Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian

IGTV REVIEW

Stay Sweet is that quintessential summer read, full of sisterhood, romance and loads of ice cream! Siobhan is the master of writing young adult female relationships and she did not fail in this book. I swear reading these two main characters was like reading mine and my best friend’s relationship our senior year of high school. All of the fears of change, trying to figure out our next steps, and the bumps that can create in a lifelong friendship... it was purely authentic.

Often in YA books, the romantic interest in the main plot device, but it was a refreshing take to have out focus on a group of senior girls, mentoring younger girls as they serve up ice cream at the lake, trying to save an institution with all of their girl power. It’s also so refreshing to have a romantic subplot where it almost if the conflict of the story. It’s there to serve as a catalyst for the friendship and not to give us a HEA (although, lets be honest, we want that HEA and I think you’ll be pleased with where that storyline does go).

So, go grab yourself some ice cream (phish food by Ben & Jerry’s is my personal choice!) and dive into a delightfully delicious story about a last chance summer, girl friendships and girl power, WWII throwbacks, and all around sprinkle goodness.

Goodreads synopsis:

A summer read about first love, feminism, and ice cream.

Summer in Sand Lake isn’t complete without a trip to Meade Creamery—the local ice cream stand founded in 1944 by Molly Meade who started making ice cream to cheer up her lovesick girlfriends while all the boys were away at war. Since then, the stand has been owned and managed exclusively by local girls, who inevitably become the best of friends. Seventeen-year-old Amelia and her best friend Cate have worked at the stand every summer for the past three years, and Amelia is “Head Girl” at the stand this summer. When Molly passes away before Amelia even has her first day in charge, Amelia isn’t sure that the stand can go on. That is, until Molly’s grandnephew Grady arrives and asks Amelia to stay on to help continue the business…but Grady’s got some changes in mind…