Review: This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki

This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki & Mariko Tamaki

Rating: PG-13

Genre: Graphic Novel, Fiction

Score: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Page Count: 320

Stand Alone

Publisher: First Second

Published: May 6, 2014

 

Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to a lake house in Awago Beach. It's their getaway, their refuge. Rosie's friend Windy is always there, too, like the little sister she never had. But this summer is different. Rose's mom and dad won't stop fighting, and when Rose and Windy seek a distraction from the drama, they find themselves with a whole new set of problems. It's a summer of secrets and sorrow and growing up, and it's a good thing Rose and Windy have each other.
In This One Summer two stellar creators redefine the teen graphic novel. Cousins Mariko and Jillian Tamaki, the team behind Skim, have collaborated on this gorgeous, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful story about a girl on the cusp of her teen age—a story of renewal and revelation.

 

Review:

PROS:

1. I had been hearing and seeing this book for a while now and I was recommended this graphic novel over and over again by multiple people so when I stumbled upon it at my library, I thought now would be as good a time as any to finally check this one out and see what it's all about. I think it's a good summer read with a quirkiness to it but let's get more in depth with my thoughts on it. Here's the review:

 

2. As always, the art comes first. I really loved the art in this graphic novel for many reasons. (1) The color pallet was really different in a sense that the main colors used were blue and purple. Black was a rarely used color anywhere in this book and I thought that was pretty cool. Many shades of purple and blue were used to create shadows and light sources and I thought it was different to see the rare use of black in a graphic novel. (2) The art was also pretty detailed with not only the characters but with of course the surroundings. The scenery had forests and roads, buildings and oceanic scenes and I loved how everything was drawn so detailed without being too much for the eyes to handle and too busy. I liked that the attention of detail also focused on the characters and their features. From what I've read, most graphic novels tend to be a little lighter on detail with their characters and it was cool to see a difference in this book. 

 

 

 

3. I really enjoyed the characters in this book as well. I thought that our main character, Rose, was a normal teen trying to have another great summer and still grow up a little in the process. She and her best friend, Windy, just wanted to have as much fun as they possibly could together until they had to leave again and wait a whole year to do it again. I liked that Rose started to want to hang out with the wrong crowd seeing as that's a very relatable topic. She started getting into things she shouldn't be getting into and in the process, started acting out and changing in a way that her friend Windy and her family didn't like. This book focuses a lot on summer firsts and lessons though, I didn't think it really resolved any of the things Rose had to struggle with. I'll talk more about that in just a second. Overall, the characters were interesting enough.

 

 

4. Overall, I thought it was a very quick read. I read it while eating breakfast so I think it's a fast and entertaining book to pick up for the summer season. I wouldn't say I loved it but I was okay with everything for the most part and how it all played out. It's a great coming-of-age story and I recommend it to anyone who wants a good graphic novel with that type of storyline.

 

 

The reason why I didn't give this book a five-star rating was because of a couple of things: (1) There is some adult content in this book such as slut-shamming and Rose didn't really learn anything about why that's wrong and why she shouldn't say certain things. Her friend Windy corrected her a few times but Rose still didn't learn any valuable lesson about that topic. Rose also didn't have any type of reaction when it came to her summer of revelations and didn't really develop as a character because of that. (2) The book also didn't have a plot. It just felt like you were following these characters through their summer without any climax or real storyline. It was a bit slow and didn't keep me invested in the story. I was simply reading instead of becoming immersed with what was going on.

 

 

 

Follow Jillian!

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Website

 

Follow Mariko!

Twitter

Blog

 

I hope you guys enjoyed this book review! If you have any other book requests you would like me to review, just leave a comment or send me an email! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!