Bittersweet Summer by Anne Warren Smith

Katie Jordan isn't exactly looking forward to the summer. Her mom is singing on tour, so Katie never gets to see her.  Her best friend is going away for two whole weeks. Her neighbour, Claire, has a scheme going on involving their old teacher falling in love with Claire's dad. And now Katie's dad has said that the family might have to move away so that he can find a new job. Nothing is going the way it's supposed to! If the whole summer goes this way, it's going to be an awful summer.

I love the Katie Jordan books. She's such a great main character: confident and smart and struggling to make sense of life as she grows up. The way that she can quickly go from being as practical as a grown-up to childishly insisting on her own way is humourous and real. While I continue to think that Claire could benefit from some therapy, the fact that she's not all bad makes her a satisfying foil for Katie (a character who's not all good, not all the time). As with Turkey Monster Thanksgiving, there is a lot of thinking about what makes a family and how a family can still be whole when it's missing a member.

Check out Anne Warren's Smith's website.

I read a review copy from NetGalley courtesy of Albert Whitman and Company. 

Find it at IndieBound. 

Read it with:
Turkey Monster Thanksgiving by Anne Warren Smith
Tails of Spring Break by Anne Warren Smith
What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb
Bummer Summer by Ann M. Martin