Reviews

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

ktxx22's review against another edition

3.0

This is very slice of life preteen/teen graphic novel. There’s a few things that if they had been resolved or discussed in more detail I would’ve enjoyed this way more but it’s alright nothing wrong with this and if you are a same place every summer travelers I think you might find this nostalgic.

aaron_j136's review against another edition

4.0

“Awago Beach is this place where my family goes every summer. Ever since... like... forever.”

I really enjoyed this book. I liked this book way better than skim by the same 2 people.

marie_liz_willis's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

I absolutely ADORED this book, I loved the way it developed the series. Nona is so lovable, as are many of the other characters. The lore is complex and well integrated.

dorothy_gale's review against another edition

4.0

3.75★: A DECENT COMING-OF-AGE STORY THAT ISN’T TOO HEAVY The characters were drawn younger than they were, so that took some getting used to. It had a bit of mystery to it and I think it was fairly realistic. The co-creators are cousins!

bookscreentalk's review against another edition

4.0

Again a YA graphic novel, but a better one at that. Some strong female characters and a good plot line.
Would recommend.

mckellstar's review against another edition

3.0

3/5

Lots of Dirty Dancing vibes here. This was super atmospheric, the illustrations were lovely, but the overall story left me wanting a lot more. I don’t know what the author was trying to tell us with this story, other than giving us a snapshot of a young girl’s summer at her cottage, which she was definitely successful at, but I still needed more.

positivelybooked's review against another edition

4.0

3.5 Stars

This wasn’t anything extraordinary but I could definitely feel what it was like to be a kid when everyone around you was talking about grown-up things and you didn’t know the wiser, which was disorienting, in a good kind of way. I didn’t like how Rose treated Windy throughout this. Windy was still trying to hang on to that childlike innocence but Rose just kept shooting her down. It made me sad for Windy, honestly.

claurobalo's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jbmorgan86's review

3.0

I read “This One Summer” as I was working through a “Best Graphic Novels” list. On the surface, the book is about a particular summer in a teenage girl’s life. On a deeper level, it’s about all the challenging aspects of girlhood/womanhood. The protagonist, Rose, and her (possibly lesbian?) friend are tip-toeing on the line between girl and woman. Rose’s mom is mourning a miscarriage and struggling to convey her grief to her family. A teenage girl in the story becomes pregnant and afraid. All of these threads are woven together.

The illustrations are fairly realistic and done in blue-scale.

I would never consider this a favorite but I appreciate it for what it is.

paulachap's review against another edition

emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0