Mia Gordon reminisces about her pivotal 16th summer in this realistic and satisfying chick-lit debut. As her Athens, Ga., family travels to the Hamptons to stay at her aunt and uncle’s beachfront property, Mia can’t wait to catch up with her cousin, Corinne, and her cousin’s seemingly perfect family. After years of separation, she’s shocked to discover a house full of tension and lies and that svelte Corinne has given up ballet to become a snobby, wild partier who dabbles in alcohol, drugs and sex. Self-conscious about her body image and her family’s lack of money, Mia instantly feels caught between being honest and trying to fit in with the wealthy vacationing set until she meets aspiring artist Simon, summering at the gaudy, nouveau-riche house next door. During their secretive late-night meetings along the beach, she finds the courage and the freedom to be herself. The romance is filled with similarities and allusions to The Great Gatsby, and readers of the American classic will predict the tearjerker ending. (Fiction. YA)
