2022
WISE Score
Amazon
A 'no-wifi, all-the-feels' summer camp romance that handles social anxiety better than most TikTok advice videos.
4.4
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Kasie West is essentially the Taylor Swift of YA romance—she knows the vibe, she knows the heartbreak, and she keeps it accessible.
Sunkissed is a solid, low-stress read. It’s not going to win a Pulitzer, but it treats teenage emotions with a level of respect that's refreshing. If your kid is dealing with social anxiety or a falling out with a best friend, this will feel like a warm hug rather than a lecture. It’s a great 'beach read' even if you’re nowhere near a beach.
Best for ages 12 to 16. It’s a 'clean' YA, so while it’s safe for younger kids, the romantic pining and friendship drama will resonate most with middle and early high schoolers.
Kasie West is the gold standard for emotionally healthy YA. The story prioritizes internal growth and family dynamics over cheap drama or toxic tropes.
It's a standard contemporary summer camp romance. While the music-as-metaphor theme is nice, it doesn't reinvent the wheel or push creative boundaries.
Extremely safe for the target age. No graphic content, heavy substance use, or dark triggers. The 'forbidden' romance is strictly PG-rated tension.
Strong focus on navigating social anxiety and the genuine pain of friendship betrayal, which is often more relevant to teens than the romance itself.
The setup is a classic parental fantasy: dragging the family to a remote camp with zero bars and no wifi. While that sounds like a horror movie premise to most teenagers, Kasie West uses the isolation to actually focus on Avery’s internal life rather than just complaining about the lack of TikTok.
The friction between Avery and her sister, Lauren, provides a realistic look at how different kids handle digital withdrawal. Lauren is the one trying to find a signal in a tree, while Avery is trying to use the silence to bury the trauma of a friendship breakup. It’s a smart move that prevents the book from feeling like a "phones are bad" lecture. Instead, it treats the camp as a pressure cooker where the characters have to actually talk to each other because there’s literally nothing else to do.
While the marketing leans heavily on the "mysterious Brooks" and the forbidden staff-guest romance, the real heart of the story is Avery’s anxiety. She isn't just "shy" in a cute, rom-com way; she genuinely struggles to find her voice after being burned by her best friend.
If your kid has ever felt like they’ve lost their "person" or doesn't know how to navigate a social circle once the foundation is gone, Avery will feel deeply relatable. The music aspect—Avery’s obsession with playlists and songwriting—isn't just a hobby; it's her armor. It’s a great example of using a creative outlet to process things that feel too big to put into a text message.
If your reader is into the "summer at a resort/beach house" vibe but finds some of the newer streaming hits a bit too heavy on the "love triangle" drama or older themes, Sunkissed is the perfect pivot. It keeps the aesthetic and the "swoon" factor high but keeps the stakes manageable.
It’s the literary equivalent of a low-stakes indie pop album. It doesn't try to reinvent the genre, but it hits all the right notes for a reader who wants to feel something without being emotionally devastated by the end of the final chapter.
After finishing, don't be surprised if your kid starts asking for a guitar or looking up "how to write a song." The book does a fantastic job of making the creative process look accessible rather than intimidating.
They might also go looking for Kasie West’s back catalog. She’s prolific, and her books almost always follow this "clean romance with a side of real-world growth" formula. If this one clicks, you’ve basically found their reading list for the next six months. It’s a reliable brand for parents who want to hand over a book and know exactly what kind of emotional level they’re getting.
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