This One Summer

Mentions masturbation and and uses words that would get kids suspended from school. How is this a young adult book, why does it have a Caldecot award. While this grotesque behavior may be true to life experience for some kids, I don't want to promote it or condone it. I borrowed this book from the library and intend to take it back with some words. I don't ever believe in banning a book, but books marketed to children should not contain words that I am not allowed to include in this review... F CK anyone!? I'm just glad that I read the book before giving it to my kids ages 9 and 13.

The story is honestly very simple and bland, something very ordinary yet has almost relatable dialogue. It does have adult themes and should be rated 15 and up, and this is coming from a 20 year old. However it isn't the devil's work, pregnancy/miscarriage talk and sexual themes are involved as well as foul language but it is not visually graphic. The dialogue is realistic and much of it was conversations I would have had between 12-15 honestly, I don't know what the parents reviewing this think kids in that age group talk about. I had a higher hope for this as I liked the art a lot and found the parent's issues intriguing, but the pacing was not good at all. It's not amazing but it isn't as awful as some of these reviews are making it seem.

Summer is over? Already?? How did that happen? I know I shouldn’t be surprised as this has been the case every year since forever, but summer really did seem to fly by. If you’re still in the mood for some summery reading (say… if you’re at the beach this weekend and looking for a quick recommendation), I’d like to suggest This One Summer, a poignant graphic novel by cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki.

Rose and her parents head to the lake every summer – it’s tradition. It’s where Rose sees Windy, her friend and surrogate little sister, every year. This year’s visit is different, though. Rose is in that in-between stage between kid and teenager, and the atmosphere at the lake is fraught with tension. Her parents might be fighting. Her friendship with Windy doesn’t hold as much appeal. The locals have their own drama. And while secrets are being traded and/or coming to light, Rose and Windy are growing up.

This One Summer is an award-winner, and for good reason. It’s a beautifully-written and -illustrated coming of age tale. Rose and Windy are entirely believable characters and friends. Rose is on the cusp of womanhood, with all of the angst and feeling that entails. One of the book’s strengths is the way it outlines how familiar places and social landscapes can change shape faster than you can imagine. The book also shines in its portrayal of family conflict – resolved or not. Another strong point is unpacking the words society uses for girls and women. This book does so many important things well, it’s really impressive.

This One Summer was the most banned book of 2016. And that is because the Tamakis not only told a beautiful story, but a true one. There’s so much honesty in the text and the art – and in telling a story around the sorts of secrets that are real and terrible. This One Summer is a slice of summer life as it really is, not sugarcoated, but perhaps heading in a positive direction. I would not hesitate to give this book to any child aged 11-and-up – it will spark important conversations and questions.

I mentioned the art, so let’s talk about that. It’s great! The facial expressions in particular are fantastic – rendered in blue and purple colored pencil line work on white pages. There’s visceral feeling imbued in each of the panels, and the choice of subject is subtle and tender at some of the most anxious moments. This book shines in a lot of ways, but the harmony between text and art is really fabulous.

In all, This One Summer is an incredible book, and one that should rightfully become a classic. If you haven’t picked it up yet, do yourself a favor and relive the summer-ness of it (and maybe cry a bit too).

Recommended for: fans of excellent graphic novels and anyone who enjoys affecting coming-of-age fiction, á la Melissa Walker’s Unbreak My Heart.

The Tamaki sisters, the first writing the story and the other doing the art, made a splash a few years ago with Skim, about a rather geeky and overweight teenager. I really liked the true-to-life writing, though I had some reservations about the slightly strange artwork. This one again follows a young girl through a very ordinary piece of growing up, though it seems much more complicated to her. Rose, who is tall and skinny and appears to be eleven or twelve, has been stdaying at a cottage at Awago Beach with her folks every summer since she was five. (Since the authors are Canadian, that’s probably on a large lake someplace in Ontario.) She has a “summer friend” a year and a half younger (and smaller and chunkier) named Windy, whose personality is quite different from hers, but they seem to make a good match. And nearly every day, they swim in the lake and explore the woods and rent videos from the little convenience store, which is the only place in the vicinity to buy anything. All very quiet and unexciting, right? But Dunc, the sixteen-year-old who runs the little store (and whom Windy christens “the Dud”) may have gotten his girlfriend pregnant -- or so the overheard gossip leads the two girls to believe. And there’s the continuing tension between her parents, who have been trying with notable lack of success to have a second child. (Will Rose’s mom ever come out of her bedroom?) And there’s all those horror movies, watched on a laptop, which they aren’t actually old enough to have, and which scare the crap out of them even while they’re laughing at them.

As with their previous work, the writing is to notch, with entirely believable characters, plausible real-life situations, and reasonable (which is to say “not perfect”) resolutions. The artwork still feels a little odd -- I mean, not everyone in the world is really that strangely ugly, are they? -- but even that is an improvement over last time, with facial expressions being especially well done. My only caveat is that the suggested age range is 12-18, which seems a little low, given some of the themes. Not that younger teenagers don’t have to deal with this stuff all the time, of course.

Rose’s family regularly vacations at Awago Beach during the summer. It is a place of happy memories, a home away from home made all the more special by the addition of her summer bestie Windy. This summer though things are not as they have been. Rose’s parents are fighting, Rose is struggling with some issues of her own, and she and Windy unwittingly get pulled into the drama of Awago residents.

The first thing a reader notices about this book is its stunning monochrome art. Not quite black and white, not quite the color blue. It sets the tone for the whole story. It is fitting for the flashbacks to happier times and fitting for angst that overshadows this particular beach vacation. Twelve-year-old Rose is on the cusp of adolescence. That murky time between just being a child that is simply a part of all that is going on around her and noticing that the world is not quite as cohesive as she had once believed. She is trying to see where she fits. Fits in the changing dynamic of her family, fits in a world where suddenly boys are interesting and complicated, fits in a world where everything is constantly changing. The graphics brilliantly reflect the complexity of Rose's world and keeps the pace of the story even in the absence of words.
This book is written about 10- and 12-year-olds, but with the adult language and situations, I would suggest that it is geared more toward high school age than middle grade. It is probably a story that will resonate with most teens in some way.

The major reason I picked this title up was because I'd seen it before and heard good things about it. The second reason is that the art felt very manga-like and not comicy (there is a difference in my eyes! lol). It was the style that made it feel like this to me but also the fact that it was in monochrome, using just the one bluish, purple tint in everything. And speaking of the art, I already mentioned I liked how it felt like a manga, but I also really liked how fluid and free and expressive the characters were, especially Windy. Plus the attention to detail in the illustrations!

But what is this book about? Basically what the title says: This One Summer. I found this to be sort of lacking but also very nice. There is no actual plot or even moral to the story, which could turn some people off but the story that we get is very explicit. It's kind of like a coming of age story since we have preteens Rose and Windy starting to take notice of their bodies and saying they want big boobs, and even noticing the opposite sex and feeling attraction, possibly even jealousy of existing relationships. We have them taking notice of the different types of relationships guys and girls can be in and what they can imply (friends vs. lovers, the term slut). The book also touches upon topics like suicide, abortion, protection, miscarriages, and the different relationships a child can have with both parents based on omitted information

In a sense, we just have two teens being teens and being exposed to certain topics and how they come to deal with them. They're not always the right way and I like how this book doesn't judge the characters. It's a sort of "it just is" feel, which made me like it even more

Overall, I ended up giving this book a 4.5. The reason I didn't give it the full 5 stars is because, while a great read, I also felt like I needed more. Did Rose and her parents ever talk about the issues that plagued them? Did the Awago drama ever get solved? How did Rose grow as a character? But like the title says, this is about the one summer. We don't really get the after. And if it wasn't clear, I definitely do recommend this book

A graphic novel as good as This One Summer is hard to find. The story revolves around a single summer in the life of a girl who is on the cusp of adolescence. Everything is formative at that age. Events big and small all add up to shape a future that the child is only beginning to imagine. This is a story about the perils of family, the difficulty of growing up, and the process of learning to cope with life's complexity.

Rose and her parents go to their summer cottage on the beach where Rose hangs out with her friend Windy. They talk about boys (of course) and sex (of course), two topics about which they know little. They swim and watch scary movies and bond. They're surrounded by adult drama that they often don't quite understand. Rose's mother is unhappy and is doing her best to make her unhappiness known to the world, creating tension in Rose's summer, particularly after her father returns to the city. Rose takes a keen interest in a scruffy 18-year-old boy from the corner store although she doesn't know how to deal with her curiosity about him. Fortunately, she hasn't entered the raging hormone teenage years. The boy has, of course, and his raging hormones have gotten him into a messy situation.

I love Rose's attitude. Here's her take on Sex and the City: "Like, so they're 40 and they're having sex. Who cares?" Rose is always trying to puzzle out the meaning of adult behavior, even the behaviors of those who are only a few years older. Mariko Tamiko captures that uncertainty perfectly.

I also love the way the art nearly always conveys a sense of action, even if it's just a bird in flight or a blowing leaf. As they should be in a graphic novel, many panels are free of words. The art (all sketched in blue) creates just the right atmosphere for the story.

The story is low-key, told at a relaxed summer pace, and is utterly convincing. It's also surprisingly captivating and brutally honest without ever becoming melodramatic. It captures a stage of life better than most text-based literary novels can manage. Fans of serious graphic novels -- and any fan of good story-telling -- should consider spending time with This One Summer.

I passed this book many times at the bookstore but opted to check it out from the library the other day. Firstly I love the artwork. The line art is whisky and flows well. The blue tones compliment the line art as well. Story wise this is a story written for 14 and up as the main girls are stated to be 15, so there is talk about sex and derogatory terms. However, most teenagers do talk about sex and things that happen in relationships. I felt this story was genuine in its depiction of an awkward Rose a girl unsure of what her life will be and her fascination with a boy at the store where she rents videos from. Her mind is conflicted about sex, relationships and her own future. It's a slice of life story so it's not aiming to be an epic adventure just a glimpse into the home life of a teen girl. It's worth a read as it has teachable moments about consequences and the awkward feelings many teens experience.

Beautiful artwork and strong storytelling. This One Summer became a new standard for graphic novels, especially contemporary, realistic ones. While the characters are both young, straddling the line between childhood and adulthood, parents may find the content too adult-level for their children.

