Meet Me at Midnight

February 1, 2020
Love sparks as a summer rivalry turns into a summer romance. Since fellow swimmers Sidney Walters, who's auburn-haired, and Asher Marin, with brown hair and magnetic blue eyes, were 13 years old, their families have spent every summer vacationing together at the Five Pines Resort and Lake House. Sidney and Asher have spent those summers as enemies, constantly trying to outdo each other with elaborate pranks such as putting self-tanner in sunscreen, lacing toothpaste with cayenne pepper, and spiking the shower with cherry Kool-Aid so it dyes everything red. It's Sidney and Asher's last summer before college, and their quest to outdo one another results in a prank that goes one step too far, costing their families their summer rentals. Forced to call a truce, their true feelings about each other begin to surface, and they're faced with something even scarier than slipping in a room covered in mayonnaise: falling in love. In her novel told in Sidney's and Asher's alternating first-person perspectives, Pennington (When Summer Ends, 2019, etc.) crafts two believable teens ensnared in a hate-to-love romance that is addictingly enjoyable. The comedic matchup between Sidney, a meticulous overthinker, and the charming yet snarky Asher will have readers rooting for the duo. All main characters are assumed white. A steamy, prank-filled summer romance that readers will devour. (Romance. 14-18)

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February 21, 2020

Gr 8 Up-Sidney and Asher should be friends. Their parents are good friends, they are both on swim teams, and they spend summers together at neighboring lake houses. However, years of crazy, messy, and demeaning pranks have turned them into something closer to enemies. When one of those pranks gets them kicked out of their vacation houses in the middle of the summer of their senior year, they are forced to share close quarters in one cottage and to declare a truce while they plot against the woman who had them evicted. Joining forces, of course, propels them into a closer relationship, and they finally admit their mutual affection-but only temporarily. Their on-again, off-again romance is related by both Sidney and Asher, and they both emerge as well-rounded characters; friends and family make appearances as needed. Besides the push to train for their college swim team, there are no outside conflicts, but the pranks are outrageous and sometimes hilarious. Their relationship builds very slowly and ends somewhat predictably, but it is sweet and real, and fans of Sarah Dessen or Meg Cabot will find themselves hoping these pranksters find true love. VERDICT With a light romance, humor, and summers full of swimming, parties, and bonfires, this is a perfect beach read.-MaryAnn Karre, Binghamton, NY

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2020
Grades 9-12 For Sidney Walters and Asher Marin, summers at the lake mean swimming, boating, bonfires, and parties?and a friendship rooted in a six-years-long prank war. Now, in the summer before they head off to college, their pranks escalate, causing the families to be kicked out of their treasured rental cabins. A truce is called, and Sid and Ash plan one final prank together as revenge for their eviction. However, being in cahoots opens the door to feelings that have been simmering since their first summer together. Told in scenes alternating between Sidney and Asher, the novel captures the joy of summer, the love for lake life, and the quaintness of vacation towns after the tourists go home. Simply put, this book is a delight to read. The pranks are silly fun (for the most part), the tingle of unexpected love is sweet, and the hesitation to go all-in is splendidly real. Pull up a beach chair; Sidney and Asher are your perfect summer-reading companions.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)