Series: Genre: Publication Date: April 24, 2018 Pages: 368 (hardcover) Published By: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers Website: Siobhan Vivian Stay Sweet on Goodreads
Where to get:
A summer read about first love, feminism, and ice cream.
Summer in Sand Lake isn’t complete without a trip to Meade Creamery—the local ice cream stand founded in 1944 by Molly Meade who started making ice cream to cheer up her lovesick girlfriends while all the boys were away at war. Since then, the stand has been owned and managed exclusively by local girls, who inevitably become the best of friends.
Seventeen-year-old Amelia and her best friend Cate have worked at the stand every summer for the past three years, and Amelia is “Head Girl” at the stand this summer. When Molly passes away before Amelia even has her first day in charge, Amelia isn’t sure that the stand can go on. That is, until Molly’s grandnephew Grady arrives and asks Amelia to stay on to help continue the business…but Grady’s got some changes in mind…
(Goodreads)
"A delectable mixture of ice cream and romance…an empowering novel for young women with big dreams.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“With a strong message about female empowerment and hard work, this YA book will be a great read for spring break or summer vacation.” —School Library Journal
“A rare, enjoyable portrait of a woman-run business.” —Kirkus Reviews
Interview with Siobhan Vivian
The fact that Molly created an ice cream shop to cheer up her friends during WWII, and continued to have it run by girls, just makes my heart happy. What was the inspiration for this part of the plot?
Female friendships have always been creatively inspiring to me, and recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about female-only spaces. I never went to summer camp, but have always romanticized the idea of being in a bunk full of girlfriends. Same thing with an all-girls high school. It’s a completely different energy, and a chance to be intimate in ways that wouldn’t happen with boys around. I wanted to explore that.
Can you tell us a bit more about "Head Girl" Amelia?
Sure! Amelia is smart, kind, and a hard worker...but in her mind, those qualities don’t really distinguish her from her peers. She’s never been a leader and conflict makes her uncomfortable. She struggles to try and collapse the distance between being called the manager and actually acting the part.
She just really wants to do a good job and give the girls of Meade Creamery a great summer, because that’s what she got out of it for the previous four years of working there. That is her primary motivator...to do right by the stand, to honor the traditions created before her time, and to not screw anything up.
This is your ninth published book, what are some of the biggest differences you've noticed this time around than when you wrote and published your first novel?
There are soooooo many more books out on shelves. It was easier to break out and be noticed all those years ago.
But I think the quality and diversity of what is available has definitely increased and that is nothing but great news.
How much ice cream did you eat while writing this? Be honest! And what's the best ice cream flavor or combo? For instance, as far as I'm concerned anything in a waffle cone is the best thing ever.
A lot! Basically any chance I get, any time I pass an ice cream shop I haven’t been to before, I stop. It’s a bit dangerous.
And I have a brand new favorite, from an ice cream shop I just visited in Denver called Little Man. It’s Chocolate Whopper Malt, which I had in a waffle cone with rainbow sprinkles. I alllllllways get sprinkles because I like what it does to the texture.
I can't argue sprinkles! Sprinkles just make everything better. :) What are five things you would buy if you won a million dollars (tax free!)?
A vintage car...something small and brightly colored and Italian.
A week-long trip to a spa with rooms booked for my best girlfriends.
Donate money to my favorite local charity ... SisterFriend.org ... which provides menstruation products to homeless and at-risk women.
Visit all the James Beard nominees for Best New Restaurant in the US.
And a new, fabulous coat!
Thanks for stopping by, Siobhan! And thank you for mentioning this charity - this is definitely something I would love to donate to.
Siobhan Vivian was born in New York City on January 12, 1979 . . . which might sound like a long time ago, but really isn’t. She grew up in Rutherford, NJ, where she got into trouble for such things as constantly talking out of turn, bringing a stray dog into school in a stolen shopping cart, passing notes to her friends, telling jokes, sneaking out, and not doing her homework. It is something of a miracle that she grew up to be a New York Times best selling author.
Siobhan attended The University of the Arts, where she graduated with a degree in Writing for Film and Television. She received her MFA in Creative Writing: Children’s Literature from The New School University.
Siobhan has worked as an editor of several New York Times best-selling novels at Alloy Entertainment, a scriptwriter for The Disney Channel, and she currently teaches Writing Youth Literature at the University of Pittsburgh.
Thanks to Simon Schuster I have two copies of Stay Sweet by Siobhan Vivian up for grabs!
US Only
Tour Schedule
Siobhan has already started touring, but make sure to check out her remaining tour dates below!
BROOKLYN, NY
Friday, April 27
Moderated by bestselling author Jenny Han at 7:30 PM
Books Are Magic
225 Smith Street
Brooklyn, NY 11231
CLIFTON, NJ
Saturday, April 28 at 2:00 PM
Barnes and Noble
Clifton Commons
395 Route 3 East
Clifton, NJ 07014
PITTSBURGH, PA
Sunday, April 29 at 2:00 PM
White Whale Books
4754 Liberty Ave
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
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