When Macy’s father unexpectedly passes away, she does a fine job of keeping the trauma inside. She sneaks into a shell inside herself, puts on a “best daughter show” for her mother and “best girlfriend show” for her boyfriend Jason and feels great secure in things going just how they’re planned. But when Jason leaves for the summer and a chance meeting with a unique crew of caterers turns Macy’s summer upside down, she starts to find a few cracks in that shell of hers. Soon, unexpected chaos and new friends help her begin to wonder if maybe things that have been kept long inside need to start seeing the daylight.

Macy is a pretty complex character. She’s conflicted, sincerely grief-stricken and very slow to open herself up. On the one hand, this made me believe in her as a character; on the other hand, the book moved a little slowly for me, especially the romance. I think, though, that in this one the romance is not the point as much as is her emotional journey.

Rated: Moderate, for language: two “f” words, multiple (more than 10) uses of the “s” word and lots of mild language.