Swoon at Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter

Swoon at Your Own Risk by Sydney Salter
"You’d think Polly Martin would have all the answers when it comes to love—after all, her grandmother is the famous syndicated advice columnist Miss Swoon. But after a junior year full of dating disasters, Polly has sworn off boys. This summer, she’s going to focus on herself for once. So Polly is happy when she finds out Grandma is moving in—think of all the great advice she’ll get.

But Miss Swoon turns out to be a man-crazy sexagenarian! How can Polly stop herself from falling for Xander Cooper, the suddenly-hot skateboarder who keeps showing up while she’s working at Wild Waves water park, when Grandma is picking up guys at the bookstore and flirting with the dishwasher repairman?

No advice column can prepare Polly for what happens when she goes on a group camping trip with three too many ex-boyfriends and the tempting Xander. Polly is forced to face her feelings and figure out if she can be in love—and still be herself."- summary from Amazon

Salter is back from the MG world with a light, summery YA read that should get anyone in the mood for pools and fun in the sun. I loved her debut, My Big Nose and Other Natural Disasters, and enjoyed the balance of humor and seriousness. She does the same here, but the story (for me at least) was more complex and provided more depth for many of the characters. Salter's wonderful wit is still present, peppering each page with lots of laughs. Polly is a great, relatable character and one that has visible flaws, which some characters seem more than eager to point out to her. I loved the inclusion of the advice columns and snippets from Xander's journal at the end of each chapter- they provided some humor and, in the case of Xander's snippets, insights into his character. Overall, a really wonderful read and one I would definitely recommend.