, Greer, and Lara are all members of the extended Tuttle family, but they couldn’t be more different. Athletically competitive Jessica is the only Pebble Beach veteran out of these three girls, and she’s determined to make this summer absolutely perfect, which includes plenty of cousin bonding time, beach parties, and, of course, hot guys. For somewhat coldhearted Greer, it’s a much different story. Her parents have sent her to bond with the other Tuttles while they work on their own marriage issues. And all Greer wants now is a hot guy on her arm so she can forget her parents’ problems. Lara, on the other hand, couldn’t be more excited to meet the family of her newest stepfather. Unfortunately, the gorgeous guy she’s fallen for happens to be Jessica’s brother, a summer crush doomed before it began. It’s going to be another summer of misplaced crushes, complicated relationships, and even heartbreak for the Tuttle girls until they finally come together and realize what’s most important.

Hailey Abbott is probably the queen of summer beach reads for teens. Like Summer Boys and Abbott’s other novels, Summer Girls has all the necessary elements for a guilty pleasure for the hot season: beaches, hot guys, girls with varying degrees of boy-craziness, and, of course, scandal. I can’t say Summer Girls stands out with its plot among another other beachy reads I’ve perused, especially Abbott’s previous novels, but that doesn’t mean this book won’t be enjoyed by fans of this type of novel. Though in no way original, the boy chasing and familial fights keeps things relatively interesting on Pebble Beach. Abbott does deserve points for her characters though. Jessica, Greer, and Lara, like the plot, are none too original and are even a bit stereotypical at times, but readers will grow to love these three girls. They each have their good qualities and their faults, which makes them realistic, and readers will be rooting for them to make up when their tentative friendship starts to fall apart. I found it a little strange how much Abbott emphasizes family when two out of the three main Tuttle girls come from broken or breaking down families, but although it’s a little to cutesy for my taste, I recognize that family will always be there, even if it’s in a different form than what you’re used to.

Summer Girls is sure to be enjoyed by any girl heading to the beach and fans of Abbott’s earlier summer reads. Yes, this novel doesn’t have much real substance to it, but everyone deserves at least one guilty pleasure.

Rating: 3.5

Review copy from publisher Scholastic