3: Chocolate Box Girls: Summer's Dream

3: Chocolate Box Girls: Summer's Dream

Cathy Cassidy

Penguin Books Limited (2012)

Rating: ★★★★☆

The next scrumptious story in Cathy Cassidy's Chocolate Box Girls series. Summer has always dreamed of dancing, and when a place at ballet school comes up, she wants it so badly it hurts. Middle school ends and the holidays begin, but unlike her sisters, Summer has no time for lazy days and sunny beach parties. The audition becomes her obsession, and things start spiralling out of control . . . The more Summer tries to find perfection, the more lost she becomes. Will she realise - with the help of the boy who wants more than friendship - that dreams come in all shapes and sizes? Third must-have title in this gorgeous series from one of the UK's best-loved girls' authors, Cathy Cassidy. Each sister has a different story to tell, which one will be your favourite? Cathy Cassidy was recently voted Queen of Teen - beating Jacqueline Wilson and Louise Rennison to the throne. Praise for Cathy's books: 'Touching, tender and unforgettable.' Guardian Cathy Cassidy wrote her first picture book for her little brother when she was eight or nine and has been writing fabulous stories ever since. The Chocolate Box Girls is a sumptuous series starring sassy sisters, super-cool boys and one of Cathy's biggest loves - chocolate. Cathy lives in Scotland with her family.

CATHY CASSIDY

PUFFIN

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Hiya …

I am a great believer in dreams. I’ve had some big dreams myself, so I understand how hard you have to work to turn a dream into reality. What if the hard work is just too much? If the dream turns into an obsession, a nightmare?

Summer Tanberry is popular, pretty, clever and talented. When she is offered the chance of a lifetime, the chance to make her dream come true, she grabs it with both hands, but as the weeks pass and the pressure mounts she finds the dream slipping through her fingers.

How can the ‘girl most likely to succeed’ find herself so lost, so lonely, so scared? And can ‘the most annoying boy in the world’ find a way to get through to her?

Summer’s Dream is a book for anyone who dreams big or loves dance. It is also a book for anyone who has ever pushed themselves to the limit, dreamed of being the best; and for anyone who has ever looked in the mirror and disliked what they saw there. Summer Tanberry has everything going for her, yet beneath the surface her life is a million miles away from perfect.

Summer’s Dream is the third book in the Chocolate Box Girls series. Chill out and lose yourself in the story … enjoy!

Books by Cathy Cassidy

DIZZY

DRIFTWOOD

INDIGO BLUE

SCARLETT

SUNDAE GIRL

LUCKY STAR

GINGERSNAPS

ANGEL CAKE

The Chocolate Box Girls

CHERRY CRUSH

MARSHMALLOW SKYE

SUMMER’S DREAM

DREAMS & DOODLES DAYBOOK

LETTERS TO CATHY

For Younger Readers

SHINE ON, DAIZY STAR

DAIZY STAR AND THE PINK GUITAR

STRIKE A POSE, DAIZY STAR

Thanks …

To Liam, Cal and Caitlin for being … well, the best. To Mum, Joan, Andy, Lori and all my brilliant family. Thanks to Helen, Sheena, Fiona, Mary-Jane, Maggi, Lal, Jessie and all of my fab friends for the support, the chocolate, the hugs.

Thanks to my wonderful PA Catriona, to Martyn for the maths and Darley and his team for being both lovely and all-round brilliant. Big hugs to Amanda, my fab and ever-patient editor, and to Sara and Julie for the gorgeous artwork. Thanks also to Adele, Emily, Jayde, Sarah, Julia, Hannah, Samantha, Jane and all the lovely Puffins.

Special thanks to Rachel H, Eva M and many anonymous readers who have helped me to understand Summer’s illness a little better. To all my readers, everywhere, thank YOU … your enthusiasm and support mean the world to me.

1

Have you ever wanted something so badly that it hurts? I guess we all have, but I am not lusting after a new dress or a kitten or a baby-pink laptop – I wish. No, my dream is bigger than that, and tantalizingly out of reach.

It’s not even an unusual dream – loads of little girls probably share the exact same one. Anybody who ever went to dance class or dressed up in fairy wings and skipped about the living room probably hopes that one day they’ll be up on stage with the audience throwing red roses at their feet. For me, the dream stuck; it hasn’t been replaced by a passion for ponies, for pop stars, for boys. Even though I have a boyfriend these days, the dream hasn’t wavered one bit.

I want to be a dancer, a ballerina, to dance the part of Giselle or Coppélia or Juliet, to dress up as the swan princess
in a white tutu made of feathers, to make the audience gasp and cheer. I want to dance, and you know what? It didn’t seem like such a crazy idea, back when I was nine or ten.

I push open the door of the Exmoor Dance Studios and go inside, my ballet bag swinging. It’s early, an hour before my class is due to start, but the small upstairs studio the seniors use is empty at this time and Miss Elise has always told me I am welcome to use it whenever I like.

I do like, quite a lot, these days.

The foyer is busy with little girls in pink leotards, laughing, talking, buying juice and biscuits as a treat between school and dance class, or queuing with their mums to book up for the summer holiday sessions. I used to be just like them, once.