This wasn't what I was expecting from what I thought was a YA romcom.  It was more serious than I thought it was.  The story was more about finding yourself. 

If you're looking for a summer read,  this is one to pick up.

The sweetest summer read! This is a sugary summer read about girl power, growing up and unexpected romance.

We follow Amelia and her best friend Cate as they spend their last summer working at the famous Meade Creamery! It’s an all female-staffed ice cream stand, that is, until the late founder’s grandnephew comes along with some new ideas...

I LOVED this book!! It's nostalgic and swoon-worthy with a lovable cast of characters and a warm, comforting setting. PERF for reading by the pool or at the beach or just anywhere!

5/5 stars!

Um, wow, what's not to love? You've got summer weather, ice cream goodness, a girl on a mission to fulfill (what she thinks is) someone's last wish, and an enemies to friends to romance plot that was swooooon in the extreme. I adored this book, it was a complete breath of fresh air, and I can't wait to read so many more books by this author!

Amelia absolutely loves working at the Meade Creamery ice cream stand in the summers, scooping and serving the famous homemade ice cream and having a wonderful time with her fellow Meade Creamery Girls. The summer after her senior year of high school, Amelia shows up early to her first day as Head Girl (store manager!), which means that she's the alone when she finds stand owner Molly Meade, who passed away while unloading a fresh stock of ice cream. Now the stand is run by 19-year-old Grady, the great nephew of the owner, and he's changing everything! Oh, and also? He doesn't actually have the recipes for any of the ice cream flavors. Plus, her best friend Kate isn't exactly pulling her weight at the stand, and nobody's even bothered to hire new girls to replace last year's graduates! The summer is NOT going the way Amelia pictured it.

My Notes: I have no idea why it took me so long to finish this awesome book. It may have been the love story, but - spoilers! - the ending was amazing! Amelia is a wonderfully strong character, smart and determined. The peeks into Molly's backstory really add something special to the narrative, and while I was concerned about the romance (I don't do romance), I really love the way it turned out in the end.

I loved this book so much! It was the perfect summer read. I purchased 5 copies for my reading class. I know for a fact that my students will enjoy reading this amazing book.

This was deliciously perfect! I ate up every page, savoring the moments when Amelia truly blossomed. I’m such a fangirl for summery YA contemps with depth & emotion & this one definitely delivered!

I liked this book but I didn’t love it. The characters never got to a point where I was totally interested in what they were doing or how the would turn out. The story itself was interesting, the rest just feel flat for me.

This book was the kind of cute, fluffy contemporary I love. It had some drama to it though it wasn't crazy and overwrought so that was nice. I liked how it allowed most of the characters to grow and change and learn something new about themselves over the course of the story. I loved hearing the backstory of Molly through the diary Amelia found but I especially loved hearing more of the story from Tiggy's point of view. Overall this was a sweet, fun book that hit me in the heart-strings a few times. My only *minor* complaint was the ending felt very abrupt and sudden; I kept scrolling forward to read the rest but it wasn't there :'( Otherwise this book was pretty awesome.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for allowing me early access to this title in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I love summery contemporary teen novels and I especially like them when they are written by Siobhan Vivian, however this particular title fell flat for me. The book moved slow and the dialog was clunky. I did enjoy the backstory and the history of the ice cream stand but that was about it.

The first line in the description says: “A summer read about first love, feminism, and ice cream.” I mean.. if that isn’t a recipe for Rachel book bait, I don’t know what is. It was my first time reading something from Siobhan Vivian and I’m glad I started here. Small town Sand Lake is renown for its Meade Creamery, an ice cream stand started in the 1940s by Molly Meade. It began as way to comfort herself and fellow girlfriends who were waiting for their boys to come back from the war. But it becomes so much bigger than that and in the present, it’s been run exclusively by the local girls who view it as THE summer job to have. Amelia and Cate are best friends who have been working at Meade for three years and this year, Amelia is “Head Girl”. But on opening day, Molly passed away leaving Amelia unsure of what will happen next. Then Molly’s grandnephew Grady shows up to take over but it’s clear he’s got a lot to learn despite his many ideas. He and Amelia end up working together (and then some) but it’s through this endeavor that see the type of person Amelia is. Loyal, smart, dedicated. She’s flawed but always has the best intentions. I adored her as a heroine and seeing her come out of her shell was my favorite part of the book (and the ice cream!).

