Book Review: Sweet Seasons

“Sometimtes you don't even know what you really want until you get what you thought you wanted.” 

Goodreads.com (one of my favorite sites), has a book recommendation function.  Based on other books you've liked, it tells you other books you may like.  This function is what introduced me to the Sweet Seasons' series.

It's probably a good thing that this happened, because I would have never picked this book up on my own.  Marketed as Christian, teen, chicklit, it is not what I would usually think, "YES!"  Even though I am a Christian, Christian lit is usually for evangelical Christians, for starters.  And let's just say that Evangelical Christians have left a bad taste in my mouth after elementary school in Colorado Springs.  I have gotten over my feelings for them as people, but their media, thanks to Focus on the Family, still has bad associations in my mind.  Let's just say there was some Anti-Mormon protesting and vandalism involved in that.

Anyways, the Sweet Seasons series is about teen Candace Thompson (NOT Candy), who takes a summer job as a Cotton Candy operator at an amusement park.  The following books are her seasonal jobs at this amusement park, and all the things she learns.  I think we're going to use the Good, Bad, and Ugly system for this book.

The Good:  The author gets the feelings of growing up, and of healthy relationships.  There were so many "feels" in this book that made me, as a twenty-something, have flashbacks to the end of my high school life and go, "I remember that moment."  The first time you can't go on a family vacation because you're working.  The first time you get a paycheck.  The first time you panic and think you're going to get fired.  The first time you are in a relationship that isn't just about going out to ice cream and how terrifying that is.  She captured that.  Then, she captured the essence of good relationships and then just relationships that aren't bad per se, they're just not right.  She bottled growing up into one book.  And that was awesome.

She also seems to understand amusement parks and has very intricate knowledge of how they work.  I don't know how.  But she seems to. 

The Bad:  The first book is called Summer of Cotton Candy. Cotton candy is a great way to describe these books.  They'll just melt away, and you'll remember loving the way they made you feel, but not much else.

The Ugly:  The DIALOGUE!  Nobody talks like that.  No one.  Ever.  It's weird because half the time it's hilarious and perfect.  And then she'll try to channel her inner-teenager that apparently died long ago, and instead, they sound like cliche cheerleaders in a teen movie.

So, overall, I'd say they're fun and fast-paced, with fun plots (even if a bit predictable and canned), but they make you feel the bittersweet feeling of turning into an adult.  And in that way, I'd say that they have more purpose as nostalgia for millennials, than as books for teens.  I liked it, and it was a fun, quaint story about learning responsibility and growing up. I think most people had that moment in their first job when they realized that that growing was the pits, but also important and full of joy. Fun dialogue that made me laugh in parts, and the writer seems to have very in depth knowledge of the theme park world. The theme park itself is more inventive than the novel, and I'd love to visit it, and I hate theme parks. Relatable and enjoyable, but amateur writing and cliche characters.

Three stars.