Just a Summer Romance

"Just a Summer Romance" is a novel written in 1987 by Ann M. Martin.

Melanie Braderman is fourteen years old and vacationing on Fire Island the summer before her freshman year of high school. She meets Justin Hart, a boy she is attracted to, on the beach and they soon begin a relationship. Justin insists that the relationship can be nothing more than "just a summer romance" because they will have to separate at the end of the summer.

When Mel is back at home, she begins high school and starts dating a boy at her school. She is shocked one day to find Justin's face on the cover of "People" magazine, and discovers that he is an up-and-coming Hollywood actor with a new TV series and movie coming out. Many girls at Melanie's school have crushes on him, but she does not understand why he did not tell her about his career.

Mel meets up with Justin at an event promoting his show in New York City. Justin gives her his phone number and they talk on the phone. They realize that they still have feelings for each other and want to try to make things work out, despite the difficulty, and they spend a day together in New York.