Do I recommend? Yes! It’s a very cute book and perfect if you’ll like to pretend it’s summer right now. (I know I do.)

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I purchased this for my high school library and I have several students in mind that will enjoy it. I appreciated the friendships in the book, the connections to the history of the ice cream stand and the strong, intelligent female protagonist.

In Stay Sweet, Amelia finds herself knocked off course and trying to figure out what her future entails after the unexpected death of her boss and appointment of a young male boss. Often times in contemporary, we don’t see how much work and research goes into it because we associate worldbuilding with SFF but it’s actually an important element in Stay Sweet. Setting the stage for the dynamics young people face today leads to the messages of feminism. Stay Sweet lives in the modern world and straddles WWII with Molly’s journal and ultimately becomes about its characters and the relationships between them.

We did a podcast episode on this novel for the YA Cafe Podcast: bit.ly/yacafepodcast. It's episode #12. Here are some highlights: 

Danielle:	05:02	Yeah. I really loved that this femininity and, and business thing existed together because the stand is run still by all girls and, you know, the girls essentially like, live there during the summer. So you have things for them, right? So like, you have makeup in the office that they play with on their breaks or like, you know, they try lipstick on each other or like, you have like, PMS tea, like, ready if they're having a bad day. And I love that, like, unabashedly taking up space in their ice cream world. 

Claire:	07:33	Right. Whereas Amelia is so committed to the idea of the creamery that she can't move on and she dwells on it and that is what leads her to the next phase of trying to deal with theses, interloper Grady as things progress in the novel. So I think it's important to me that even though Amelia struggles to take up space in the novel, she is still a really strong character and yeah, that's something she works on, but it doesn't mean that she isn't very capable. I think that's just an important element of the novel that people's strengths are different, and each of these characters have really well-defined strengths and weaknesses. 

Claire:	11:30	Yeah, but also this idea that communal work can be really fun. And that's so important to the way the Meade Creamery in this book has endured. Like, these girls have had a blast even though they've worked so hard. If you really believe in what you're working in, then it is fun, even if it's hard work and that's something that, you know, Amelia chases this whole summer to recapture that. 
Danielle:	11:56	Yeah. And I , I also love the idea of like, leaving a legacy of, you know, wanting to continue with thing. Like when I came back from college to visit and your sister was the president of Drama Club and you were on State Board and it was like, "Oh my gosh, I did that first car wash right!" Right?

I'm about halfway through STAY SWEET and loving it. A review now may seem premature, but I know I'll continue to love it.  Unless the story takes a hard left and after eating a "special" batch of ice cream the town residence turns into zombies and vampires and start Kung Fu fighting or something. Of course, all part of Molly Meade's evil genius plan to take over the world. {evil genius laugh here} Then yea, this review is premature. Well see. Sometimes you just know when you're clickin' and jivin' and groovin' and with a story. You know? 

Siobhan Vivian is magical. The town, people, Meade Creamery all feels real. It makes me sad that it isn't. (I haven't  learned Vivian's inspiration for STAY SWEET, I'd suspect ice cream, so I'll hold on to that hope that Sand Lake and a place like Meade Creamery exist.)

Back to reading... 

Thank you NetGalley and Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers for an eARC. (My pre-order hard copy came early so... YAY!)

DNF 

A book about ice cream, first love, and feminism?! I was screaming "sign me up!" as soon as I read the first line in the synopsis. It also didn't hurt that I *loved* Siobhan's debut A Little Friendly Advice. Unfortunately, Stay Sweet wasn't exactly my idea of a sweet time. 

My biggest issue here? Amelia, the main character. I wanted to like Amelia, but there was nothing all that wonderful about her. I didn't like how quick she was to talk herself down, how she was constantly apologizing to her best friend Cate about getting the head girl position. In other words, she didn't have much of a backbone. Her relationship with Grady, the attractive, swoony "older" boy, was also too much. I didn't understand the appeal of him. He was incredibly arrogant, and I disliked how he seemed to belittle everyone around him. There was nothing hero-like about him - it was unfortunate that Amelia put him on such a high pedestal, because honestly, she could've done better. Additionally, Amelia's friendship with Cate rubbed me the wrong way. It was easy to tell that Cate wasn't that great of a person - she seemed shady from the get-go - but once again Amelia always seemed to bow down to her, making up excuses for her behavior. 

