joradora's review
3.0
It’s almost summer. And what’s one major step in preparing for summer? That’s right. Selecting your summer reads. The great thing about Fireworks is that the stories are short enough to read in one sitting, but not so short as to leave you feeling unsatisfied.
The first story, “Miss Independent” by Lauren Myracle, is about a shy, average girl who is perfectly content being a daydreamer. Except, she’s not content. Not really. Disgusted with her own spinelessness when it comes to the perfect guy, she allows her bold and confident cousin to drag her outside of her comfort zone and into a glitzy night club for what proves to be the best night of her life.
Sarah Mlynowski’s “A Nice Fling is Hard to Find,” is the hilarious diary of a clumsy girl tripping her way through France, one disaster after another, on a mission to find the perfect holiday fling. What she finds instead is something better, something she never even realized she wanted.
Erin Haft’s “Cabin Fever” tells a tale about growing up and getting along. Molly was excited to be getting out of her house, away from her sister, and back to the camp where she could be herself and be near the guy she likes. Everything seems to be ruined, however, when Molly’s sister, Dakota, announces she’s tagging along.
In “Night Swimming” by Niki Burnham, Wynn decides to spend her summer taking a college course in order to get away from the sun and her horrible boss at the Dairy Darling. Summer school brings Wynn unlikely friends and an unexpected romance.
This book is a must read, whether you’re heading to camp, the beach, a summer job, or summer school. The characters are real and sympathetic, they will probably become your best friends.
The first story, “Miss Independent” by Lauren Myracle, is about a shy, average girl who is perfectly content being a daydreamer. Except, she’s not content. Not really. Disgusted with her own spinelessness when it comes to the perfect guy, she allows her bold and confident cousin to drag her outside of her comfort zone and into a glitzy night club for what proves to be the best night of her life.
Sarah Mlynowski’s “A Nice Fling is Hard to Find,” is the hilarious diary of a clumsy girl tripping her way through France, one disaster after another, on a mission to find the perfect holiday fling. What she finds instead is something better, something she never even realized she wanted.
Erin Haft’s “Cabin Fever” tells a tale about growing up and getting along. Molly was excited to be getting out of her house, away from her sister, and back to the camp where she could be herself and be near the guy she likes. Everything seems to be ruined, however, when Molly’s sister, Dakota, announces she’s tagging along.
In “Night Swimming” by Niki Burnham, Wynn decides to spend her summer taking a college course in order to get away from the sun and her horrible boss at the Dairy Darling. Summer school brings Wynn unlikely friends and an unexpected romance.
This book is a must read, whether you’re heading to camp, the beach, a summer job, or summer school. The characters are real and sympathetic, they will probably become your best friends.
nataliesboooks's review
4.0
I liked the first two stories the best. The third story was very dated (they were all published in 2007 but it seemed the most obvious in that story) and in the fourth story the romance seemed kind of random. As with almost all short story collections I would have liked a little more development, but it was still a cute and fun anthology that’s a perfect read for summer (I’m such a seasonal reader!).
Miss Independent (Lauren Myracle) - 4 stars
I liked the relationship with Megan and her cousin, and I liked the flashbacks of how she and Pete met and interacted. They were both so awkward. It was cute.
A Nice Fling is Hard to Find (Sarah Mlynowski) - 4 stars
I really like the BFF to more trope and this one was pretty cute. The journal entries added a lot of character, and it having the story take place in Europe made it even more fun.
Cabin Fever (Erin Haft) - 3 stars
I didn’t see as much of a connection between the two characters in this one. It also seemed the most dated, especially the character of Dakota, who is described as “a freakish hybrid of everything wrong with Paris Hilton.” When is the last time someone talked about her?
Night Swimming (Niki Burnham) - 3.5 stars
I liked the emphasis on writing. The creative writing class sounded really interesting and the teacher sounded like a lot of fun. I didn’t like the romance in this one as much as in the first two stories though.
**read for book scavenger hunt - a book of short stories**
Miss Independent (Lauren Myracle) - 4 stars
I liked the relationship with Megan and her cousin, and I liked the flashbacks of how she and Pete met and interacted. They were both so awkward. It was cute.
A Nice Fling is Hard to Find (Sarah Mlynowski) - 4 stars
I really like the BFF to more trope and this one was pretty cute. The journal entries added a lot of character, and it having the story take place in Europe made it even more fun.
Cabin Fever (Erin Haft) - 3 stars
I didn’t see as much of a connection between the two characters in this one. It also seemed the most dated, especially the character of Dakota, who is described as “a freakish hybrid of everything wrong with Paris Hilton.” When is the last time someone talked about her?
