Review: Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan

Melt With You by Jennifer Dugan released on May 17th and I was given the opportunity to read it ahead of the release and I wanted to share my thoughts on the blog and expand on why I choose the 5 Reasons to Read I shared on Instagram…also if you could give my Reel a boost – I’d appreciate that! Melt With You is available now!

Melt With You

by Jennifer Dugan
Published by: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
on May 17, 2022
Genres: Contemporary, LGBTQIA+, Young Adult
Pages: 320
Bookshop
Goodreads

From the author of Hot Dog Girl comes a sweet and salty queer YA rom-com about two girls on a summer road trip in an ice cream truck.

Fallon and Chloe used to be best friends, but last summer they hooked up right before Chloe left for college, and after a series of misunderstandings they are now not speaking to one another. A year later, Chloe’s back home from school, and Fallon is doing everything in her power to avoid her--which is especially difficult because their moms own a business together, a gourmet ice cream truck where both girls work.

When their moms have the opportunity to make a presentation to some venture capitalists in Texas--something that could seriously expand their business and solve all their money problems to boot--it's up to Fallon to work a series of food truck festivals across the country. But she can't do it alone, and Chloe is the only one available to help. As tensions heat up again between the two, will Fallon be able to keep her cool?

5 Reasons to Read Melt With You

Melt With You is about a summer experience that helps two former best friends, Fallon and Chloe, figure out who they are and where they are going.

1. Epic summer road trip in a gourmet ice cream truck! Lots of waffle cone eating and fun road side attractions to explore.

Fallon & Chloe are forced together to help their moms “who are also BFFs” who run a gourmet ice cream truck together. As festival season approaches, Fallon & Chloe are responsible for getting the truck to a few festivals and keeping the brand name out there while their moms are working on a big deal to expand their business. 

2. Second Chances.

But remember these are former best friends. Chloe is older and went off to college last fall without saying goodbye to Fallon, and it just so happens the night before she heads to college the two of them end up taking their best friend status to a whole different level – they had sex and then Fallon runs off and both girls never speak to each other until now.

3. Forced Proximity.

There is only one truck, only one tent, and only one bed. They just so happened to have sex in that same tent of Chloe’s, so when they needed to camp on the road trip Fallon refuses to share the tent, but has nothing but a crappy sleeping bag. When they do check into a hotel and there’s only one bed – no other rooms available, Fallon decides she’ll sleep on the floor…she doesn’t trust herself to be that close to Chloe.

4. Breaks the Fourth Wall.

So the entire story folds out from Fallons POV (which can lead to a bit of an unreliable narrator) and she has some serious issues of extreme pain over the fact she was clearly in love with her best friend and the only way to come to terms with it was to cut herself off completely. Fallon is seriously in her own head, she creates all the scenarios and during these dreamy moments, she breaks the 4th wall and speaks directly to the reader. Also, due to the fact that she refuses to hash it out with Chloe there is major instances of LACK OF COMMUNICATION. We’ve all experienced similar situations where we conjure up what “really” happened, but never bother to ask the other person their experiences or feelings.

5. Bisexual Disasters – Messy Queers.

These two are definitely having an extremely hard time coming to terms with who they are to each other anymore. Let queers be messy, let them get it wrong. We are so seeped in heteronormativity that half the time we can’t see the forest through the trees. Chloe tries to find olive branches on the trip to help Fallon just acknowledge her and maybe get them speaking again, but honestly both girls are so messed up over their sexual experience and the fact they both have caught more than friend feelings but neither want to say it out loud or try and fix their hang-ups. Coming of age is so much fun, isn’t it?

Many thanks to Penguin Teen for the ARC & finished copy – which in no way influences my thoughts shared here.