This One Summer
Ratings154
Average rating3.6
(4/5 Stars) The first thing that strikes me in this story is the fabulous blue illustrations. The illustrations feel like you're remembering a memory.
Again, one of my favorite genres of reading summer story that involves coming of age. This one is a little on the depressing side of arguing parents and questioning sexuality. There is a lot of things to think about such as..babies! Yes, kinda a weird theme but it is pretty dominate in the story. Our main character is an only child and there was a stress in her family where they wanted/didn't want another one, Her friend is adopted, and a girl finds herself pregnant that they don't personally know but talk about. It's interesting to think how these things are related and tied into the story.
I think this would be a great conversation starter for parents and young adults to read and discuss together. There is a lot of emotion and you could discuss that natural curiosity and feelings will occur, to defiantly stay away from duds, discuss pregnancy and how to have safe sex, consent, and I thought one of the things they did a nice job of doing is discussing sexism and slut shaming. Excellent read and I recommend it highly if you want to have a conversation about growing up with your kid and have it be a discussion instead of an awkward “Bird Bee” type of classroom speech. ~Ashley
just boring and i didn't feel connected to any of the characters and their stories
a nice book about 2 girls spending summer holidays somewhere on the beach with their families.
It's mainly about the coming of age of two young teenage girls. There is nothing special about the story and no complex plot. it's a nice read but not stimulating and didn't leave much impression on me, it's a nice easy read though.
4.5/5 stars
I was going back and forth with this book. I wasn't sure if this was a four or five star for me. I ended up settling for 4.5. Even though I was under the assumption that the parents were going to divorce due to their temporary separation I was wrong. One of my favorite aspects of this book is how the art is tied in with the story. At times I was confused on why they placed so much emphasis on the background until I realized how it connected with the story. I didn't particularly like any of the characters but also didn't end up hating any of them. The reason why I couldn't give this a 5 star review was because I didn't feel like the older teens involvement until the very end.
Again a YA graphic novel, but a better one at that. Some strong female characters and a good plot line.
Would recommend.
As with others my review seems to be, “Well, that was certainly a book.” I need time to think about how I feel in terms of a rating.
Art was beautiful, though.
really fast read, and such a wholesome read. a really cute coming of age story if i'm being honest but i also wish it ended differently but other than that it was great
2.5 stars.
the artwork is GORGEOUS but I really didn't like much else. Rose was so unlikeable and unbearable, and I didn't really like or connect with any of the other characters either. nothing was really fleshed out enough for me. I see people describing this as a coming of age story and talking about character development but IMO Rose doesn't develop or grow at all.
2.5 stars
I had never heard of this graphic novel before. I was browsing at my library and thought is sounded good so I brought it home. The artwork is stunning but I would have loved it even more if it was in color.
Unfortunately I was expecting so much more from this. It touches on some hard hitting subjects which I think is good but nothing is really resolved. I think this definitely had potential but unfortunately it fell flat for me. Sorry I don't really have much to say about it, it was just boring to me but it was a quick read.
I absolutely blazed through this in about 30 minutes because I was loving it. First off, the artwork and the use of framing is gorgeous and engrossing. I love the choice to use blue ink throughout rather than the standard black. There is also a great sense of atmosphere and nostalgia: the beach of your childhood, long stretches of afternoon, no responsibilities, the slow-moving beach town with both enough and not enough to hold your attention.
My one complaint is that the story cuts itself short at every turn. Every storyline could have been richer, deeper, more detailed, yet whole scenes end too soon, leaving the reader feeling, for lack of a better word, cheated. I would have read 50 or even 100 more pages of the story had it kept going because the art is so soft and childlike in the best way. I'd still recommend it, though, because the reviews are so widely varied.
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Two kids share a summer of moments at a lake house in Awago Beach. A yearly pastime that the family shares together. With each passing day, the pair discovers more adventures and become more aware of the fuming adult conflicts around them.
This book is a collection of smooth and quiet moments. For me when reading, not all moments have to jump off the page at you. Life isn't like that, and neither should writing about life be. It is highs and lows, of which the author has written about so well. Also, Tamaki has walked a very delicate line, she has created a book that can easily be viewed from both sides of childhood divider. Kids and teenagers can read this book and relate to the moments that Windy and Rose experience throughout a Summer: Scary movies, talking about boys, walking home at night through the scary dark, and swimming in the lake. All these moments are quintessential parts of a summer childhood experience. However, simmering in the background are very adult-like issues such as pregnancy, inability to conceive, marriage dynamics, peer dynamics, anxiety, and depression. These issues touch Windy and Rose, and they react to them with a burgeoning adult understanding. Adults can read this story and read about these adult moments from a different lens and think back to what it would have been like to be at the age on the cusp of becoming an adult. It is very well written.