If your kids know any other tweens or teenagers, they've heard and seen worse, but I completely understand not wanting to promote a book with "adult content" to a young person in your care! Do note that the mature content is portrayed in dialogue, not visually through the artwork. It references, not depicts, sexual acts in a way that might go over some kids' heads.

By the style of the cover and the Caldecott Honor, one would think this book was great for kids. However, after reading it, I felt the story was more for a 14+ age group. Even then, parents should know that this coming of age book uses a range of curse words, including the F-bomb, which is used frequently throughout the story. The topics of teenage pregnancy, porn, rated R movies, smoking, drug use, sex and oral sex are all discussed. I did like how the author demonstrated that a quiet, young girl can have a lot of questions and concerns under the surface. The young protagonist would boil over at her parents, which I felt was realistic. Sure, the main character is selfish at times, but she's a character under stress and she lashes, testing the boundaries, with those she feels the most secure with - her parents.

My first graphic novel read and I will have to say I read this months ago, but wanted to put the review up on the official first day of summer.

I enjoy that as a graphic novel it read fast, but in the end I felt like I was missing something. I don't know that I would continue to read them, I might on the side when life is crazy and I need something to read that is quick and easy, but this wouldn't be my go to reading genre.

I loved the topic of this one. A summer vacation and girls who are moving out of childhood innocence and into young adulthood. I am glad this is the first graphic novel I read because I did enjoy the subject and I know that if I read more the subject matter would make a big difference in my enjoyment level.

This One Summer is a moody, atmospheric, and beautifully illustrated slice of life story following a tween girl and her childhood best friend. Both girls meet up every year at the lake but this year is different - minor events have changed the situation for many of the characters. What makes the book remarkable is the very grounded, realistic, and character driven story and art. Both complement each other perfectly. But this is also a book where our main character is at the epicenter of events and yet none touch her directly. She watches from the sidelines as subtle events unfold around her.

Rose and Windy's mothers are good friends and each year their families meet up at the lakeside cabins for Summer. This year looks to be like the rest - days at the beach, exploring the local neighborhood, and movies at home in the cabin. But Rose becomes intrigued by the local shop boy, Windy doesn't understand Rose's new maturity, and Rose's mother is very unhappy and withdrawn for unknown reasons. Conflicts about conceiving children - both wanted and unwanted - will cause unhappiness and touch everyone This One Summer.

Part of my enjoyment of the book stemmed from having gown up in upstate New York and experiencing this exact type of Summer - driving to one of the Great Lakes and spending two weeks with the family. Everything in the book was pitch perfect and brought back so many memories. It was genuine - from the crowded little local store to the kids hanging out in the forest or beaches after dark: a town catering to the tourists but not necessarily making any great living from them.

The art, like the writing, was detailed in all the right places. This is not a book that was rushed or hurried - the languid pace of Summer is given time to organically evolve; the mundane joy of simple things like Twizzlers contrasted with the typical 'visit a tourist trap' day trip. Even having a grandparent who snores loudly and the tiny but sparsely decorated rooms loosely littered with the seashell treasures collected over the season. All the scenes were needed to tell the big picture of Rose's Summer.

The story arc doesn't have a moral, hidden POV, or Rose learning a lesson. It isn't about growth of character. It's a straight slice of life meditation, the foolishness of youth with the heartache of middle age. It's an observation rather than a lesson. I think some readers may be frustrated by that but really, how often did we really understand and learn from the lessons we were being taught by life when we were tweens? That always came later, if at all.

What I really appreciated about the book is that Rose and Windy are very average tweens. Rose may have the first stirrings of a crush but both are still very immature, underdeveloped physically, and a stark contrast to the older teens they encounter. Both girls keep their innocence, though, which is far more realistic to me.

This One Summer is a piece that could have been written in any era - from the 1950s to my 1970s childhood to the current age now. There really is nothing comic about it and yet the illustrations are so clean and organic to the story, the expressions so distinct, the characters so unique, that I could not imagine the story told without the graphic format. The author and illustrator really did capture the feel of the tween.

Reviewed from an ARC.

I had heard good things about this graphic novel before I got it. They were all correct. This graphic novel was wonderful. The artwork was extraordinary (charcoal and ink).

Rose is a girl at the threshold of teenage-hood. She is at that level that is commonly referred to as tween. She is leaving her childhood behind and entering an ever more adult world full of adult things. Every summer her family goes to a lake cabin in Awago. This summer is tough as the family relationship is strained as her mother deals with depression and her father is frustrated with the impotence of not able to help. Windy is her younger friend whose's family rents another cabin at the lake. They have known each other for a long time and they look forward to their time together.

Windy offers interesting perspectives to Rose's situation, comments and points of view. At time Rose presents naive and innocent comments akin to her age and other times (most often) she offers a tentative wisdom much older than her years.

I read this quickly in one sitting. I did not want to break the flow of the story. I felt drawn to the story and the enfolding plot. At times I found myself commiserating with Rose and I chastised myself for getting drawn back to my long-left-behind teenage angst. But, oh! it is so easy to revive, to go back to that space where it was all you you you against the world and this graphic novel so perfectly captured that. At the end, we are all reminded that we just don't know. We don't know what others are going through.

It was a simple story but it captured so much and it did it so well.

If you want to see the store's rating system failing this is your book. Award winning and beloved by so many readers and teachers, but then a bunch of goof balls review like it was supposed to be another "SMILE" and "DRAMA." This is a realistic story about characters with complicated problems. As an adult it is extremely moving to read. For a teen it should be refreshingly honest and familiar. We've gifted to teens who loved it and know plenty of others that do, as well. It's for teens and up. Not kids.

Originally posted to Nori's Closet (http://noriscloset.blogspot.com/2014/07/this-one-summer-by-jillian-tamaki-and.html)

If you’re someone who really appreciates the art of graphic novels, you’d love this one. It’s just beautiful. The artwork is just so honest and clear. People aren’t made to be perfect and crushes don’t look like prince charming; the whole thing just feels so authentic and most of that is because of the art.

The story was interesting too. There was this overlapping theme of babies. One main character is coming of age as young adult who was adopted. And it’s clear this adoption is fresh on her mind when comments are made about babies being given up for adoption. And the other main character has a depressed mother who miscarried her last chance at another child. The two girls (summer besties) are watching the slightly older teens in town go through a soap opera of sorts when the girlfriend of the boy Rose likes finds out he is a dad.

This book deals with some dark stuff. There’s teen pregnancy, depression, family arguments, first crushes, adoption, and more. There’s also some spot-on coming of age moments when kids go from cartoons to horror movies, from enjoying family outings, to being embarrassed at family outings, etc. The writers really understand that sort of in-between age where we don’t know if we’re kids or teens. And what better setting for such a story than a summer beach town?

The topics kind of reminded me of the old school Sarah Dessen books (though maybe with younger characters). And this brought back great summer reading memories. And I also connected with the setting because I live in a town like this beach town. I of course hated Rose’s crush and wanted to tell the girls to have more fun being kids while they can. (I guess that makes me a true adult now…) The side characters were great too. I loved Windy’s grandmother and Rose’s aunt and how they both inadvertently affect these girls.

I do wish that maybe a little more happened in the story, plot-wise. It was definitely more of an emotional/character driven book than an action-packed story. And that’s okay. I did wish for just a tiny bit more though. However, I loved the art, the characters, the subjects, and the style. I give it a 9/10.

I'm pretty new to the world of graphic novels, a genre that didn't much appeal to me in the past. This was one of the first I read, and I was blown away by how good graphic novel storytelling can be. That's not to say that I didn't think any good graphic novels existed, just that, as a novel reader, I wondered how graphic novels could convey the same depths with less text. I severely underestimated the impact of the artwork in graphic novels, a mistake I won't make again. Some spoilers to follow.

I read a lot of YA and coming of age is obviously a common thread in that genre. I've read few books, though, that I think captured the awkwardness and weirdness of that transition, but this book is one of them. While reading it, I felt like I was going back to my own experiences with transitioning from adolescence to adulthood. I think adults sometimes forgot how mystifying and confusing this change is. Between the art, the text, and the subplots in this novel, I felt the artists perfectly captured those emotions, which made me, as the reader, experience them on a very visceral level. The sheer emotion in this novel blew me away. I haven't reacted so strongly to a book in a while. If it weren't for some minor flaws, this book would have been a five-star review for sure.

My major problem with the book is the slut shaming that goes on in it. Rose is too young to fully appreciate what's going on with the town resident girl's pregnancy, so I will cut her some slack. What disappointed me was that, while other characters do call her on it, they never really talk to her about why branding the girl a slut is a bad thing to do and how it can negatively impact Rose herself. Rose may feel grown up, but she's immature, and I think this was a missed opportunity to help her reach a new level of maturity. I think the book itself treats the unexpected pregnancy more sympathetically than Rose does, but I would have liked to see it used as a means of furthering Rose's growth as a character. It was a real letdown to see this slip by in a book that's otherwise so well done.

Rose's mother's depression was another strong point of the novel, particularly as her back story plays out. It's a shame that a lot of this takes place off Rose's radar as well. I don't think it's abnormal for there to be some mutual obliviousness when it comes to adolescents and their parents, but this would have been a chance for Rose to establish a real, solid connection with her mother. It would make sense for her mother to want to protect her from something like this, and I have no doubt it was a painful experience for her mother to recount, but it would have been to the benefit of both characters to have a frank discussion of what happened.

Of course, this may be part of the point of the book. On the one hand, I was disappointed by the plot threads left dangling, but on the other hand I thought they were well done. The book feels like it offers just a snapshot into a life. There are definite arcs here, but it doesn't feel neatly tied up like a lot of other books do, and that's to its benefit. Would the novel have been stronger had the two plot points I mentioned been more thoroughly canvassed? Maybe, but I also like how the book highlights how messy and complicated life can be. Sometimes we do get closure and other times we don't. Sometimes it takes years to come to terms with certain aspects of our lives, and sometimes we never do reach a full understanding of the things that have happened to us and other people.

