"The Summer Girlfriend" hits summer reading lists, author visits Chicago for sold-out event
This summer reading season, "The Summer Girlfriend" might be a pick for a romantic read on the beach.
The book is by USAToday bestselling author of adult and teen books Kristina Forest, who was in town this weekend for a sold-out event at Call & Response Books, 1390 E. Hyde Park Blvd.
"'The Summer Girlfriend' is a romance novel about a woman named Noelle who is saving up to go back to college, and she has a very fun side job, which is she's a bridesmaid for hire — which is, this is a real thing… ad so that's her side hustle where she makes really good money on the weekends," said Forest. "But people are doing micro-weddings. She's not getting hired as much, and she also loses her main job as a bookseller, so she is in need of thousands of dollars for her upcoming semester."
Noelle meets a man named Jeremiah, who happens to be the business heir to a baked goods company. He needs a fake girlfriend to bring to his family's beach house for the summer because he's been lying to his family about having a girlfriend, Forest explained.
"So the two of them meet, and they agree that they will fake date, and he will give her the money she needs for her tuition, and she will come with him to his family's beach house for the summer," said Forest.
Noelle is a bookseller with the goal of becoming a librarian, in a nod to Forest's own professional background.
"I used to work in children's book publishing specifically, and it was so much fun, and I think I have a soft spot for characters who also love books, and I think that readers really related to those characters too," Forest said, "and I actually wanted to be a librarian. This was after I got my master's in fine arts, and I realized that you needed to get another master's degree to be a librarian, and I could not really think about taking out more student loans to do it. But I always had this dream that I had that I wanted to be a librarian."
Forest emphasized the importance of libraries in society, especially for young people, as a "place for discovery and knowledge."
The New York Times placed "The Summer Girlfriend" on its list, "Novels Everyone Should Be Reading This Summer," with a preview that ponders, "What could go wrong?" with such a deal involving enlisting a fake girlfriend. The book is also on the USAToday Bestseller List this week.
Forest is more than pleased by the honors.
"I just think it's really great that people are excited to read romance, and to read Black romance this summer," she said. "You know, I always, my intention when I'm writing is to write books that are fun, but emotionally poignant as well — so that readers feel swept away."
Forest is a native of New Jersey — specifically Camden County in South Jersey outside of Philadelphia. "The Summer Girlfriend" is also set in New Jersey, specifically the fictional town of Heart Beach. She said she always likes to write about New Jersey.
Meanwhile, the film and TV rights for Forest's earlier romance series "The Greene Sisters Trilogy" have been acquired by Honey Chile Entertainment. Forest could not comment a great deal on that development, but said, "I'm excited like everybody else."
"The Summer Girlfriend" is available now as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook.