I found the writing difficult to embrace. Third person POVs aren't always for me, and that unfortunately applied here. Siobhan spent so much time describing so many unnecessary details - Amelia's day-to-day outfits, Cate's new workplace, etc. - that I found myself bored, skimming the paragraphs and chapters the majority of the time. I'm all for building up the setting and the characters; however, when it starts to detract from the overall plot, I start to have problems. I wanted more action, more excitement, and less fluff. 

Overall, Stay Sweet wasn't the book for me. I wanted to love it - ice cream is always the staple of my summers - but I couldn't get into it, no matter how much I tried. I will say, however, that I loved Molly Meade's journal entries. Now that girl was spunky and determined...I wish the whole book had been in her voice. 

*This review will be posted on Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf on May 5, 2018. The link provided will go live at that point. This review has already been cross-posted to Goodreads.*

This is a perfect summer YA novel! I love that it wasn’t solely centered on a romance and it’s more about Amelia’s journey into discovering who she is and where she wants to go. Also, Cate is the worst friend ever. Loved this book!

Summer isn't summer without Meade Creamery's famous ice cream, and famous all-girl scoopers. Amelia has been living her life-long dream for the past three years as a Meade girl, and this year she's Head Girl. Together with her best friend Cate, working at the stand will be a final send-off to high school and childhood.

Then Amelia finds the beloved owner dead, and all bets for the summer are off. When Molly Meade's mysterious great-nephew, a shiny nineteen-year-old businessman, steps up to take over the business, Amelia and the girls are worried. Will he ruin everything? And is this the last summer of Home Sweet Home ice cream?

I really enjoyed this book, although it went in a completely different direction than I thought it would based upon the blurb and the pretty cover. Much like Amelia, I was expecting ice-cream stand shenanigans, a lazy summer, nostalgia, days at the lake and lots of time with her girl friends. 

However, when the stand finally reopens, Amelia spends less time with the girls and more time with Grady as he uses her to help find Molly's missing recipes. Amelia is a somewhat bland person, although she is a great leader—she might not be the inspiring-I'm-just-your-friend managers that her best friend Cate is, but she sets the example, holds people accountable, and loves the stand. All of these qualities, however, get used against her at some point or another, and Amelia slowly grows up and becomes more assertive of her boundaries...and her dreams.

I wasn't particularly fond of the writing style, however. Third person present tense is incredibly hard to pull off, and there were a couple of times I was jerked out of the story by an awkward phrase or sentence. 

The thing that took this from 3 stars to 4 was Molly Meade's concurrent backstory, told through diary entries. No spoilers there, but I will say that the woman really did live her best life and follow her passion.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

STAY SWEET by Siobhan Vivian is the innocent, gentle read you would expect from the cover. This story is just as wholesome as the homemade ice cream sold at Meade Creamery where Amelia has been chosen to be the new Head Girl (manager) during the summer before she leaves for college. It's not quite the Sand Lake summer she and her bubbly best friend Cate expected though, due to the surprising death of Molly Meade, the WWII era founder and supporter of the all-girl work force. Molly's great nephew, Grady, inherits the business and sets out to change some of its long standing traditions.  As they confront differences and problems, he and Amelia both mature, learn to work together and find romance.  STAY SWEET received a starred review from Publishers Weekly who said, "While evoking the warmth of rural life and employee comradeship, Vivian writes an empowering novel for young women with big dreams." Perfectly delicious for a restful and undemanding summer read for middle school and early high school readers.

Stay Sweet is a cute young adult book that will have you running for something sweet. Great characters you'll fall in love with. I give 5 ice cream scoops!!!

Vanilla. Freshly cut grass. The hot sun beating down. All five senses come alive in Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian. The story begins with Amelia, a Head Girl in her last summer working at the ice cream stand that's been around for generations. Until Molly Meade, the owner, is found dead. Now a distant relative of hers named Grady Meade has come to take over the business--and make a few changes.

The historical pieces from Molly Meade were a nice touch that added layer to the story. Amelia was a very sweet and strong character that I wished stood up for herself more often, but I cheered her on the entire way. Cate was my only complaint. She was a difficult character to love and accept as Amelia’s best friend. I truly enjoyed this book and it made me ache for summer—and be grateful it’s just around the corner!

Vivian always writes such different books each time. I’m impressed with her versatility because I never know what I’m going to get when one of her books comes out. 

*thank you for the ARC from Netgalley and Simon and Schuster. All opinion are my own