I'd be remiss if I didn't specifically discuss the artwork in this book, which is really masterful. Since this book is monochromatic, there's no opportunity for color choice to add mood. Instead, shading does. During some of the book's lighter, more carefree moments, the pictures are bright and open. During darker, moodier moments, the scheme is more oppressive. The drawings are sometimes simple and at others highly detailed. There's a lot of nuance to the characters' expressions and facial features, and one of the elements I most liked was how like normal people the characters look. There are no beauty queens of Hollywood hunks here, just normal people with odd bone structure, long noses, and messy hair. It's astonishing how skilled the artist is.

This book did a lot to help hook me on the idea of reading more graphic novels. I think the co-authors are very talented, and I hope they plan to write more graphic novels in the future. I would certainly be interested in reading them.

Cousins Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki brilliantly capture the liminal time between being a teenager and being a child in their new graphic novel, THIS ONE SUMMER. Rose and Windy are friends who hang out every summer when their families visit Awago Beach. They like swimming and buying candy and renting R-rated videos, which they can get away with since the teenage clerk doesn't really care.

They're at the age where they're starting to clue into things like sex jokes, but don't really understand them. Their hormones are starting to go a bit wild, causing both crushes and anger. They're still kids, but their actions are starting to carry deeper consequences.

Although Rose and Windy are young, THIS ONE SUMMER is best enjoyed by a reader who is at least slightly older. The real treat is putting together what Rose and Windy notice into the whole story. Some is gathered through Mariko's script, and other clues are only in Jillian's art, such as Rose's mom's defensive, hunched in body language.

There are some genuinely disturbing moments, of the mundanely disturbing type. A family friend violates Rose's mom's boundaries, and Rose doesn't get it because she just wants her mom to have fun and her mom is refusing to. She doesn't understand her mom's motives and isn't old enough to suss them out. Meanwhile, Rose also shows that she's picked up a real misogynistic streak from the teenage boys hanging around the corner store, which drives a wedge between her and Windy. It's painfully real, that difficultly of growing into being a teenage girl while being taught to hate those other girls who aren't like you.

There's a beautiful, and beautifully complicated thread of family running through THIS ONE SUMMER. Rose and Windy are like sisters. Rose's parents tried for another child, but didn't have one. Windy is adopted. A local teenage girl is pregnant, and only has a few people offering her any support. The relationships are as complicated as enjoying a swim on the beautiful beach is easy, and Rose and Windy are caught between those worlds.

THIS ONE SUMMER is a lovely slice of life novel that perfectly captures the wonders of summer and a transitional time of life.

This One Summer starts out on the airy side but eventually, once it finds its voice, grows ever more complex. There's not much happening early on other than teenage Rose acting all detached and, well, like a teenager. She travels with her family to Awago Beach for a family summer vacation, a spot they visit every year, and once there she immediately catches up with her longtime friend, Wendy. This year though is unlike the others because Rose is moving through that confusing time of life where childhood falls away and adulthood makes itself known, often brutally so. Not only is there some family drama going on between her parents, which adds to Rose's feelings of aloofness, but she also discovers that she has a budding crush on an older boy named Dudley, AKA "The Dud." He's a clerk at the local convenience store, and somewhat of a jerk. But he's not a jerk to Rose—he's several years older and barely notices her at all—so she's content on eavesdropping from afar.

The illustrations are crisp and stunning. It's one of the best things about This One Summer. Recommended for YA audiences.

What is usually a getaway for Rose and her family feels less so this summer. Rose's friend Windy is there, but Rose is on the cusp of teenagerdom and Windy is still a pre-teen. On top of that Rose's mom seems to have receded inside herself and always ends of fighting with her husband. Even though she sometimes finds Windy juvenile, she's glad she has her by her side.

I loved this little snapshot of life. The illustrations perfectly matched the whole tone of this novel.

This whole story takes place during one whirlwind of a summer. Rose is growing up and with it comes the realization that not everything in life is fun in games. I feel like this summer is a loss of innocence for Rose and that is shown a bit by all the things that crash around her and the horror movies.

Windy is a vibrant character and she makes the contrast between her and Rose really stand out. Sometimes I found her to be a bit tiring and I imagine that's how Rose sometimes feels too. It's tricky staring teenagehood in the face. On one hand you still feel like a kid sometimes on the other hand your starting to view the world a bit differently.

This is not a happy-go-lucky summer tale. It's dark and a bit crushing. It's hopeful though, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. If you are a fan of realistic fiction and love graphic novels. I recommend this one.

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“This One Summer” is in blue scale, giving it a melancholy feel. It has beautiful two page spreads without words. And just like in conversation, I appreciate a person who knows when it’s appropriate to speak and when silence says volumes. And sometimes one word can cut through everything. It’s a short story about one summer in Rose’s life. Her family goes to Awago Beach every year, a longstanding tradition that is meant to be a familiar getaway. But this year, life is complicated and they are too tangled to escape it all. There is a dark cloud that follows her mother. Anyone who gets close is bound to feel the storm. As it often happens to teenagers, where you’re no longer a child but not quite an adult, her parents try to shield her from it rather than bring her in, so Rose struggles with what happened and how it affects her. Then there’s the boy at the video rental counter, an older boy, who has his own problems to deal with. Fortunately she has her friend Windy, whose name is very fitting her personality. She’s a little younger and a little immature but keeps her buoyed when life could weigh her down and reminds her to laugh.

There isn’t really an end, or a resolution. Things aren’t resolved in an episode, they aren’t wrapped up in a summer. But Rose learns a little, grows a little. To me, this rings true-such is life.

I loved the artwork in this graphic novel and I'm a sucker for the subject, a "coming of age" story in a sleepy vacation town, yet this story just never took off. Granted I am a 45 year old man so I may not be the target audience for this graphic novel, however I have read rather poignant graphic novels that are similar "coming of age" stories (see Craig Thompson's Blankets), this one fails to reach those heights. There were some aspects to the story that I liked such as the protagonist's parents' relationship but unfortunately Tamaki doesn't possess the acumen to deeply move you. Still, the artwork is beautiful

I honestly don't appreciate this book. I went into this book with high hopes but the constant sexism was annoying and distracting. I kept expecting the characters to have a breakthrough and realize how negatively they were thinking of girls but it never happened. Yes the art was good and the characterizations were good, but an inspirational book for young girls? No. Not when the word slut was used to describe every minior female character and no one ever acknowledged it was wrong. I get they were trying to teach girls about growing up and introduce these concepts. But it's not okay to promote these views and never show these young girls it's wrong. And the concept of consent was brushed over. One girl says to the other about oral sex that you might have to go down on a guy if you're peer pressured, and that she's not sure if you have to do it if you don't want to. The one scene where they discuss sex they basically say "you don't have a choice." No this is not a good coming of age story. For young girls or young boys. Don't let good art cover this up.

As many of the reviewers mentioned, this book has cursing and complaining, it talks about sex and the use of the word "slut", it explores postpartum depression, suicide, teen pregnancy, and marital troubles. This isn't a book for kids in elementary school, as they don't understand many of these themes, but, this is an important book for 9th grade up. It might be too "real" for some parents, but the themes and the characters in "This One Summer" may very well show up in their teenager's life. It's a coming of age story is about two girls who are trying to navigate the very adult things happening around them. They will not see sex or have it, they will not get drunk, but they will talk about these things as abstract concepts. I would recommend this book to my 15 year old self and again to my 18 year old self and again to my 35 year old self as my experience comes, I can identify with the different characters and situations.

This graphic novel is a page turner; I read it in about an hour and a half. It is the story of a family, a summer cabin and all the awkwardness of growing up. Both the adult and the children are portrayed in very real, non-sentimental ways. The dialogue is excellent and the humor feels realistic. One character, Windy, is more cartoonish than the rest of the people in the book. I found her annoying (as I would in real life) and she took me out of the story sometimes.

The main character Rose has a very nice feel of the drift and malaise of her age. I thought she was written extremely well. You also get that feel of summer as ephemeral which was lovely. The authors are Canadian and this book has a distinctly Canadian feel to it. That is not a bad thing, just gives the book a regional tone.

The book deals with sex and puberty in a very frank way which may or may not be appropriate for all children and teens. I'd have loved this book at 13 and I think most others would as well. If parents are concerned I'd recommend that they read it first to decide. The art is fun and expressive. I'm glad to have had the opportunity to read this and I hope it finds a wide audience.

What a wonderful time to be alive for fans of graphic novels! Each year brings a bumper crop of excellent storytelling in all genres. This One Summer by writer Jillian Tamki and artist Mariko Tamaki chronicles the summer spent on Atwago Beach by two adolescent girls, Rose and Windy. This book, marketed to young adults, can be enjoyed by adults as well; its themes of love, loss and growing up are timeless.

This One Summer is a book that rewards rereading; the second time through I could savor Mariko Tamaki's gorgeous artwork with its quiet moments and expressive features. Jillian Tamaki captures the way young girls speak and their limited perceptions of the adult world. I liked how the book captured the experience of live as it is lived and didn't try to wrap up character's problems in a well-defined resolution. Brilliant work!

This One Summer is a great coming of age story. It is well written and you feel like the characters could be people you knew when you were Rose and Windy's age. The girls have been friends since Rose was five and they spend every summer together at Awago Beach. Everything seems to be good and pick up where it left off for the girls. It isn't looking like it'll be a perfect summer though between Rose's parents dealing with their issues and small town drama. This is definitely a good beach read!

This One Summer is not your average “fairy tale love story”, that most young adults look for when reading however, it’s a story that involves real life events that many “tweens” are dealing with and have a hard time expressing. The main character Rose visits a lake house every summer, her good friend Windy is there every summer and they have a blast all summer however, things are a bit different This One Summer when Rose goes to the lake house. Rose's experience at the lake house is different because she is faced with many real life challenges that affect her mentally and physically but she doesn’t seem to give up. The author does a really good job making a connection with real life events, a great story line and keeping the audience reading because I didn’t want to put the book down. However, the book is very mature for a YA audience and the events that happen in the story. I agree with the author and keeping a realistic storyline but for a selective YA audiences, the book can be direct and scary to some readers. The events that Rose faces, many YA will never have to face and will not have a connection to what she goes through however, the events are real and some YA will see themselves as Rose. The story is age appropriate for a select of YA with an age range of 16+.
Overall, I enjoyed this vivid story and I read it all the way through in one sitting. I didn’t want to put the book down and wanted to read more even when it ended. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves comics and interested in a great story. 5 stars in my book!

