Sweet Seasons

When her father forces sixteen-year-old Candace to apply for a summer job, a position as a cotton candy operator at The Zone is all she can find. With a nametag that says “Candy” and no time to hang out with her best friend, Tamara, Candace can feel the next three months slipping away. The only positive is that her cart is often positioned near Kurt, one of the mascots in the History Zone of the park. But while their flirtation is giving Candace a reason to head to work, her fellow cotton candy girl just happens to be Kurt’s ex. And she’s the kind to hold grudges.

Candace never thought she’d sign up for another season at The Zone, but the allure of working with her boyfriend, Kurt, and spending time with her new friends has made the job easier to bear. Though once she finds out her new job is working as Candy in the newest Halloween maze—a role based on her harrowing night in the park that summer that shifted into a wild story she was chased by a killer—things don’t look quite as promising.

After surviving Halloween at The Zone, Candace feels like she can do anything—but working as one of the elves during their huge Christmas celebration may still be a challenge for reasons beyond screaming kids and endless candy canes. Elf work proves more dangerous than expected, and Candace realizes she may not know her boyfriend Kurt as well as she thought she did—making finding the perfect present for him almost a full-time job. At the same time, she finds herself getting closer to her good friend Josh.

Candace used to be the one to take the easy way—but after three seasons working at a crazy amusement park, challenge seems to be her middle name. Then why does the idea of leaving her hometown to attend college on the other side of the country scare her so much? It doesn’t help that her boyfriend, Kurt, and her friend Tamara are both encouraging her to attend the local college and just relax. Or that the more she dreams about her future, the less she sees Kurt being a part of it.