britta hates her mom's boyfriend, all she wants is to get away from his sleazy comments. meredith is the good girl with the perfect gpa but she's tired of it, if only she could take a break. kate is the gorgeous daughter of a politician who's gotten into a bit of trouble, and she needs to hide away from the mess of her life. and the perfect opportunity presents itself when spider and her grandmother, ruthie, are renting out three rooms in the adirondacks for the whole month of july. the book follows the story of these four girls, britta, meredith, kate and spider as they find themselves in the summer that will change them forever.

to start off, it was a heartwarming story and a refreshing change of pace for me after all the searing thrills of fantasy books i was consuming. it captured the essence of ya perfectly: good friends, good music, perfect atmosphere. i found myself envious of the girls exploring the mountains and lakes of the adirondacks, myself being boxed up in my room. the characters and their relationships were endearing and wholesome. i found it predictable but what can be expected from a lighthearted ya novel with no magic and queens and poisons?

addressing the writing, it was sub-par. no big showy paragraphs and nothing over-the-top. the book had no business being in third person and the switching povs got confusing midway. at one point, i felt like all the povs read the same. i was also expecting some queer romance content between two characters (you'll know it if you read it) but i was sorely disappointed.

while i enjoyed the concept of the novel, i felt like it could've been executed better. maybe it would be better suited for a movie? the picturesque scenes and sometimes beautiful words would have been the perfect montage/voice-over material for some ever-hungry netflix director.
in any case, it's a fun, short read if you're looking for something lighthearted with a cute romance subplot.

rating — 6/10