Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian - OPTIONAL

Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian, 359 pages.  Simon and Schuster, 2018. $18.  

Language: R (20 swears; 1 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: G.  

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS – OPTIONAL  

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH  

Amelia is super excited to be the head girl at the local ice cream store, Meade Creamery.  The ice cream store has always been run by a group of local girls who become close friends and sell yummy ice cream throughout the summer.  One morning when Amelia goes to open the store, she finds the elderly owner dead.  Amelia’s expectations for a summer with her friends are changed as the ownership of the Meade Creamery is taken over by a young city owner trying to prove his business skills to his father.  

I enjoyed this fun book with a creative story.  Amelia is a likable character and the problems that she overcomes were entertaining.  Amelia also connects to the original owner of Meade creamery through a journal, which made for a fun secondary story.  My two disappointments were the addition of the “f” word randomly and totally out of context at the end.  Also, Amelia’s relationship with the owner of the ice cream store felt unfinished in the end.  

C. Peterson.