This One Summer is about Jenny. She's spending the summer with her parents in a cottage on a lake, like they do every year. And like every other year, she's joined by her summer friend, Windy. Over the course of the novel, everything unfolds. Why her parents are fighting. If Jenny's crush's girlfriend is pregnant. What happened the summer before.

This really is a good graphic novel, and it bothers me that there are so many one-star reviews simply because the girls talk about sex and puberty. Is this 1979, everyone? Did Judy Bloom never exist? The bluescale art is captivating, and it's too bad that readers are spoiled by DC and Marvel titles. *****

As you can see from my past reviews, I am a big fan of graphic novels of all kinds. This is another excellent graphic novel, about how life changes over time. The main character is Rose. She is a teenager, on an annual summer trip with her parents and her sister to the Beach. From the point of view of teenager Rose, this change is sudden, although as you read the book, it is evident that changes in her parents relationship and in her reaction to the world around her have occurred over a long time. Themes of growing up, of friendships ending and beginning, keeping up appearances in a relationship that is anything but functional, and learning to lure the opposite sex occur throughout the book. But these different subplots do not overwhelm the book, they add to the strength of the plot and the interest of the tale. Add to that Jillian Tamaki's excellent black and white illustrations and you have an excellent book that you will think about long after you turn the last page.

Rose has been coming to Awago Beach with her family every summer since forever. Rose's summer cottage friend--and seasonal younger sister, of sorts--Windy, is always there waiting for a new vacation filled with fun and adventures.

But nothing is quite the same as it was even last summer. Caught uncomfortably between the familiarity of childhood and the wholly unknown world of growing up, Rose isn't sure anymore where she fits in at Awago, with Windy, or even with her parents.

In a summer filled with things left unsaid--with change lurking everywhere--Rose and Windy realize that even as life threatens to shift in a new direction things like friendship can remain rock solid in This One Summer (2014) by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki.

This One Summer received a whopping six starred reviews over the course of 2014. It is also the first graphic novel to ever win Canada's Governor General Award for Illustration in an English Language Children’s Book (for illustrator Jillian Tamaki). (As Mahnaz Dar explains on SLJ this award has usually gone to picture books.)

It's hard sometimes to remember that illustrations are a key part of the reading experience when looking at something that isn't a picture book. Graphic novels, of course, are uniquely suited to demonstrate a perfect blend of illustrative and textual storytelling. Given the ways in which readers interpret visual and written "texts", it's sometimes hard to notice how well the two integrate. It is also, sometimes, too easy to ignore what is being done exceptionally well.

This One Summer is a deceptive book due in part to the seamless integration of graphical and verbal storytelling. In doing everything so very well here--so effortlessly--the Tamakis often erase their own work. Instead of seeing the intricate line work in each full page spread, we first see a beautiful picture. Instead of paying attention to how changing panels and page design move the reader through the story as easily as through a storyboard for a film, we initially only notice how quickly this book can be read.

Throughout the novel the Tamakis capitalize on the graphic novel format to push This One Summer in new directions and stretch just how a story can be told. The motion and physicality, particularly whenever Windy is on the page, becomes palpable with each new frame. The varied design as the story shifts between full page illustrations, two page spreads and smaller panels also serve to move the plot smoothly along.

With intricate illustrations and a nuanced, meditative plot, This One Summer is a subtle story about growing up and facing change that will resonate with readers of any age long after they read the final page.

Rose and her family have been coming to Awago Beach "since...like...forever" but this year is a little different than the rest. Rose's mother is depressed, her father is frustrated, and Rose and her summertime best friend Windy aren't connecting quite like they used to. As the summer unfolds, Rose becomes preoccupied with the older teen drama unfolding at the local convenience store surrounding an unplanned pregnancy as a way to escape the tension at home and secrets surrounding her mom's sudden depression.

This One Summer is a dreamy, beautifully drawn graphic novel. Rose's family issues plays out alongside the drama of the local teenagers that Rose and Windy spy on and interesting parallels are drawn between the two sets of characters involving pregnancies, love, and how relationships can withstand abruptly shifting dynamics. Rose is a flawed character whose behavior is believably awful at times as she struggles to comprehend why her parents are fighting and as she takes in the very serious consequences of the local teens’ actions. She's observant and strangely apart from the action for most of the story, but her quiet observations are what allow her to ultimately stand up and speak out when it really matters. This One Summer is a powerful story about bridging the gap between childhood and adulthood, and fantasy and reality.

The art in this book is really lovely. I love the indigo and violet, which does such a great job at conveying this sense of nostalgia for childhood and the past, but yet it's really grounded in the present. I've got it shelved in the YA section, and although I'd be very careful about who I'd hand it to as it does feature some more grown-up content, I'd recommend it to readers who like Raina Telgemeier's work, or are wanting something a little more mature. However, it's not quite as mature as the Tamaki cousins' first graphic novel, Skim. This One Summer is one of those books that slips between middle grade and YA, and easily appeals to readers of all ages.

I'm new to Graphic Novels, so I was excited yet nervous to read This One Summer. Sadly, this one wasn't for me. Rose spends every Summer with her parents at their beach cottage. This year is no different, except the atmosphere. Her parents have been fighting or ignoring each other and it's starting to take its toll on Rose. The only thing that is the same is her friend Windy, although things do become a little strained between the girls as Rose is affected by her parents and her inconvenient crush on "the Dud."

This One Summer was kind of boring. I never felt connected to Rose and what she was going through. Yes, we see her parents fighting, and then Rose leaving upset, but that's about it. Fight, leave, rinse, repeat. And there's no resolution to it at the end either. Then there's her crush on Duncan and the drama he's involved in. Windy and Rose just happen to overhear some gossip involving the local teens, but nothing comes of that either. I was hoping for something to happen between Rose and Duncan and then the drama causing problems, but nope. The only real tension I felt throughout the entire read was between Rose and Windy, because you can tell that she's annoyed with Windy at times.

The art of This One Summer was good. I'm by no means an expert on illustrations, but I liked them. At first I didn't because they seemed so plain and dark, but the more I read, the more I realized how well they fit the story. It's not what I prefer, since I love color and crispness, but that's not the tone the author and artist were trying to set.

In the end, This One Summer just wasn't my particular thing. I did read it in one sitting, but that was more because it was an easy, quick read rather than me having to know what came next.

Cousins Jillian and Mariko Tamaki again collaborate on a stellar graphic novel --- THIS ONE SUMMER. This time, the topic is summer vacation and the bittersweet pains of growing up.

Rose and her parents have been coming to a cottage on Awago Beach each summer since Rose was five. The time she's spent there forms a huge component of her childhood memories, her family stories and even her sense of self. It's the kind of place that's reassuring in its predictability, the kind of place you can return to each year and be confident that things will have stayed the same.

This summer, though, everything at Awago Beach seems different. Rose is on the verge of adolescence, for one thing, and she's developed a keen interest in the activities, liaisons, and interpersonal dramas of the older teen "townies," particularly Duncan, a beanpole of a guy who works at a little convenience store and always remembers Rose's fondness for Twizzlers.

Rose's family isn't quite the same, either. Ever since they stopped trying to have another baby, Rose's mom has been withdrawn and angry, and Rose's dad has been trying to put a smiling face on a bad situation. This contrast seems even worse at Awago Beach, where Rose's mom refuses to even go in the water while Rose's dad just wants the family to have fun. Rose, too, wishes that her family could revive the little traditions that meant so much to her in previous years, but that doesn't seem likely this summer.

Even Rose's friendship with Windy, who's like the little sister Rose never had, seems different somehow. Windy's a year and a half younger than Rose, and despite her apparent fondness for horror movies, she's starting to seem sort of childish (and occasionally embarrassing) to Rose.

Like many young teenagers, Rose's preoccupations alternate between her family and her social life, or the one she aspires to. Both the text and the illustrations do a fantastic job of balancing Rose's inner life with the world of Awago Beach. Jillian Tamaki's detailed illustrations are rendered in various warmly-hued shades of grey, and capture Rose's interactions with people and the natural world equally well. A pile of beach stones, a vista of bonfires stretching along the beach, a scene of a girl on a bike --- all add up to depict Rose's particular summer.

Cousins Jillian and Mariko Tamaki have previously collaborated on the graphic novel SKIM, about a girl trying both to fit in and stand out at her all-girls' private school in the early 1990s. With that work and this one, the cousins have shown themselves to be particularly adept at capturing the bittersweet life of teenage girls, full of hope, anxiety and heartbreak. THIS ONE SUMMER will have readers eagerly awaiting a return to their own summer place --- and will be remembered long after summer is over.

Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Our youthful heroine, Rose Wallace gets ready for still another vacation at a beach, where she would swim, munch on gummy candy, and watch horror movies with her pleasantly plump friend, "Windy".

Yet the two girls, who had not yet reached their puberty, are getting an unwanted glimpse of something very personal that usually happens to older people. It is not about breast jokes or getting a boyfriend. It is about having babies. And nope, it ain't pretty, either.

One woman - namely Rose's own mother - is struggling hard to conceive while the other woman - the girlfriend of a young shop clerk - may be knocked up. Both incidents are of a very different nature, yet they both turn grown men back into reluctant, sulking children prone to angry quarrels with their partners. And it is also casting a very dark, stormy cloud over what would have otherwise been a very sunny R and R.

Even worse, something serious had happened to Rose's mother while out swimming the previous year, so she has kept it a deep secret even from her own family. As a result, no one is very supportive of the poor woman - not even her own daughter. And it is also causing a very tense rift in the whole family and even threatening the marriage, too!

A very interesting read for young people (best over 13 due to language and adult situations) involving very realistic characters (of course not, they aren't drawn like flawless manga characters that Rose enjoys reading about. In fact, some kids are pretty pudgy, Windy's foster mother has a horse-like face, and "The Dud" is still ugly-looking in spite of his "stud" status.)