Night Swimming (Niki Burnham) - 3.5 stars
I liked the emphasis on writing. The creative writing class sounded really interesting and the teacher sounded like a lot of fun. I didn’t like the romance in this one as much as in the first two stories though.
**read for book scavenger hunt - a book of short stories**
spleenix's review
4.0
A cute and quick read. I was expecting it to be better than it was, but was still enjoyable. My favorite story in the book was by far Cabin Fever.
skck09's review
4.0
Miss Independant by Lauren Myracle
For a short story, I found this one pretty good. The only complaint I have is that the story took it's time developing characters and back stories, and then basically everything else was crammed into 12 pages. It almost seemed like the author was writing and then realized she had to finish her story in just a few more pages, so she rushed to fill in the ending.
Megan is a girl who never cared about makeup, clothes, or the prettiest hair style. It is her birthday, and she cannot stop thinking about Pete, a gorgeous guy she met during her assistant teaching job. He was fixing the air conditioner, and she never had the courage to take their relationship past the point of saying hello in the hallway.
Now, on the night of her birthday, her cousin, Porter Ann, has passes to the hot new club in town, and rumor has it that Pete is going to be there. Porter Ann treats Megan to a makeover so she looks hot for Pete.
At the club, Megan sees Pete and it is just as she imagined. They spend some time together outside and share the most magical kiss. The problem is that it's Megan's curfew so she runs out of the club without even saying goodbye. Realizing that, she tries to get back in the club to say goodbye but the bouncer won't let her in again. Luckilly, Pete walks out and offers to give Megan a ride home. What a magical evening.
Sure this story was a bit sappy, but I am a girl who loves sappy romances.
A Nice Fling is Hard to Find by Sarah Mlynowski
This story, unlike the last one, was very well written, very well develop, and an overall great story.
Lindsay is going on a field trip to Europe with her best friend, Becca, Becca's twin brother, Tommy, and some other people from school. She plans to have a fling with a handsome French guy. When they get there, the tour guide is quite a hunk, but he seems like he might be out of Lindsay's reach. Becca hooks up with another American on their tour, so that leaves Lindsay to look for prospects. She sees a cute Russian guy, Vlad, who is also on their tour and thinks he might be her fling.
On the last night of Vlad's tour, he asks her to meet him for a date. At dinner, Pierre, the french tourguide also asks her out. She can't possibly meet the both of them, so she tries to imagine who's lips she sees kissing. Surprised by who's lips she pictures, Lindsay finds love in unexpected places and realizes she can have more than just a fling.
This story was a sweet and pure romance that, to me, never gets old.
Cabin Fever by Erin Haft
This story seemed a little rushed, but I guess every story squeezed into 50 pages is going to feel that way.
Molly's home away from home is summer camp. She is so excited to be going and seeing her crush, River. She has been drooling over him since the first summer she went to camp. Everything seems perfect until her fashion obsessed sister, Dakota, decides she is going to come to camp.
When Dakota and Molly first get to camp, Dakota starts by stealing Molly's best friend Jess, and she also starts to flirt with River. Molly is beyond furious, and tries not to let it get her down. Still, she cannot help but be angry that her little sister is ruining the camp time that she treasures so much.
Dakota arranges for an overnight with Rider's cabin, and ina surprise twist, Molly realizes that her sister is not the shallow, stupid girl she thought she was. She might even end up liking her sister, and she might still have a little summer romance despite her sister coming along.
I really liked this story. It was the classic tale of a summer romance at camp.
Night Swimming by Niki Burnham
I really like this story, and could pretty much sum it up by saying it was short and sweet.
Wynn is taking a summer creative writing class, when she meets a cute boy named Caleb. They instantly hit it off and find out that they have a lot in common.
Set on a beachside college campus, this story is one of the pure, sweet summer romances that occur between a boy and a girl. It is not overly dramatic, and it leaves me longing for the days when I was young enough to be so carefree.
For a short story, I found this one pretty good. The only complaint I have is that the story took it's time developing characters and back stories, and then basically everything else was crammed into 12 pages. It almost seemed like the author was writing and then realized she had to finish her story in just a few more pages, so she rushed to fill in the ending.
Megan is a girl who never cared about makeup, clothes, or the prettiest hair style. It is her birthday, and she cannot stop thinking about Pete, a gorgeous guy she met during her assistant teaching job. He was fixing the air conditioner, and she never had the courage to take their relationship past the point of saying hello in the hallway.
Now, on the night of her birthday, her cousin, Porter Ann, has passes to the hot new club in town, and rumor has it that Pete is going to be there. Porter Ann treats Megan to a makeover so she looks hot for Pete.
At the club, Megan sees Pete and it is just as she imagined. They spend some time together outside and share the most magical kiss. The problem is that it's Megan's curfew so she runs out of the club without even saying goodbye. Realizing that, she tries to get back in the club to say goodbye but the bouncer won't let her in again. Luckilly, Pete walks out and offers to give Megan a ride home. What a magical evening.
