Book Description
Debbie Carmichael is determined to salvage her family’s restaurant, Sweet Sal’s Soda Shoppe, from financial ruin when her father’s health fails. Help is in sight when teen heartthrob Bobby Conrad agrees to perform at a fund-raiser concert. But just two weeks before the highly publicized event, plans fall through and Bobby can’t come.
Enter Johnny Hartman, a young, unknown singer. Debbie soon realizes the twists and turns leading up to the concert have been divinely orchestrated. But is it the dreamy Bobby conrad who ultimately steals her heart. . .or the tender Johnny Hartman?
My Review
I am a huge fan of the ’50s so I enjoyed the music and movie references, but I was left wishing for more substance. I wish there was more depth and maturity to the plot and characters. Throughout this book I kept on feeling like it was geared towards a younger audience, especially since each chapter begins with an article from a teen magazine. The constant swooning and gushing over Hollywood stars was quite juvenile and made the main character and her friends seem immature. The characters came across as predictable and too perfect; there was very little conflict or character development. The dialogue could sometimes feel like it was trying too hard to fit the ’50s rhetoric. Some of the one-liners were funny the first time, but they were often repeated at least 3 more times and lost their humour.
This simple and nostalgic story was vanilla sweet but I was looking for a hot fudge sundae with different layers. I definitely recommend this book for someone looking for a lighthearted time warp that is clean and energetic.
Rating: 6.5/10