And the story is also beautifully illustrated (some splash pages of the Awago Beach are pretty astonishing!) and no detail is left out, not even the debris of discarded cigarettes, beer bottles, or empty packets of turkey jerky that is a favorite running joke for Rose's carefree, fun-loving, and - rather insensitive - father.

Wonderful book, amazing artwork, but a bit deceiving. It looks like a book that is fine for the 5th and 6th grade crowd (10 and 11 year olds) or younger, but I would be very hesitant. It does have more mature themes. There is alcohol, quite a strong dose of foul language, and some sexual comments, (I.e. b.j.), which I personally don't believe are appropriate for the age group it "looks like" it is for. This is most definitely one to stick with the suggest grade level of 8th grade, age 14 and up.

Otherwise it is an extremely well done book, deserving of the awards it has been given and those I am sure it will recieve.

Powerful coming of age story: a great read for mature readers. This One Summer is a page-turner that I have already shared with two friends--one an anthropology professor and the other a gender studies graduate and begun two amazing conversations. I will not spoil the plot, but a truly wonderful piece that I feel captures a lot of the angst, zeal and realization that Stand By Me did for boys in the 1980s.

This is a story in graphic pictures and very few words of a summer at the sea experienced by a preadolescent teen and her younger girlfriend. With artistic skill and emotional sensitivity, both the author and the illustrator have captured the vulnerability, curiosity, uncertainty, daring, and personalities of the youngsters, along with the awkward restlessness that characterizes growing up. The two young girls confront sex and drugs, family misunderstandings, bodily changes, emotional upheavals, and peer pressures during their summer adventures at the beach or cycling around the island. They worry about their changing body shapes, especially the ‘boobs’ that will pop out and fantasize over the possible results. Parental problems confuse them and the rowdy exploits of the older teens they confront serve as the behavior norm. Exposure to a teen pregnancy and a failed suicide trigger many perplexing questions. Captured in captivating black and white illustrations are the meanderings of a young girl’s unstructured summer and her random encounters with new experiences. In this summer’s growth, the reader watches the young heroine confront the problems that bewilder her but which begin to clarify as she experiences the sweet sorrow of growing pains. This is a fast reading book that adolescents will relate to.

A beautifully drawn “coming of age” graphic novel.

This is a YA novel, but I think it’s more for a younger YA crowd, 12-13 maybe. The subject matter is growing out of that innocent, unaware age and becoming more understanding of the complexities and unpleasantness of the world. Two main characters are young teen girls who for the first time face “adult” problems (unwanted pregnancies, depression) through observing adults around them and grapple with understanding them.

The novel is gorgeously drawn, in blue/lilac/grey tones.

I enjoyed it, even though it is a lot less mature than YA I prefer to read.

In short: The art is magnificent and the story is better suited for young teens than for young adults, but it's still a good read either way.

Let me get into more detail. The two main characters are two girls in their young teen years, so a reader between 12-15 years old might identify more easily with them. The story is not complicated and there isn't much depth to it, but at the end the message is clear.

The book addresses topics about growing up, family circumstances (adoption, dysfunctionality) and of course, teenage drama with some splashes of good humor and some insight on the mind of a teenage girl who is growing up but doesn't seem to be ready to let go of certain childhood memories yet.

It seems like I'm not talking about the art at all, but I said it is magnificent, and there's nothing else to say. The artist did a great job with the cool color palette, the facial expressions, the landscapes and the mood changes between scenes. Some pages doesn't even have (nor need) words, because the art is speaking for itself.

If you've read other reviews and aren't sure the story is right for you (like I was), but are interested in the style of a new artist, please buy this book. If you like these types of books already, this is a must-have.

I got a copy of this book to review through the the store Vine program. It was a decent story, but not really the kind of thing I would normally read. If you are into realistic teen fiction, this might be a good graphic novel for you.

Every summer Rose goes with her parents to Awago Beach, every summer she meets up with her Awago Beach friend, Wendy, who is like the sister she never had. Wendy is a year younger than Rose and they have hung out all summer long for as long as they can remember. This summer is different though, Rose’s parents won’t stop fighting and Rose is started to get interested in the older boys who hang around town too...even though Wendy is still oblivious to boys in general.

This book is kind of like a teen soap opera. It’s a realistic fiction novel that does an excellent job of portraying the summer of two pre-teen girls. There is a lot of family drama as we (and Rose) try to figure out what her parents are fighting about. That is only one of the mysteries that unravels as the story progresses.

Rose is starting to get more interested in how she looks to others and in what boys think of her. Wendy is oblivious to it all and could care less. You can tell that this summer the girls’ friendship is more strained than normal. Rose develops a crush on a teenage boy who runs the convenience/video store. These leads to Wendy and Rose hanging around the video store where they rent horror movies they aren’t old enough to watch in an effort to impress the boys there.

So the summer ends up being spent with Rose dodging her parents and Rose and Wendy scaring themselves silly with horror films. More drama unfolds when they overhear the boy at the video talking about his girlfriend who he accidentally got pregnant.

I would recommend this for older young adults, even though our protagonist is a pre-teen. The teenagers that Wendy and Rose eavesdrop on talk a lot about sexual stuff in rather blunt and somewhat offensive slang. There is a boatload of swearing in these parts of the book as well. I mean it is pretty realistic, because you totally hear teens walking around talking like that. Just a warning to those who might be offended by that.

In keeping with the realistic theme of the book, there really isn’t an ending here...nothing is resolved. It’s pretty much left like real life. Rose leaves Awaga Beach and with her leaving she leaves both Wendy and all the other teenage drama behind.

The illustration is all done in tones of blue. It is very well drawn and it is easy to see the subtleties in the characters facial expressions and emotions. It is drawn in a fairly realistic style and not all that cartoony or stylized. The illustration adds a ton to the story.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book, although it is not something I would normally pick up. This is kind of one of those “a day/summer in the life of a teen girl” kind of books. Lots of day to day boredom interspersed with drama. There’s a lot in here about friendship, family dynamics, and growing up. If you are into that kind of thing I would definitely recommend this. It was a nice break from all the fantasy I usually read and did a really excellent job of capturing an accurate snapshot of a pre-teen girls’ slightly troubled summer.

I purchased this for my 12 year old daughter-only to find out it talks in graphic terms about oral sex, "sluts" and 15 year olds having sex, and a suicide attempt & an abortion!! I have no idea how this was recommended to anyone but full fledged adults -pretty horrified I purchased this.

In a sentence or so: Rose and her parents make their annual trip to their Awago Beach cottage where friendships and marriages come to the test and girls grow into young adults.

Rose is right on the cups of being a teen, so she's got some angst to spare. Her dad does his typical silly schtick to keep things light, but there's obviously something brewing between him and Rose's mom. Rose keeps out of the cottage as much as possible by hanging with her summer friend Windy and renting scary movies and getting caught up in the townie's drama. Rose has no clue how close to home the drama of the small town of Awago Beach will hit.

Something I absolutely adore about graphic novels is that they are able to convey emotions at an level that transcends the written word because you can actually see the nuanced feelings that are deeper than "joy" or "grief" or "confusion". As such, I'm able to get more emotionally absorbed in a graphic novel much faster than I am with a written book.

THIS ONE SUMMER hits that uncomfortable, but totally realistic, spot in childhood where you're becoming more aware of things around you and people's emotions, pasts, and struggles. Rose and Windy are just different enough in age that Windy is silly and Rose is trying to act like she's all deep. And sometimes, that's true. But most of the time they are both trying to figure out who they are and how they fit into the world around them.

The illustrations are gorgeous and perfectly match the tone of the story. The frames are at times whimsical, other times stark and barren, depending on the mood.

While THIS ONE SUMMER definitely qualifies as a summer read with the setting and time of year, don't go into it thinking this is a lighthearted romance. However, do not pass this one up for fear of something different or something a bit heavier with a summer setting. THIS ONE SUMMER highlights the strength of relationships, the tension of uncertainty, and the hope of of growing up.

There are some hard topics addressed in this book. I personally think they are important issues that, realistically, every teenager will face, no matter how much their parents like it. This is a gentle way to introduce topics like teen pregnancy and infertility to a young teen. I would suggest having a discussion before giving them the book, though. Read it first.

The art is beautiful, and the story is vibrant and realistic. I loved it very much, and I am a 23 year old woman.

The art is beautiful.

The story is poignant. The characters are, for the most part, realistic. I love the coming-of-age girls, and their friendship, the kind that happens only in the summer, is truthfully written. The scary, somehow alluring teens are well-written, too.

SPOILER ALERT: The parents of one character have a crisis with how they deal with the mother's some-time-ago miscarriage--which, in the story, happens while she is swimming one afternoon. This is how miscarriage happens in television, but in real life such a thing takes a long time. Think of a menstrual period happening in 20 minutes: that would be great, but it doesn't work that way. People who have experienced miscarriages or know people who have will be left wondering whether the character was lying about having one or the writer watched too many soap operas.

The age range listed seems a little young for the material, but as another reviewer said, you'll have to make up your own mind what is right for your family. My assessment would be older teens and up.

Very beautiful book and I am looking forward to more by these collaborators.

There is a lot here for young adults to relate to. A vacation in a cottage. The "summer friend" you only see once a year. Renting DVDs that are really too old for you. Being exposed to older kids who talk about and have sex. And learning that the adults in your family have their own secrets and problems too.

With that in mind, there *is* talk about sex, including oral sex, and the F word is used a lot. I would not hand this to my 7th grader and say, "Enjoy!" I really think this book would be best enjoyed by young adults who have already been exposed to these situations and have the maturity to begin to think deeply about and process them, maybe 15.

The graphics are wonderful, and I particularly enjoyed the dreamlike, more innocent quality of the sections that look back to previous times, when the girls were younger and more innocent.

The ending is upbeat and hopeful. The basic message is that it can be confusing and scary to start to grow up, but there is a lot to look forward to, too.

Readers who like this book, particularly parents, would likely enjoy books by Lynda Barry. Windy reminded me a lot of Barry's character named Marlys. Enjoy!