Sure this story was a bit sappy, but I am a girl who loves sappy romances.
A Nice Fling is Hard to Find by Sarah Mlynowski
This story, unlike the last one, was very well written, very well develop, and an overall great story.
Lindsay is going on a field trip to Europe with her best friend, Becca, Becca's twin brother, Tommy, and some other people from school. She plans to have a fling with a handsome French guy. When they get there, the tour guide is quite a hunk, but he seems like he might be out of Lindsay's reach. Becca hooks up with another American on their tour, so that leaves Lindsay to look for prospects. She sees a cute Russian guy, Vlad, who is also on their tour and thinks he might be her fling.
On the last night of Vlad's tour, he asks her to meet him for a date. At dinner, Pierre, the french tourguide also asks her out. She can't possibly meet the both of them, so she tries to imagine who's lips she sees kissing. Surprised by who's lips she pictures, Lindsay finds love in unexpected places and realizes she can have more than just a fling.
This story was a sweet and pure romance that, to me, never gets old.
Cabin Fever by Erin Haft
This story seemed a little rushed, but I guess every story squeezed into 50 pages is going to feel that way.
Molly's home away from home is summer camp. She is so excited to be going and seeing her crush, River. She has been drooling over him since the first summer she went to camp. Everything seems perfect until her fashion obsessed sister, Dakota, decides she is going to come to camp.
When Dakota and Molly first get to camp, Dakota starts by stealing Molly's best friend Jess, and she also starts to flirt with River. Molly is beyond furious, and tries not to let it get her down. Still, she cannot help but be angry that her little sister is ruining the camp time that she treasures so much.
Dakota arranges for an overnight with Rider's cabin, and ina surprise twist, Molly realizes that her sister is not the shallow, stupid girl she thought she was. She might even end up liking her sister, and she might still have a little summer romance despite her sister coming along.
I really liked this story. It was the classic tale of a summer romance at camp.
Night Swimming by Niki Burnham
I really like this story, and could pretty much sum it up by saying it was short and sweet.
Wynn is taking a summer creative writing class, when she meets a cute boy named Caleb. They instantly hit it off and find out that they have a lot in common.
Set on a beachside college campus, this story is one of the pure, sweet summer romances that occur between a boy and a girl. It is not overly dramatic, and it leaves me longing for the days when I was young enough to be so carefree.
xoxoannareads's review
4.0
Okay, I'm going to go story-by-story so it'll all make sense.
Miss Independent: Lauren Myracle
This one was just okay. It definetly draws you in at the beginning. However, it was really, really predictable. I liked the idea behind it, but I just... wish I wouldn't have figured out what the ending was going to be like.
A Nice Fling is Hard to Find: Sarah Mlynowski
I think this is my favorite story out of all four. It wasn't too predictable, and it was written really nicely. I haven't read anything by Sarah Mlynowski before, but this really makes me want to read her other books.
Cabin Fever: Erin Haft
I really loved the setting in this one. The camp was described nicely, as were the characters. I have Erin Haft's book, Pool Boys, here and if I didn't have a bunch of other books in my TBR pile before it, I'd be reading it right now.
Night Swimming: Niki Burnham
I've read Niki Burnham's books before (she's one of my favorite Simon Romantic Comedies author) and this short story was really good. This was my second favorite out of the book. It was a bit predictable, but not much. I didn't guess how it was going to end like I did some of the others.
Mmk, there's my short speel on each story. Overall, Fireworks was pretty good. It would have been better if the stories hadn't been so predictable.
Miss Independent: Lauren Myracle
This one was just okay. It definetly draws you in at the beginning. However, it was really, really predictable. I liked the idea behind it, but I just... wish I wouldn't have figured out what the ending was going to be like.
A Nice Fling is Hard to Find: Sarah Mlynowski
I think this is my favorite story out of all four. It wasn't too predictable, and it was written really nicely. I haven't read anything by Sarah Mlynowski before, but this really makes me want to read her other books.
Cabin Fever: Erin Haft
I really loved the setting in this one. The camp was described nicely, as were the characters. I have Erin Haft's book, Pool Boys, here and if I didn't have a bunch of other books in my TBR pile before it, I'd be reading it right now.
Night Swimming: Niki Burnham
I've read Niki Burnham's books before (she's one of my favorite Simon Romantic Comedies author) and this short story was really good. This was my second favorite out of the book. It was a bit predictable, but not much. I didn't guess how it was going to end like I did some of the others.
Mmk, there's my short speel on each story. Overall, Fireworks was pretty good. It would have been better if the stories hadn't been so predictable.
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