A & L Do Summer by Jan Blazanin

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website:

I’d like to say something clever, but my tongue is paralyzed. This guy is tall and built and—okay, maybe he’s not exactly handsome. Wait, that’s not true. He is exactly handsome. From ten feet away I can see the electric blue of his eyes. All of that put together makes him the Superman of redheads.

After a year in rural Cottonwood Creek, Iowa, city girl Laurel is still adjusting to a place where parties take place in barns, guys ride around in pickup trucks, and a killer senior prank involves getting pigs into the principal’s office. Fortunately, she has her best friend Aspen, an Iowa native, to show her around. The real problem is that neither the country girl nor the city slicker have boyfriends—or any prospects for getting them. Clearly, they need to raise their profile—and they have a summer to do so.

Review:

Every summer comes the wave of summer books, the ones that promise funny, light reads with their pretty covers, and with Jan Blazanin’s newest book A & L Do Summer the reader receives that and much, much more to say the least.

Aspen, one city girl stuck in the country, and Laurel, a longtime country girl, have always been the girls to fall under the radar in their small country town, but this summer will change everything for the better. To begin this, Aspen has a great first plan involving one prank, pigs, and the principal’s office. Unfortunately, their prank idea ends up in the wrong hands and involves one late night clean up that starts their summer off to a less than satisfactory start. However, this does not get them down; instead, they plan to try harder. From summer jobs involving interesting drive thru service, to walking skunks in strollers, to parties and boys, this summer will surely be unforgettable. Though, will it land Aspen and Laurel on the radar once and for all, or will it leave them even farther down on the social ladder? Only time and more pages will tell in this funny and easy read.

Adorable and funny, Aspen and Laurel were two main characters that I could not help but adore. Their antics involving being noticed were hilarious; their friendship was three-dimensional and relatable to every girl or boy who has a crazy best friend; and best of all, their personalities jumped off the page and came to life. The secondary characters also added a great deal of fun to this light read such as Clay, Laurel’s love interest, Manny, Laurel’s brother who Aspen cannot help but love from afar, and Miss Simmons, the typical crazy old skunk lady.

While the plot of this was too complicated or original, it was easy to fall into, because of the different events that occurred as well as the spark the characters brought. I enjoyed seeing Aspen and Laurel’s everyday lives depicted on page, and I especially loved seeing all the trouble they got themselves into. Several scenes had me laughing aloud, which always makes me love a book even more.

Finally, Jan Blazanin’s writing has definitely improved in this one. From the story building to the character and plot development, everything was right on key, and this has made me even more eager to read more by her.

Full of spunk and sparks, A & L Do Summer will have you giggling to yourself as these country girls make a name for themselves.

Grade: A-

A & L Do Summer is now out!

Source: Publicst at GoodMan Media- thanks Jenny!