This One Summer is a poignant tale of coming of age. Though some of the language/themes are a little mature, I think it deals with issues in a way that is appropriate for younger audiences (also, kids know more about sex and language than adults think they do by age 10 — what this book explores is how to deal with, without encouraging it). The issues that the protagonist deals with are ones that many young adults will encounter through their teens, and it is eye-opening to see how the girls deal with the drama surrounding teenage pregnancy, slut-shaming, and family conflict. I cannot recommend this book enough. The plot is slow and interspersed with daily activities of the girls—swimming, eating ice cream, and playing MASH—but the illustrations are breathtaking and the narrative is complex and thought-provoking.

Every summer for as long as she can remember, Rose, her mom, and her dad head to a lake house at Awago Beach. It’s a refuge, a getaway, a chance to relax and recover from the stresses of the past year. And every summer Rose’s friend Windy and her family are there as well. Windy and Rose are like sisters and best friends. This year though...things have changed. Rose’s mom and dad just won’t stop fighting. Rose is growing up and beginning to notice the local boys and is interested in horror movies. And a couple of the local teens have an encounter that will change things for everyone. This is going to be a summer like no other.

This is one of those stories that is hard for me to write a review. Because I want to write so much about it, I want to tell you what happens, but I don’t want to spoil the story. And it’s also difficult, because the story is so realistic, so vivid, that I felt like I was reading Rose’s diary. It feels almost like an invasion of privacy, because the story is so well told that in just a few short sentences we can understand the swirl of emotions and drama and chaos that Rose is experiencing. Because we remember what it was like to go through that transition. We are no longer children, but we are not yet quite adults either. And it doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, we can all remember that time of struggle. Wondering what it’s like to be an adult, trying to be an adult, trying to figure out what love is and not make a fool out of ourselves. Mariko and Jillian have accurately captured the feelings of this age and make the reader feel like they're actually participants in what's going on, not just mere observers to the world.

I think what I like best about the story though, is that the dialogue feels real. It’s like we’ve stepped into a local school and we’re hearing teens from today talk about what’s going on in their lives. But we can also feel like we’re stepping back into time to the 90’s and the dialogue would still feel the same. So many authors struggle with trying to be real teens, it’s like they’ve forgotten what they were like and imagine that everyone talks in complete sentences. But not in this story. Here we have the broken sentences, half words, not real words, and everything in between.

The artwork for this story is absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking. The simple color palette of blue and white capture the emotion and intensity of the what's going on and have the characters leaping off the page into the real world. The blue and white also echo the idea of the lake and waves crashing against the shore nicely. It's that idea of swirling chaos and beauty that we see and feel when standing on the shore. The color palette also reflects the idea that we’re reading Rose’s diary or hearing her tell the story. Even more than that, it feels like we’re watching an old home movie, where the film has faded slightly, but we can still feel and be a part of the story.

The design of the characters though is my favorite aspect. There are no “perfect” bodies or super models. We see real people, real teens. Skinny, chubby, fat, slim, muscular, old, and everything in between. In other words real people. It isn’t something shows up often in young adult books, and I am so glad to see it here.

This is one of those books that I could give and recommend to so many different groups: to teen girls just at that age of childhood and adulthood with so much to look forward to and to fear; to women that want to remember what it felt like at that age--the first crush, the separation of childhood friends, of growing up; and to guys that just want to understand the depth and emotion that this age holds. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars and look forward to seeing what Mariko and Jillian do next.

ARC provided by Gina at First Second

The only reason to open this book is to flip through the art. I forced myself to drudge through the dull story, thinking that surely an award-winning book would eventually provide some kind of hook. It never came. There is no story here. Just a group of unhappy characters, living unhappy lives.

The illustrations and characters were perfection (especially Windy). But there were some unresolved issues; I don't want to spoil anything, so I will just say that the book is definitely worth reading- it just wasn't the resolution I was expecting... it sort of just ended quietly.

I thought that the swearing and sex talk was spot on for girls of that age. Throughout the book I kept thinking that it was a great representation of what teens go through, plus it's in a fun setting. My 14 year old sister read it and loved it. She didn't say anything after she finished it but gave the "It was good" grunt. So, I guess that means it had some sort of emotional effect on her!

This book reminded me all over again why I love graphic novels. The drawings are exquisite and oh-so evocative and completely capture that fleeting bliss of a Canadian cottage summer. The dialogue felt realistic for two tween girls and handled some fairly complicated emotional issues with sensitivity and grace. I especially enjoyed that the storyline did not center around a romance but instead focused on growing up and the bliss of being a kid -- untethered and wild with imagination -- as well as the pain of being subject to things you don't quite yet understand.

This is a beautifully crafted book in every way possible. Let me just say that when I bought this book I bought it solely based on Daniel Handler's endorsement of it. The book was tightly wrapped, so I couldn't even flip through it, but I loved the cover, I loved the synopsis, and Daniel Handler's name was there, so I thought, that's it...I'm buying it.

When I opened it to start reading it, I was very surprised to find that it was a graphic novel! I don't usually read graphic novels, not because I'm not a fan, but I just never feel like I get immersed in graphic novels the way I do with regular stories that really take you in deep with the descriptions and scene setting and feelings and so on.

However, This One Summer blew me AWAY. The graphics were absolutely beautiful, brilliantly crafted into pieces of art. Actually, no. I won't call it a piece of art, because the drawings were so real that it almost felt like watching a movie. The emotions on their faces, the scenery, the expressions, the movement, it was amazing. All depicted so well that the characters felt they could almost jump off the pages of the book.

But then comes the writing, although the writing was brief and mostly dialogue - because, yes, it is a graphic novel. The writing was still enough to convey the messages it meant to convey in the way they are meant to be conveyed. The characters all had depth, and the Tamakis were able to make them so real that you become invested in this story. It's literally a story that spans the length of a summer holiday, but in that time we witness the growth of a young girl at the cusp of adolescence, and her relationships with her friends and family, and those she interacts with around her. We see stories intertwined and played out, judgments made, arguments between friends, families torn apart and back together again, and people getting hurt in the process.

And the story suddenly becomes more than the art and the writing, it becomes all too real.

A great summer read, one you'll be able to finish in one go as you breeze through it.

Summary:
Rose spends every summer with her parents at a lake house. She looks forward to it because she gets to see her best friend Windy. This summer is a little different though. Her mother is depressed and her parents are arguing all of the time. To get away from it, Rose and Windy are intrigued by the local teenagers who are just a little bit older than the two of them. The convenience store clerk is cute and Rose has a little bit of a crush on him. Unfortunately, he's not the perfect teen that she really should be looking up to. This One Summer shows Rose finding her place in growing up.

My thoughts:
While this is a beautiful tale, it was not really what I expected. Based upon the back of the book, I felt like there would be a good amount of mystery and excitement. I mean "caught up in something bad...something life threatening" makes me think that someone is after him and the girls have somehow gotten mixed up in it. This is not the case. While there is a large conflict in the story, it is not an action packed mystery. This is a leisurely read about growing up. The real purpose of the story is Rose finding out more about who she is in the midst of all these changes around her. She is a bit too old for the things that she used to enjoy so much with Windy, but she is still too young for some of the things the older teens are doing. Expect some awkwardness, some sadness, and some hope, but nothing that will really get your heart pumping or have you jumping through pages to find out what happens next. It's a leisurely paced book about summer, which is perfect for this time of year.

This book reminded me all over again why I love graphic novels. The drawings are exquisite and oh-so evocative and completely capture that fleeting bliss of a Canadian cottage summer. The dialogue felt realistic for two tween girls and handled some fairly complicated emotional issues with sensitivity and grace. I especially enjoyed that the storyline did not center around a romance but instead focused on growing up and the bliss of being a kid -- untethered and wild with imagination -- as well as the pain of being subject to things you don't quite yet understand.

This is a beautifully crafted book in every way possible. Let me just say that when I bought this book I bought it solely based on Daniel Handler's endorsement of it. The book was tightly wrapped, so I couldn't even flip through it, but I loved the cover, I loved the synopsis, and Daniel Handler's name was there, so I thought, that's it...I'm buying it.

When I opened it to start reading it, I was very surprised to find that it was a graphic novel! I don't usually read graphic novels, not because I'm not a fan, but I just never feel like I get immersed in graphic novels the way I do with regular stories that really take you in deep with the descriptions and scene setting and feelings and so on.

However, This One Summer blew me AWAY. The graphics were absolutely beautiful, brilliantly crafted into pieces of art. Actually, no. I won't call it a piece of art, because the drawings were so real that it almost felt like watching a movie. The emotions on their faces, the scenery, the expressions, the movement, it was amazing. All depicted so well that the characters felt they could almost jump off the pages of the book.

But then comes the writing, although the writing was brief and mostly dialogue - because, yes, it is a graphic novel. The writing was still enough to convey the messages it meant to convey in the way they are meant to be conveyed. The characters all had depth, and the Tamakis were able to make them so real that you become invested in this story. It's literally a story that spans the length of a summer holiday, but in that time we witness the growth of a young girl at the cusp of adolescence, and her relationships with her friends and family, and those she interacts with around her. We see stories intertwined and played out, judgments made, arguments between friends, families torn apart and back together again, and people getting hurt in the process.

And the story suddenly becomes more than the art and the writing, it becomes all too real.

A great summer read, one you'll be able to finish in one go as you breeze through it.

Summary:
Rose spends every summer with her parents at a lake house. She looks forward to it because she gets to see her best friend Windy. This summer is a little different though. Her mother is depressed and her parents are arguing all of the time. To get away from it, Rose and Windy are intrigued by the local teenagers who are just a little bit older than the two of them. The convenience store clerk is cute and Rose has a little bit of a crush on him. Unfortunately, he's not the perfect teen that she really should be looking up to. This One Summer shows Rose finding her place in growing up.

My thoughts:
While this is a beautiful tale, it was not really what I expected. Based upon the back of the book, I felt like there would be a good amount of mystery and excitement. I mean "caught up in something bad...something life threatening" makes me think that someone is after him and the girls have somehow gotten mixed up in it. This is not the case. While there is a large conflict in the story, it is not an action packed mystery. This is a leisurely read about growing up. The real purpose of the story is Rose finding out more about who she is in the midst of all these changes around her. She is a bit too old for the things that she used to enjoy so much with Windy, but she is still too young for some of the things the older teens are doing. Expect some awkwardness, some sadness, and some hope, but nothing that will really get your heart pumping or have you jumping through pages to find out what happens next. It's a leisurely paced book about summer, which is perfect for this time of year.

