A review by beebeewin
This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

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

3.5

I don't think this graphic novel did anything really revolutionary for me. The art was nice and the story was intriguing, but I didn't leave it feeling any sort of way. I think Mariko and Jillian Tamaki aimed to show the perspective of a young girl, growing and changing through one summer, and I think they achieved that. Rose and Windy both felt like children I have met in my real life, but maybe a slight bit more annoying. The Tamaki's really showed how children their age would deal with big events in their life. The true to life style in my mind did come at a slight detriment to the story. I was not gripped. I felt like I kept waiting for more to be said or a conversation to be had between the children and the adults to help explain the big events, or just some sort of making sense of the world within the graphic novel. Instead, it kind of felt like it just ended. I didn't really take anything away from it and left feeling underwhelmed. I think the art styles of the beaches, intimate moments, and night skies were beautiful but once again nothing where I got lost in the art. I don't think this was a bad book as the ability to write something that felt very realistic is impressive. I just really have nothing amazing to say about it. Read it if you want, but in my opinion don't expect anything  ground-breaking. 
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