I haven't read Keplinger's sophomore novel but I did like her debut despite the excessive sexytimes in it (though one questions whether there can be such a thing as excessive sexytimes, but this is not the proper place to have that discussion). This novel is being touted as the female version of Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye with Whitley playing the counterpart to the obnoxious Holden Caulfield. I read Catcher in the Rye a very long time ago and I wasn't too impressed with it so perhaps that might explain why I didn't fall headfirst in love with A Midsummer's Nightmare. I liked it at the end but I didn't love it. It has its good points and it has its bad (well, according to me, you may not think so).I think the biggest reason why it took me a while to get into the novel is that Whitley is just so damned difficult to like. She doesn't invite your sympathy, makes it near impossible to empathize with her in the beginning so many readers may find themselves just moving on. She's a complex character and it is only as her life unravels around that you, the reader, figure out why she is the way she is. Her parents are colossally horrible. And while this does not excuse some of the things she does, this does invite you to understand life from her eyes.And yes, as is fast becoming Keplinger's signature, the sex is plentiful in this one. Or if not plentiful then it does play a significant part and I kinda like how Whitley knows what she wants and how to go about getting it without blushing etc. I also like how male sexuality is explored and well. Just. Sexy times, rawr. The narrative flows well and the book is very readable. The novel offers you a look at the wild side and shows you that good times may not be all that great.I liked that. I'm not a party creature and now thanks to Keplinger, I'm pretty certain I'm not missing anything. Getting back to the character of Whitley, I disliked how many times the word "whatever" was used as the response Whitley gave to everything and anything. Of course I understand that it is supposed to present her ennui distilled into that one little word but still, she is the protagonist in a novel I am reading and I would have liked it if she were a bit more articulate than that. Maybe even silence on her part would have been preferable.I also felt, somewhat, at the end, when I was fast being tempted to wring the dad's neck that things wrapped up a bit too nicely. It was way too easy to just talk and for the requisite talk to lead to some "understandings." I wanted some kind of violence because by then I was firmly in Whitley's camp and I wanted some blood in return for all the rage I felt. But I am a violent sort of person so... I also felt that Keplinger was a bit too hard on the Mom.I think A Midsummer's Night will appeal to certain people and not to others. I just did a final and don't tell me to elaborate on that comment. I liked the novel to a certain extent, it was entertaining and Whitley was an interesting protagonist about whom I would not like to read again. Yes, convoluted sentence, sorry. If you are okay with the things that bothered me, chances are you'll like the book.
