coasting through the summer
Soraya and her friends have graduated from high school and soon will be going their own ways, Anya and Mari both going out of state for college. But Sora wanted to have an amazing summer first, starting with a trip to the Amalfi Coast. And if by some chance the boy of her dreams is also in the area, on vacation with his friends, well, so much the better.
Sora had been crushing on Wes Mason for a long time. They dated some before he went off to Armstrong, and Sora had to spend her senior year without him. But now she’s been accepted at Armstrong too, so they can be together for real in the fall. And in the meantime, since his trip with his fraternity brothers happened to coincide with her trip with her friends, they can sneak in some time together on the Amalfi Coast.
Sora is a little disappointed in their hotel, Santa Angelica, because she was expecting a five-star hotel. But when the young man who checks them in, Nico, explains that they have 5 stars in service and apologizes for the renovations that are in progress, Sora relents a little. It’s a small family-run hotel, just Nico and his mother, but they do offer a golden hours affogato bar, where guests can enjoy homemade vanilla gelato with espresso poured over it on the terrace. And when they get to their room and open the curtains to the Mediterranean, she forgives Nico even more.
As Sora’s friends fall asleep in their room from the journey there, Sora sneaks out to spend time with Wes. She has a magical night, dancing and drinking and meeting his friends. She’s so happy that it’s real this time, that they’re both ready for the relationship.
As the days slip by, Sora spends her days with her besties and her nights with Wes. They only have 2 weeks together on the Amalfi Coast before their trips take them in different directions. Nico helps the girls find some great spots in town, but Mari and Anya notice that Sora is distracted. And once Wes lets Sora down, again, she finds that she’s let her friends down too. They still have a lot of their trip left, the weeks in Spain and France yet to come, so she needs to figure out how to make it up to them. It will take all of Sora’s wits to turn things around and save the rest of her summer.
Oh My AffogatoI is a fun, sandy, sunny, fishy trip to Italy that readers can take from anywhere. It’s a powerful story of friendship but also a sweet love story. It’s about the mistakes we make when we’re young and how we have the power to turn them around. I had a lot of fun with this book, especially since I’m not going to have a chance to go to Italy soon. I loved hearing about the beauty of the area as well as the food and culture of the area. It felt like a mini-trip for me, perfect for summer reading.
Egalleys for Oh My Affogato! were provided by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers through NetGalley, with many thanks, but the opinions are mine.
