"They want dream images of themselves instead. Perfect skin, perfect figures, perfect clothes. Image peddles fantasy, the same as all the other fashion magazines."

Sixteen-year-old Robin is shocked and excited when she lands a summer internship in New York as a photographer for Image, a popular teen magazine. She'll be working along with three other interns in Fantasy Summer by author Susan Beth Pfeffer.

Ahhhh, the '80s! It was certainly that past decade's vibe calling from the hardback book cover that lured me into reading this YA tale. And I was quite delighted to find out how on point the illustration is in relation to a scene in the story, despite the missing aqua-colored socks Robin is supposed to be wearing to match her sweater.

If I'd read this book back in my preteens, I think I might have enjoyed it then. It has its share of young people appeal, with a little magazine work, a little glamour, a little shopping, a little partying, a little romance (romance that, yes, rushes to "I love you" in a few pages.) The four main girls have each also got a little background of personal stuff that's pretty serious, especially Robin.

However, the plot, pacing, and emotional development of the book never came together for me. While watching the characters jump from scene to scene, I oftentimes had no clear sense of what the tone and the point was supposed to be and what I was supposed to feel along with the characters. I wouldn't say the story ultimately gets a solid message across about the girls' whole Image experience. And while the last quarter of the book has some interesting ideas, the quarter rushes into trouble and a quick and strange resolution, not a natural conclusion.

Yet, on account of the book's '80s vibe and the chance for me to imagine some of what I might have imagined about my upcoming teen years back before I was a teen, I'm glad I read this. ( )