Graphically this book is beautiful. The characters are rendered with care and finesse, each panel delivering just enough information to show us a scene without falling into the trap of telling the reader everything.
This is a worthy award winner and should definitely be checked out. Wholeheartedly recommend.
I don't know if this really needs a trigger warning, but I'mma put one anyway, because this seems to be something a lot of people I know and love are dealing with: though the main perspective is from Rose, a teenage girl, it's clear that Rose's mother is having a hard time with her marriage and identity through her desire (and inability) to have another child, and all the struggles that go on with that desire.
The artwork is gorgeous; I kept being awed by how the artist was able to capture such tiny moments and expressions. This book is mostly about growing up, those awkward early teen years when you want to understand the world and don't entirely get it yet; you have crushes on inappropriate people and talk to your best friend about sex and boys and whether your boobs will ever come in, and you try to appear more grown up than you are even though really you need your family and want everything to be okay when it's not.
If I could give it 4.5 stars, I would. This was wonderful.
This book is very ‘teen.' I do not mean this in a bad way, but just as fact. I think the writing and the way the characters present themselves will be factors that help teens connect to the characters and the story. Rose and Windy are very different, yet still friends and are going through different situations and stages in their life. Rose's curiosity and wanting to experiment with new things may resonate with teens especially with the confusion, anger, and embarrassing moments that go along with it. While there are some morals to the book, the book never gets preachy.
The story is not action-packed or strong, with no definite resolution. It is a quiet book that fits with the summer laze feeling. This slice-of-life story is simple and well done with Rose not always being in the middle of the action or drama by observing it. This allows the reader to put themselves even more firmly into Rose's shoes.
The art is also interesting in itself. Instead of using black, the book is in blue/lavender making it stand out. The blue looks less harsh and feels more like a beach, summer read. I also want to point out how the characters are drawn. Everyone looks like normal people and not shown to be models. Rose and Windy, while talking about their growing boobs, are still not fully developed, and they look like it. They look like normal teens, which I think teens will appreciate.
All in all, this is a book many people will enjoy reading, although the content may make some boys shy away.
This was a nice read, very low-key and slice-of-life. It felt that the book was building to an emotional climax that never truly came–at least not like I had hoped/expected.
I liked the art style, but none of the characters. Didn't find anything endearing or appealing about any of them to make me care about their problems.
I loved the illustrations, the story was....not as deep as I thought it was going to be.
Ugh, I mean yes - all of that and beautiful. But way to be a teenage shit narrator-girl.
I really did enjoy this book. I didn't truly know what to expect and even though i wish it was longer everything really flowed with the characters and you were able to see a little bit of their back stories. The illustrations were great too.
This One Summer is a coming of age novel about two girls who grew up going to the same summer cottage. This summer is a little different though because there is drama happening everywhere. The girls are starting to learn things about the world and their families that they were not allowed to know when they were younger.
The graphic novel follows two young girls, Rose and Windy but it is in Rose's prospective. Rose is back for the summer at the cottage and her neighbor is Windy and her mother. Rose and Windy start learning about new things that are happening around the area. Someone might be pregnant. Scary movies. The word slut. It is a growing experience for them both.
One of the main issues is that Rose's parents are fighting more and more on their trip. Rose knows that her mother has been trying for a baby but wasn't able to conceive so what should be the problem? Is that really why she's so upset?
Since you follow Rose's prospective, who is a young girl, you have a lot of gaps for the stories because she does not know everything. I really enjoyed her prospective because you got to see how she feels about everything that is happening in the family. Her thoughts fill the page and they are quite mature for the most part but she is still a young girl.
Windy is a very spunky and funny young girl. She is Rose's best friend at the cottage and they spend every summer together. This summer they start to experience new things and Windy seems kind of weirded out by them and doesn't care as much but stays interested for Rose. I really liked reading about Windy because she had so much spirt in her. Probably because of her mom.
Overall, this was a very cute graphic novel and it is full of lessons that a young reader would enjoy. It is a coming of age novel so there is a lot of growth in the novel. You see each character grow throughout the novel and they all seem better by the end. I quite enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone that would like a quick lovely story about two best friends.