Reviews

Summer of '99 by J.L. Hyde

samraetom's review

slow-paced

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

3.0

clillie95's review

dark tense fast-paced

4.0

cheyisvibing's review

1.75

Almost two stars because it wasn't explicitly awful, it just felt very juvenile and poorly fleshed out? The main character didn't really DO anything other than just be present for the events that happened and

the ending being an "ooooooh, maybe Jesse really DID do it and FRAMED Sarah who died and can't defend herself now! So shocking!!" Felt very very cheap and unearned entirely.

and there was no internal conflict from the MC about writing about true and terrible event, AND she held a flame uninterrupted for 23 years for her teenage sweetheart?? Absolutely never once moved on at all?? Kind of unhinged? And that her feelings as a person never developed during the entire year she spent apart from everyone at camp felt really odd and poorly thought out, a lot happens to a teens personhood from age 14-16 y'know? 

rachelingrisano's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

thebookcloser's review

Too slow for me. The multiple POVs were too difficult to follow. This seemed to be more of a summer time romance than a thriller, and wasn’t quite what I had anticipated.

bmcfee's review

fast-paced

2.5

chrissyb5758's review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

missfmc's review

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

sablondell's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

4.25

kayteekc's review

4.0

This was a super quick and easy read which is nice, because nothing really happens until the last 15-20% of the book. I did enjoy reading it and recalling my own memories of summer camp as a kid. There really aren’t any hints or clues of any sort throughout the book to make you question things. However, my jaw definitely did drop at the very end.