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midnightmarauder's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This One Summer follows Rose, a young teenage girl as she and her family go on their annual getaway to the fictional Awago Beach. There, Rose gets to see her longtime best friend, Windy, and the pair find out more about each other and what they want out of life.
I initially read this book because I heard it was banned due to its inclusion of LGBT characters, amongst other topics. However, there's no explicit inclusion of any LGBT characters. Allusions were made of Windy being lesbian/bisexual (ex. her saying that she doesn't want a husband; going to the 'lesbian camp'; showing slight jealousy when Rose shows interest in the boy who works at Brewster's, etc.), but it is never explicitly stated.
Other reasons why the book ended up being banned are because of the profanity and sexual comments that the children make, including Rose and Windy. They overhear two workers at Brewster's call the girl's they're hanging withsluts , and Rose and Windy begin to repeat it. Even after Rose's mom overhears the two using such language and tells them it isn't appropriate, they repeat it later on in the novel. On top of that, the two Brewster's workers actively talk about sex and one of the girls they mess around with goes on to get pregnant . Those themes make a little bit more sense as to why some parents weren't happy with the novel.
Overall, I liked the book. This is the second book I've read by the Tamaki cousins; the first one being Roaming. I do like This One Summer much better, because the characters actually feel like they have some sort of depth (albeit minor).
I initially read this book because I heard it was banned due to its inclusion of LGBT characters, amongst other topics. However, there's no explicit inclusion of any LGBT characters. Allusions were made of Windy being lesbian/bisexual (ex. her saying that she doesn't want a husband; going to the 'lesbian camp'; showing slight jealousy when Rose shows interest in the boy who works at Brewster's, etc.), but it is never explicitly stated.
Other reasons why the book ended up being banned are because of the profanity and sexual comments that the children make, including Rose and Windy. They overhear two workers at Brewster's call the girl's they're hanging with
Overall, I liked the book. This is the second book I've read by the Tamaki cousins; the first one being Roaming. I do like This One Summer much better, because the characters actually feel like they have some sort of depth (albeit minor).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Grief, Miscarriage, Cursing, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Suicide attempt
bi_n_large's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Cursing, and Infertility
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Body shaming, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
Minor: Fatphobia
ernis's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
The story was essentially about a summer at a beach cottage. It didn't feel like much happened.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol and Cursing
Moderate: Pregnancy
u_0's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book really didn't have a lot to say. I'm really not sure how to rate this book. I'll start with two things I liked: the art and how well it was able to capture the weird feeling of being a kid in the 2010s. Sadly not much else. I'm really disappointed because I saved this book and other of Tamaki's works because I thought they would be favorites : /
This book made me really uncomfortable. First of all, it's hard to sympathize with anyone that has a summer house and can casually afford expensive pomegranate juice. On that note, were the pom juice and Twizzlers an ad? Anyway, this book was so focused on sexual stuff and for what?? The characters are like 10 and they seemingly know a lot about sex, cocaine, herpes, acid, rape kits, porn, etc. and that is like all they talk about. I was like wtf, why was this included?! It would be one thing to use these conversations to normalize children wondering about things adults don't want them to and to emphasize a main theme but that wasn't the case here. Everyone was obsessed with sex but it didn't have any purpose for the plot or storytelling. I'm not quite sure what the plot was to be honest. I also did not like the main character and she was a bad friend, similar to Laura Dean keeps breaking up with me. I also picked up on some subtle fatphobia. Overall, I'm sad to say I didn't like it. I was waiting for the story to conclude with something that would explain the rest of the book, but it didn't get better :/
This book made me really uncomfortable. First of all, it's hard to sympathize with anyone that has a summer house and can casually afford expensive pomegranate juice. On that note, were the pom juice and Twizzlers an ad? Anyway, this book was so focused on sexual stuff and for what?? The characters are like 10 and they seemingly know a lot about sex, cocaine, herpes, acid, rape kits, porn, etc. and that is like all they talk about. I was like wtf, why was this included?! It would be one thing to use these conversations to normalize children wondering about things adults don't want them to and to emphasize a main theme but that wasn't the case here. Everyone was obsessed with sex but it didn't have any purpose for the plot or storytelling. I'm not quite sure what the plot was to be honest. I also did not like the main character and she was a bad friend, similar to Laura Dean keeps breaking up with me. I also picked up on some subtle fatphobia. Overall, I'm sad to say I didn't like it. I was waiting for the story to conclude with something that would explain the rest of the book, but it didn't get better :/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Infertility, Alcoholism, Death, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
justcallmeemily's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a really cute book that talks about some serious topics.
I was surprised by the amount of cursing that was in this book, but it's accurate to how kids react to hearing such words and how much adults/teens actually curse.
I did, however, feel a little bit lost on the plot.
I was surprised by the amount of cursing that was in this book, but it's accurate to how kids react to hearing such words and how much adults/teens actually curse.
I did, however, feel a little bit lost on the plot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Pregnancy and Sexism
Minor: Miscarriage
ifiwasapuppet's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Cursing, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
danieltheblake's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A really solid and kind of depressing read (although not in a bad way). The story feels so personal and real, to the point that it genuinely feels like gazing in on someone’s actual life. There are a lot of layers built up in the narrative too: the parental tension, childhood love, the isolation felt when transitioning into a teenager etc and all are treated with a very grounded tone that make it feel uncomfortably genuine. The illustrations are also BEAUTIFUL and give a very wistful “old memories” type of vibe that compliments the story well. Overall, definitely worth a read if you’re in the mood for a solid coming of age story that doesn’t shy away from the discomfort of childhood.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Child death
booknerdxo88's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Infertility, Mental illness, Cursing, Alcohol, and Pregnancy
yaoipaddle's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It was pretty good. The author really illustrated a snapshot of being a young girl very well. I feel like many girls have been a Rose or a Windy at some point in their life. If you are looking for a deep plot or some kind of conclusive... conclusion? this may not be for you. I would enjoy this as almost a series of vignettes about "this one summer".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Infertility, Sexism, Misogyny, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Blood
heyshay07's review against another edition
emotional
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief and Cursing
Minor: Miscarriage