Hot Mess: Summer in the City

Reader reviewed by Megan

EMMA FREEMAN IS waving buh-bye to her standard summer of stationwagoning around the suburbs. This summer shes heading to the big city. Emmas totally prepped for days at a fabulous internship and nights of socialite-ing around town. But when youre 17 and not an heiress, reality is far from pink fizzy drinks and red velvet ropes. As the summer heats up, Emma learns that glamour is hard to come by when your only friend is too boy-crazy to hang, your budget is more H&M than D&G, and you spend 8 hours a day working for a man who proves that the devil wears Dockers too. Add one little white lie told to one very hot coworker and a roommate who makes Paris Hilton look junior varsity, and this summer in the city is starting to turn into one hot mess.
This was definetly a summer read. It has great characters who are funny and easy to relate to. The idea of the book was good and funny. I loved Colin he sounded like a gut I would date. The Dorf was really annoying in a chracter way because that's how is character way. I would hate to have him as a boss but he makes part of the great novel. Emma was a little whiny but other than that she was great. Ths book shows some great friendships between Rachel and Emma and how they reley on each other and what bff's are for. Jayla added to fun by making a funny charcter who I think was a little over the top. The plot was never slow and took some bad turns and a few good ones.

Reader reviewed by cara

When Emma Freeman's boyfriend heads off to college for summer orientation, she thinks that he'll return in a week and that they'll be able to spend the rest of the summer together. They have big plans to lifeguard together to catch some rays . But after a strange girl answers Brian's phone, Emma decides that her summer plans need a drastic change.

She takes her parents up on their offer to send her to New York City for the summer to work at an internship secured by a friend of a friend, and she talks her best friend Rachel into going with her. They are going to have so much fun in the city just like Carrie and Samantha!

But when the girls arrive in the city, nothing is like they fantasized. Why are hot dogs off the street so cheap but everything else so expensive? Their parents agreed to foot the bill for the girls to spend the first couple of nights at a hotel, but they quickly discover that looking for an apartment can be like looking for a sane person in a bucket full of crazy. And what's with the weirdly large number of people napping in the street?

 I completely enjoyed reading about Emma and Rachel and their adventures in the city. Kraut and Lester get the voice of a teenager exactly right, and the scrapes Emma gets herself into are hilarious. I think I laughed out loud at least once every ten pages, and that doesn't happen often. Older readers may pause at the idea of Emma and Rachel's parents sending them off to live in New York without solid living arrangements, but the resulting hilarity that ensues as Emma and Rachel attempt to find an apartment that is within their  price range makes up for this bit of unbelievability. I didn't want the book to end.

Reader reviewed by Megan

I loved this book. I t was very addicting even though it took me week to read. I just wanted to keep on reading this. I loved the characters and the plot and having a crazy boss and weird one too  would  be interesating and i loved how she like no budget and was always complaing about different thing. Having boy problems is also very challening and funny to read about. I would defintely reccomend this book to anyone who wants a lights read and very fun beachy read. I also loved the cover with the icec cream and sprinkles and i loved the girl's red shoes i totally want those shoes. Read this book it is funny interesing and a great summer read. Just be careful you might want to do whant she does.

Reader reviewed by Vanessa

Summary: Emma Freeman has her summer planned out. She's going to lifeguard with her boyfriend. This doesn't stay the plan due to her boyfriend's lack of faith when he goes to his college orientation, another girl answers his phone. Now Emma has to switch plans, taking the summer internship her dad had been nudging at her for a while. She takes her best friend, Rachel, along and they head to the city. As in... New York City. They must find a place to stay for 2 months and end up living with Jayla, a super glam girl who's probably kissed more A-Listers than you can think of. However, Emma's job is not so glam. Her boss, Derek Dorfman, is a nightmare. He recites 90s rap songs and asks Emma things like "are you sad because you don't have a boyfriend?" even though he doesn't know anything about her life. Out of this, Rachel thinks of the idea that she should write a book about her crazy boss. No summer read is finished without some love, so Emma meets a guy at a club named Colin who she ends up lying to for a long while about her age and her job (she really has no actual job, she's an intern). This summer isn't coming out to be what she planned, becoming a hot mess... but in its own way its everything she wanted it to be.
My Thoughts (may contain spoilers): Such a cute summer read. I really liked it a lot and couldn't stop readin--on the subway, bus, my mom's apartment. I really liked Colin and didn't like how Emma lied to him. It was funny, mostly. I'm not easily made to laugh from a book but it got me more than twice. Derek Dorfman wasn't that incredibly funny. Whenever Emma told her stories to Rachel and Jayla I didn't think they were that book-worthy. Jayla was great, even though she was a little over-dramatic with the Carter thing. I'm glad for Jake. I think Rachel got annoying... with all her JDates and stuff. I liked the ending... it was nice that she got something out of the summer. Again, cute, light, summer read.


Reposted at whatvanessareads.wordpress.com

Reader reviewed by Julie M. Prince

SEX AND THE CITY with an eighteen-year-old protagonist in patent leather sandals,
this book has got just the right balance of humor and drama to make for a fun summer read.

When Emma breaks up with her college-bound boyfriend, she decides not to spend her
last summer before senior year trailing after him like a lost puppy. Instead, she convinces her best friend, Rachel, to ditch summer camp and take off with her to New York City for summer internships designed to beef up their college resumes.

Unfortunately, while Rachel lands an awesome editing internship, Emma is stuck with Derek "The Dorf" Dorfman, a supervisor
who quotes hip hop when he should be Sweatin' to the Oldies. The one thing Emma
has going for her is a hot summer crush who seems to like her back...or at least
he likes the person he believes she is.

Full of fashion quips: in a room full of older, cooler hipster chicks who could actually go into a vintage store and not come out looking like Captain Jack Sparrow, I couldve been wearing a garbage bag and felt less conspicuous. And dating drama: who is this? A Hilary Duff drag queen? This book is totally poolside material. Actually, I read it while floating on a raft and sipping a fruity drink. It gave those perfect, throw back your head and laugh scenes designed for successful lifeguard flirtation.

Off to turn another page&.