"This One Summer" is a graphic novel by Mariko Tamaki with charcoal-and-ink art by Jillian Tamaki, a team of cousins whose first collaboration, Skim, won a New York Times Illustrated Children’s Book Award. "Summer" tells the complex and ultimately edifying story of Rose, a tween (her age is never stated) who deals with family tensions and—vicariously, by watching the local teens in the town where her family vacations—explores the mysterious world of near-adulthood.

Rose’s mom, Alice, is dealing with depression in the aftermath of a failed pregnancy, and this leads to conflict with Rose’s kindly (and slightly immature) dad. And as this conflict progresses from tension to acrimony to reconciliation, Rose finds her attention drawn—first as an observer, and then as a sort of spy—to a parallel drama playing out between a convenience-store clerk (and subject of a minor crush) and his apparently pregnant girlfriend. Her attention caught by these two stories, Rose seems to be pondering what role she can take on as an adult, and which one of the two roles that present themselves—familiar, beloved, but withdrawn mother, or emotional, liberated, but tragic teenage girl—lie closest to how she sees herself.

Also in the mix is Windy, Rose’s younger friend, who serves as a foil for Rose’s dilemma. Windy is full of slighting references to the teens’ drama, and whether this stems from sincere disdain or a desire to keep them at a safe distance, she gives voice to perspectives that are both younger and older than Rose’s. In this way, she serves as a representation of the ways in which the community around an adolescent can be both comforting and alienating.

Summer ends with these conflicts largely resolved. Rose’s search for a place to call her own in the adult world concludes with a rediscovery of the strengths of her family and community, which equates to a rediscovery of her own strengths. The reader is tempted to imagine that Rose will find that maturing will move her closer to her true self—to a role that suits her.

Given the language, Summer may not qualify as a YA title for some, except in the sense that it concerns young protagonists. But it has much to offer as a portrait of the confusions and consolations of life on the verge of young adulthood.

This was more gritty than I expected but it was really interesting. It gave me a jolt since I was expecting a little less realism. I got it for my daughter to read but she is not ready for the maturity of the topics that are presented. Great artwork that really conveys the emotions of the characters.

I enjoy graphic novels so when I saw this one available, I snapped it up. Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki have other works out but this was my first graphic novel experience from them.

Like other reviewers have commented, the artwork is gorgeous. Spare in the sense that the story can come through but detailed enough to have a sense of time and place. I love the shift too from the lighter line drawings to the heavier brush to indicate levels of drama. In a monochrome graphic novel, the brushstroke really becomes a great tool to evoke emotion and tension and it works really well here.

On the other hand, this story about Rose, whose family holidays at a lake cottage, and the friend she spends time with there named Windy, seems to be missing something. Given the year gap in age, Rose is on the cusp of becoming a teenager and all the ups and downs that entails while the younger Windy is still embracing her childhood. That gap is a good start in the story as is the conflict between Rose's parents and mostly what seems to be Rose's mother's depression, but for some reason, the narrative just didn't work for me. Maybe because the end just sort of sputters out with no feeling of a wrap up or that the characters have moved from where they started at the beginning.

Still, the artwork is worth the perusal of this graphic novel because as noted above, it is lovely.

A graphic novel about an important summer for a young teen and her friend, as the girls grow and change, sometimes connecting and sometimes irritating each other. A very real look at a small summer in a person’s life.

I really wanted to love this book....and I did-for the first few pages. I don't understand the use of the preteen girls witnessing the serious business of adults. If I were a teenager I wouldn't want to read a novel with two kids as the main characters and this book is clearly for older teenagers with the references to drugs, drinking, sex, unwanted pregnancy, depression-with a whole lot of swearing for good measure. I really thought this was going to be a lovely story about growing up and it was very harsh. The illustrations in relation to Maine and the nostalgic feeling of the place were wonderful but not enough to get past the inappropriate "stuff."

Misogynistic book teaching kids to hate teenage girls who are pregnant, as if those teenage girls didn't have enough judgment to deal with in real life already. Book teaching kids that having a sexuality makes women "s***." Book using vulgarity for "cool" shock value. Can publishing houses please stop selling us garbage like this? YA authors have the responsibility to be careful what messages they put into young readers' minds. Young girls don't need to be taught to view others as "s***." Our patriarchal society already does enough of that, thank you very much!

Rose, 12 and her parents head off in their beautiful Acura to their lake house getaway at Awago Beach. Rose and her best friend Windy and Windy's family join them in the fun. However, this one summer everything comes to a head. Puberty kicks in. Hormones are ratched up into overdrive. Rose's parents quarrel constantly. Rose is interested in boys. Some local teens enter the picture and the world changes for all the main characters.

The book is written in an ersatz manga style. However unlike Japanese books, this one is written in "Western" format, that is from left to right. Japanese books are read from right to left and you follow the sequence of the illustrations. That made for a more interesting presentation.

Rose's story reads like a diary and her emotions are a swirling vortex that pulls readers in. Few words are written, but the literary parsimony is very effective. So is the artwork. However, the F bombs DID get old fast. Readers really do feel the swell and rise of the water from the lake which swells and rises in time to the emotions of the characters.

This is an edgy story that many will enjoy. However, due to rough language and adult themes, I recommend this for older teens. Readers will certainly identify with the adolescent angst, of teetering on the precipice of adulthood while still maintaining some vestiges of childhood.

Blondie's "The Tide is High" could well be the soundtrack of this book.

Most Caldecott books are suitable for children in grades one through three--this one is not!! Although the cover makes it look like a cute summer romp, the language and some of the content are for a considerably older audience. It is quite an affecting story, and a nicely illustrated graphic novel. But the four letter words that abound throughout make it objectionable for young girls. On the other hand, the main characters are young and somewhat immature, and I'm not sure it would appeal to an eighth grader. This book left me unclear about its intended audience.

This One Summer recently won a Printz Honor and Caldecott Award, two of the most prestigious awards in children’s literature. In fact, this is the second time a graphic novel has ever won the Printz (the first being American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang) and it’s a groundbreaking achievement for graphic novels who are usually not recognized as literary. I can definitely see why this one has received such acclaim with its gorgeous artwork and the fact that it discusses important issues, but at the same time I desired more. This graphic novel merely touched upon these issues and its story didn’t really have much momentum.

This One Summer tells of two friends as they navigate of a summer in which they try to find themselves. What ensues is swimming, watching horror films, talking about boys, eating Twizzlers and a bunch of other activities. While I did like the characters especially Windy, not enough went down in this book and there wasn’t really a plot perse. I wanted to feel something, but I just couldn’t because there wasn’t enough heart and emotion in this story. Even when the novel ended, I didn’t feel any sort of closure and the lacking of a formal conclusion irked me to no end.

Even when This One Summer discussed issues like divorce, teen pregnancy, falling out of love, it just didn’t push these issues far enough. When it did talk of these issues, it was with grace and I was extremely intrigued but it just a taste of what I wanted. I felt that the authors held back on their readers and as a result, this novel just doesn’t feel true or as poignant as it could’ve been.

Artistically, This One Summer is a huge success, but the story just wasn’t developed well enough for me. I’m interested in reading the authors’ other novel, Skim, in hopes that it has a stronger story.

First things, first. This book is absolutely gorgeous to look at.
The whole book is done in shadowed blues that look gray. There are full spreads of white pages, or dark blue (rain, water, and the sky) pages, that elicit a very emotional response from the reader. Stunning.

I personally don't love "Coming of Age" stories, so this wasn't really for me. I do happen to love comic books/graphic novels, so I was able to appreciate it very much, even though it's not my normal cup of tea.
Rose goes through a lot and learns a lot during the few weeks of summer this book spans. But as one of the characters says: "Kids...they get it."
As one reviewer said, it might be a bit mature for some young kids. But, most girls will get it. I feel like 13/14 would be the perfect reading age range here, but don't limit yourself to that (I'm 26 and enjoyed it).

This is a beautiful graphic novel for older kids and young adults. I've never written a review on the store before, although I read many, and so many one star reviews prompted me to write this one. People are incensed that this title received a Caldecott Honor, which is the award given to illustrations in children's literature. Usually, this is in the form of traditional picture books. However, the Caldecott awards titles for kids up to age 14, and this book fits into that criteria. I understand that interest level can be subjective, and while some find the material inappropriate for the stated age range, others will not. What makes me so mad are the reviews condemning the book from people who 1) didn't even read the book, who ordered it only based on the award and who did not pay attention to the stated interest level and 2) people who don't fully understand (or care about) criteria for the different awards.

Not for middle school kids!! My 7th grade kid has a school assignment, she needed to pick a graphic novel This one came out on an on-line list as good graphic novel, and the big reward metal on the book cover tricked me. I was shocked when I see how many F* words are in this book, and how they even mentioned "blow job", "oral sex", and hint about condom and semen. Oh, my god. I am so regretted that I picked this book for my daughter, now I have to deal with the afterward damage.

When this book won a Caldecott Honor, I expected it would soon be subject to strong criticism on grounds of morality and "age appropriateness." That has already happened. It has happened here, in spades: look at the many very negative responses to the book among the customers' reviews. I am not surprised, though I confess I'm taken aback, a bit, by just how quickly the criticisms have come and how harsh they have been.

The Caldecott judges have certainly taken a risking in anointing this book. It is a frank coming-of-age story that uses the friendship between tween girls, and the tension between the protagonist and her mother, to probe gender roles and expectations. It is searching, sometimes difficult, and uses language that is frank and realistic (for a story about a tween girl listening in on the conversations among young adults and her own parents). The language is at times salty; the things that the two friends do and say when they are not around grownups are sometimes risky, believably so. The family dynamics on view may disturb, because they are not idealized. It is probably safe to say that this is not a Caldecott Honor book for the very young. Its subtlety, its troubling themes, and the ambiguity of its ending make it an outlier among Caldecott books.

