Angela Chapman

Summer Innocence Angela Chapman

Can you imagine being fourteen and having to spend your entire summer in an army-green tent? And your only true companion is your diary. This is how Jenny Baxter visualizes her summer after her parents inform her that they will all be spending the summer at a campground in New York while her father finishes a construction job. Jenny doesn't understand why her parents won't let her stay with granny in her hometown, Elk Mills, Missouri. She assumes it's because they don't trust her because of a trivial incident that happened in her past. Jenny isn't expecting the adventures that Darien Lake Campground creates. She meets the guy of her dreams along with a diverse group of friends. This novel displays the youthful emotions of a teenaged girl experimenting with peer pressure, first love, and resentment toward her father. After meeting the stunning and witty Tom Byrd, Jenny is determined to have him as a boyfriend, despite the fact that she is fourteen and he is seventeen. Without thinking, Jenny lies about her age. Before long Jenny and Tom fall in love, in spite of the lies that surface. After dating Tom for a month, Jenny is certain she'll never love another. But the painful day comes when she has to return home. She can't imagine going back to Elk Mills and continuing as if the summer never happened. Jenny knows she'll love Tom forever-but can a long-distant relationship last? The story doesn't teach a moral lesson, but rather suggests the actions and manners of normal teenagers, and how they cope with the disappointments in life. You'll share Jenny's laughter along with her tears as she struggles through adolescents.