My Bad Boy Summer by Ann Herrick – a Review

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Description:
Will Nolan give up his bad-boy ways for Vija?

17-year-old Vija Skalbe wants to be an all-American girl—no matter how hard her parents try to impose their strict Latvian standards on her. She feels unsure of herself with one foot in each country.

Then Nolan, a folksinger, steals her heart at a coffeehouse. When Nolan stops at their table, it’s Vija’s friend, Caprice, who does all the talking. But it is Vija who gets his phone number—and later the back seat of his motorcycle. Soon she is cruising from one adventure to another, dizzy with joy, her new-found freedom and the excitement of being with the kind of guy who is a challenge.

However, when her father has a heart attack, Vija must take over running the family lawn-care business. She feels overwhelmed until sweet brainiac Joel volunteers to help. He shares the workload and lifts her spirits with his humor. But it is Nolan who fills her heart.

It doesn’t matter that Nolan wants everything his way. Or that he’s constantly eyeing other girls. Or that he can be pouty and punitive. Or that he says she’s seeing things all wrong. Until it does matter. But Vija’s in so deep. Will he change? Will she deal with Nolan’s controlling tactics, or is she too far under his spell?

Review:

My Bad Boy Summer by Ann Herrick follows teenager Vija Skalbe through her first true romance.  The year is 1959 and school has just ended for the summer.  Vija emigrated from Latvia to the United States when she was eleven.  Now seventeen – all she really wants is to have a typical American teenage summer.  Her first Friday night of summer vacation and she finds herself at The Exit – a local coffee shop that features music on Friday nights.  Vija’s best friend Caprice has brought her here for a night out of fun and possibly meeting guys.  And even though Vija knows her strict parents wouldn’t be happy that this is where she has found herself on a Friday night – she resigns herself to enjoy the night.  That’s when she meets local folksinger – Nolan Shar.  And while Caprice has her eyes set on bad boy Nolan – he seems to take an interest in Vija, much to Caprice’s chagrin.  Nolan gives Vija his phone number telling her to call if she feels like talking.  And what begins after is a whirlwind summer romance, fraught with lies, complexities, and teen angst.  Vija has exactly what she has wanted, a boyfriend to spend time with.  But as time goes on – she begins to contemplate why it is that she hasn’t told her family about him?  And what will happen when she does? 

I fell for Vija from the first page. She was relatable with real life issues.  Her parents are strict and exactly as I would picture parents being in 1959. She is complex, hard working, and not one to disappoint her parents.  She doesn’t refuse to babysit for a family friend, even though she wants to.  She doesn’t say no to helping her father with his yard-care business, although she would much rather be at the beach.  She is a dutiful daughter and not afraid of hard work.  But when Nolan comes along she begins to tell lies.  Lies to where she was, who she was with and what she was doing.  She knows, although she doesn’t quite admit it until later on – that her parents will not approve of Nolan Shar.  And with just reason.

I knew I was not going to like Nolan from their first phone conversation.  And it quickly went down hill from there.  His attitude towards Vija was ridiculous.  And while she was pining for her first love (we have all been there) he was treating her horrendously.  His criticism of her every time they were together – grated on me and infuriated me. And his constant dismissing of her feelings truly angered me.   I wanted to like him – I wanted to turn a page and have him have some redeeming quality that proved he deserved Vija.  But it never happened.   And although I know it was her first love and she was deeply immersed – I wanted her to see what a total ass this guy was. Because I get it – he was the quintessential bad boy – he lived by his own rules and no one tells him what to do.  She found it appealing – at some point we all have.  But I could not bring myself to like him – not one bit.  BUT, it was refreshing to see a real life, true to realism relationship.  With all that goes along with getting to know a significant other and what you are willing to change about yourself for another person.

Then “Joel the Genius” saunters onto the scene.  And I knew the moment I met him, that he was the one.  He is the one to show Vija how she is supposed to be treated.  He is the one that will show her the respect she deserves.  And although they have been friends for quite some time – eventually she would get past the fact that he was the smart kid she called for math help.  She would eventually see him for what he truly is and the man he is becoming.  And the more time she spent with Joel the less time I wanted to read about Nolan.  And Vija found that to be true too.  The more time she spent with Noel the less she thought about Nolan.  Will she be able to walk away from Nolan and find happiness with Joel?

I wanted Vija to be happy, I wanted her to have everything that she deserves. And as the story unfolds you realize that just like with everything – no one can tell you who to care about or who to fall in love with.  Each person has to walk that discovery on their own.  And Vija does just that.  This is her story to discovering who she is and what she wants, and if she is willing to sacrifice her beliefs or not.  

The story is thought provoking and should be a must read for all teenage girls.  We have all put up with things in relationships that we shouldn’t have and for way too long.  But she is young and first love is the hardest.  And even though the years are far apart (1959 vs. today) the story still holds true,  that even though the package is nice and pretty on the outside and quite tempting  – what’s inside isn’t always what its cracked up to be.

Reviewed by Erin

Copy provided by Author

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