However, the reviews here are often not reviews at all, or at least don't describe the same book I read. The book is emphatically NOT "FILTHY" and NOT "PORNOGRAPHIC." There is nothing here that appeals to prurient interest; while the book depicts a growing girl's fascination with sex and courtship, there is nothing salacious about the depiction. This is a story about youthful naivete coming to terms (or perhaps not) with complex emotional and social issues. It's a story about expectations and feelings. About confusion. It is not a story that focuses on sexual acts. In fact the images are quite discreet. I can understand why some readers might dislike or reject this book, but I cannot fathom how any reader in good faith could label this porn.

On a perhaps more subjective level, the images are not dull. They are not crude. Jillian Tamaki's artwork is breathtaking in its beauty and subtlety. It is true that the book boasts a monochrome palette (it's printed in a deep blue-purple shade), and it seems likely that many readers will find the images moody or melancholy for that reason. I believe that's deliberate. But there is nothing dull or inept about the way this work has been crafted visually. It's one of the most stunning graphic novels I've seen in years.

The fitness of the Caldecott Honor for a book of this type may be debatable. That's a worthwhile conversation to have. But I urge buyers here not to take the one-star reviews here at face value. Too many of these reviews blur moralistic judgments about the book's age appropriateness with artistic judgments. GREAT BOOK, GREAT COMIC, GREAT GRAPHIC NOVEL.

And, yes, I believe the book could be a wonderful experience for certain kinds of tween and teen readers. Parents, teachers, and caregivers searching for Caldecott picture books for much younger readers may wish to look elsewhere.

Should we be looking for this title on the ALA's list of Most Challenged books of the coming year or two? I bet. That's too bad, but that's what happens when a gutsy book *about* young people happens to defy some readers' narrow sense of what books *for* young people should be.

This is a graphic novel and from the art standpoint, it's spellbinding. The story however is of moderate interest. It's about the vacation of a teen girl and her quarrelling parents. There's little to talk about here. So I recommend this for the artwork. Those into coming-of-age stories will also appreciate it. For the general reader, I would say this is just so-so.

I feel this book is far too rude and gritty for 8 year old readers.
Raw, crude, language.I find it rather shocking and sad that this book would win awards and be considered suitable for young children.

It's okay but too long for what it delivers. Cute characters, no real story. No plot, no deep meaning. A very superficial look on what it is to stop being a child and become a teenager. What could have been a bittersweet childhood story is just like a long peeking into the private lives or two quite ordinary girls. The drawings are nothing to look at twice.

I would give it zero stars if it was possible. The cover of this book does not prepare you for what's inside. Everything appears to look pretty innocent. But about 10-15 pages in the horror starts: explicit language and description of homosexuality, pornography, blow jobs, f*** this and f*** that, teenage promiscuity, depression, suicidal ideation and list goes on and on. I was horrified. This is the MOST VILE piece of literature (if you can call it that) I've read in a long time. The worst part is that it's targeted at middle school kids, 12+. I read it cover to cover, just to make sure I was not misunderstanding anything and the book maybe somehow warning kids against things like that or other lesson to learn. Nothing of the kind: it was written like all of those things were cool and the kids should do them.
Sometimes I wonder if this kind of children subversion and brainwashing is done on purpose to poison their developing minds in order to create a future dysfunctional society.

I don't know what I expected this to be but this was not it. The mixture of the writing and the art just made this boring. I liked the idea behind a summer story but I feel like the author didn't really know where to go with this so there wasn't exactly a definite story.

I'd technically give it a 3 and a half star review but am unable to. I checked it out after seeing the glowing review on IGN. Honestly I didn't see what all the fuss was about.

There's a solid story and great art but I was never immersed into the story. Had this been a 300+ page book I would have stopped reading it about a quarter or so into it. Being a graphic novel, I stuck with it. It's worth a read if you want a coming of age type of read but for $10 on the Kindle, I would have rather saved my money. Maybe it's cause I'm not the target audience but many adults, male and female, seemed to enjoy it. If you can find it cheap or in the library, give it a go. It's not horrible by any means, I simply expected more.

Book aside, I could not make this book read in normal vertical view. I purchased for kindle and read in on my phone with the Kindle App. It was in landscape the whole time. I tried a preview for another graphic novel and had no problems reading it vertically. Not sure why I was stuck in landscape with this one. May not be an issue with anyone else though.

The language is worse than a rated-R film. How this can win a "kids" award is simply appalling and quite frightening eye-opening on how low the standards have become. It sends the wrong message and reinforces negative, dangerous and illegal behavior - definitely not for any child.

Caldecott Honoree for 2015!?
I will begin by agreeing that the illustrations for "This One Summer" are beautifully drawn. But the criteria for the Caldecott medal includes:
-- A "picture book for children" as distinguished from other books with illustrations, is one that essentially provides the child with a visual experience. -- A picture book has a collective unity of story-line, theme, or concept, developed through the series of pictures of which the book is comprised.
-- A "picture book for children" is one for which children are an intended potential audience. The book displays respect for children's understandings, abilities, and appreciations. Children are defined as persons of ages up to and including fourteen and picture books for this entire age range are to be considered.

I'm not sure how this book was able to be considered since it is recommended for grades 7 and and up.I have only one caution. The subject matter may not be appropriate for even some 12 year olds: the book constantly makes references to porn, oral sex, and blow jobs; the language is harsh for younger readers.

Secondly, I found the plot to be...quite frankly... boring. I kept hoping more would happen in the story as I was reading. This is a coming of age story about two girls who meet every year at their summer vacation spot. Each are at different stages of their development. One girl is seeing the parent's relationship growing apart. I'm sorry... I had hoped I could offer a positive review. I just didn't feel it was worth reading.

Ugh. What to say? This story did nothing for me in fact, I didn't like it in parts and found it ho-hum the rest of the time. The art is amazing and is what kept me reading this over 300 page book. The entire book is done in blue and the graphics are splendid making for a beautiful presentation. But the story of two girls who know each other by spending the summer at the same cottages each and every summer since they were little is full of conflicts that go nowhere. I don't mind this kind of plot most of the time but I also didn't find the mother's behaviour realistic at all. And in general I found the story to be entirely so blatantly feminist and left wing that it really was unpalatable to me. Of course, there are plenty of the target audience and my opinion will be unpopular with them.

I Thought the art in this was really good and I thought it was really cool how it was realistic instead of full of action like most graphic novels are. The story seemed a bit young for me, personally, so it didn't exactly interest me. It's great for the age of about 12 or 13, but it wasn't really for me.

This won a Caldecott? I'm stunned and saddened by that. The book was terrible; a pointless journey full of references to sluts and blowjobs. The characters range from the flat to the stereotypical. Sorry...it was terrible!

I am a big fan of graphic novels, but this one just didn't do it for me. This illustrations are excellent, and the overall visual imagery is enthralling at times; however, the story did not speak to me or interest me much at all. It is a story about young ladies and coming of age and I am a thirty-three-year-old dude, but that didn't stop me from loving "The Color Purple," "A Fault in our Stars," or "The Bluest Eye." Anyways, it may be good for some, but its certainly not a universally good read.

I, too would give it 0 stars. And I would give the ALA Caldecott committee reading lessons! From their own webpage: The Caldecott is awarded "to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." Two key words there: PICTURE BOOK. This is not a picture book! This is a graphic NOVEL! Their page also says FOR CHILDREN. I would dare guess that most people, (like 99 percent) would not say this is for CHILDREN. And there was nothing noteworthy about the illustrations. I, too will never support this again. Thank you, the store for refunding our $$$! (For the record this review was NOT written by Nancy but we put everything in her name because she handles finances and payments.)

I did it! I took the dive and jumped into my first graphic novel, did I like it….definitely not. I was greatly disappointment and not impressed at all. The graphics were okay, but I seriously got tired of looking at all the shades of blue by the time the book was finished. I did enjoy all the details that were captured within each illustration: the faces looked real and characters came alive. The story itself was all over the place and I felt as if I was switching channels on a television set. The characters were consuming sugar, they complained, they ate Twizzlers two at a time, their parents were fighting, they were complaining some more, they rented videos, they talked about sex, they rented more videos, did I mention they complained? They complained and whined continuously over the most tedious things. I also found that there was too much cussing for me inside this novel. I usually don’t mention or have a problem with swearing but this novel contained too many swear words that I felt didn’t really need to be added. Time to find another graphic novel, I have a few other ones on my TBR list.

This book is not for preteens! I got it for my 12 year old daughter going into the 7th grade without reading all of the reviews. I thought from the artwork on the front it would be cute, but luckily, I looked through it before giving it to her. The first page I turned to had 4 F-WORDS! Unless you want your child reading about different kinds of sex, suicide, teenage pregnancy, rape, and lots of cussing, DON'T get this book!

Warning to followers of the Caldecott Medal! This book won a Caldecott Honor medal this week--the highest honor given for illustrations for an American artist in books for children. Many parents and librarians automatically buy all of these winners, but if you have a younger audience, this book is not appropriate! It is liberally sprinkled with curse words, and two teen girls are exposed to talk of oral sex, teen pregnancy, and many other topics you don't normally see in a Caldecott winner. I will be returning the copy I purchased and not adding it to the collection of my K-8 library.

This book was purchased for an elementary school solely on the basis of the Caldecott Award. Not pre-read, the book was checked out and returned in person by a parent who had marked all the pages with R-rated language, objectionable subjects, etc. We were lucky she didn't press this matter with either the school board or 5 minutes of fame on TV. I'm sorry but if an author can't write a book without the foul language, male characters referring to the female characters as sluts and whores, and dialogue about penises and breasts, then Caldecott needs to rethink their award parameters! This appears to be aimed at young children and should instead have a huge warning labels on it. R for rotten!

This was more gritty than I expected but it was really interesting. It gave me a jolt since I was expecting a little less realism. I got it for my daughter to read but she is not ready for the maturity of the topics that are presented. Great artwork that really conveys the emotions of the characters.

I don't know what I expected this to be but this was not it. The mixture of the writing and the art just made this boring. I liked the idea behind a summer story but I feel like the author didn't really know where to go with this so there wasn't exactly a definite story.

This came up as a suggestion for other books I purchased. My struggling reader prefers graphic novels so we tried to expand her library. This is sooo not appropriate for a 5th grader!! Horrible. Buyer beware. Subject matter, cursing etc.