Mariko Tamaki

Jillian Tamaki

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 sto

This One Summer

A 2015 Caldecott Honor Book A 2015 Michael L. Printz Honor Book 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. One of the local teens - just a couple of years older than Rose and Windy - is caught up in something bad... Something life threatening. It's a summer of secrets, and sorrow, and growing up, and it's a good thing Rose and Windy have each other. This One Summer is a tremendously exciting new teen graphic novel from two creators with true literary clout. 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 childhood - a story of renewal and revelation.

Wes Michaud

this book is really good but for the love of god people stop marketing it as a cute LGBT+ summer romance thats not even close to what it is

Bria

2.5 stars 

The illustration is beautiful, but Rose isn’t the best narrator. The plot fell flat and isn’t very cohesive.

Emily

This is a really cute book that talks about some serious topics.

I was surprised by the amount of cursing that was in this book, but it's accurate to how kids react to hearing such words and how much adults/teens actually curse. 

I did, however, feel a little bit lost on the plot.

Sarah Sammis

maitha mana

I love the illustrations and the art style of the book, but wasn't such a fan of the plot/storyline, I was constantly waiting for the plot to thicken or for a twist, but I guess it was meant to be simple and about coming of age more than it was supposed to appeal to mystery

Stevie Gonzales

i rated this 3 stars coz i really liked the artwork. that was the only thing that kept me going, and also the hope that something would happen. but i wasn't engaged enough in the story to finish it in one sitting. the ending made me go "WHAT THE FUK!?! THAT'S IT??"  but maybe that was the author's intention, but nothing was really resolved and it just ended with me getting annoyed by rose (i think, i forgot her name

I had a great time reading this one. The art is fantastic. It’s a pretty silent read, some of the most important scenes don’t even have dialogues in them. I would say it’s a good coming-of-age story. The topics are heavy, but they’re important to discuss. As for the age rating, I’d say 11-12 years old and up. I grew quite fond of Rose and Windy, though I didn’t behave like them at all during my early teen days. Especially Windy, she reminded me of Isaki from Insomniacs After School (Kimi wa Houkago Insomnia). I also found Rose’s mom Alice to be a very interesting character. She’s related to one of the main conflict of the book, so of course she’s supposed to be interesting. But I honestly think her character has an emotional depth and complexity you rarely found in a fictional mother figure. My tip: read this in one sitting!

Sashi

Melissa Palmer

Book #65 Read in 2015
This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki (YA)

I am not a huge reader of graphic novels but I liked this one. Two young girls reconnect every summer at their family's cabins. This summer, one is dealing with the problems her parents are having after her mother suffers a miscarriage. While the format seems light and fun, the story tells with heavy issues such as possible divorce, adoption, teenage pregnancy and coming of age. Both the writing and the illustrations were well done. I enjoyed it. I believe middle school girls would especially like this book. I borrowed this book from my public library. 

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

Gavin

Slow, careful, aimless. Not po-faced though. Some extremely closely observed movements - she’ll take five panels to show a mother cutting her daughter a slice of pie, emphasising the difference in their jawlines. And the nastiness of teens is as usual good. Rose, the protagonist is a sneak. They watch horror movies to impress others.

Isadora Cal

This is the definition of GOLDEN. From the drawings to the story, it is absolutely perfect and so, so honest. If someone asks me from now on for a ‘coming of age’ book, This One Summer will be my recommendation. All characters are so real, and if you, like me, is already a married-adult-with-kids you’ll relate to all characters. The teens, the adults, their drama, their issues... man, so glad I finally got to read this (it has been on my GR list since 2014!)

Jeannette Ordas

A quick read about a summer when everything from friendships to parents begin to change. It look place in cottage country in Ontario and it reminded me of when I got to hang out with my friend at her parent's cottage for a week as a teen - though my memories had way less drama and more DQ blizzards.

winter ☆ 

** spoiler alert **
           jillian tamaki’s art always makes me feel things <3 i think it’s the way she captures light and textures and sounds with her work that makes it so special. i read her and her cousin mariko tamaki’s other collaborative graphic novel, “skim,” back in high school and “this one summer” brought me back to the same warm feeling i would get coming back from a friend’s house or a party in the middle of the night. it feels like returning home. 

i never grew up having a summer friend or a summer house (idek what that is) and the characters were so white it was almost laughable. but somehow i really related to it- not really because of mariko’s writing but more so how jillian takes note of the world. her sequential art is like stepping into a memory, it really felt like a dream or a movie. 

wish the story could have moved faster or maybe had a resolution between rose and her mom in the end? but if i read this in middle school i’d probably cry

Izza

kate humphreys 

(3.5) this was ADORABLE and i am utterly obsessed with the art style here

Maggie Gordon

My book club tackled This One Summer recently, and I had forgotten just how gorgeous and emotionally nuanced this book is. It's less a fully realised story and more a snapshot of a family during a specific time period that relays that awkward phase kids go through when they are just learning about some of the bigger issues in the world, but still not so great with empathy. There's somethingso relatable in these pages, even if you weren't a cottage summer kid (which I was not). As an adult, I recognise those feelings of confusion and frustration at a world that is losing its simplicity. That yearning for new things that don't even make sense. Add to this mixture of nostalgia and discomfort is some truly remarkable illustration work. Shifting between lush backgrounds and aptly used negative space, the images add so much weight to the story being told. All in all, this is a masterful project that deserves all of the accolades it gets.

Savannah Garrit

I really didn't enjoy this book at all. To me, it seemed like the plot was taking forever and I didn't understand why this was happening and now I get what the plot was supposed to be but the book just seemed uneventful. I might try reading it in a few months again just to see if I enjoy it more then. Overall about 2 stars for now. Although I didn't enjoy the plot of the book, the artwork was absolutely AMAZING!!!

Sloan, Kara

Nailed the feel and age of this story ON THE HEAD! Read it in one sitting and I NEVER do that with books. haha 
Sincerely, bad book reader.

Helen Borham

Honestly this book wasn’t for me. I quite liked the art style but for me the story was really lacking. I don’t feel like there was a clear plot or that anything really happened or got resolved. 

Amanda Kordeliski

Completely underwhelmed with this one. Two awards, really? The artwork is fantastic but the storyline is unimpressive. Not sure how it snagged a Printz honor.

Flavia Louise

Bee 

Loved the art but was disappointed by the story line.

Tamara Al-Qaisi-Coleman

mia ¿

i feel kinda bad for rating this book so low but it was not what i was expecting. it was too sad for me but also kind of annoying, and it seemed like it wanted to be quiet but it also had a lot of cussing and yelling. not much happened and that's not even a bad thing i was just expecting more. usually graphic novels can win me over just on art alone, and while this book had good art, it simply was not enough for me to actually enjoy reading it. the two tone illustrations were also a bit disappointing, as it would be cool to see some more colors. basically, this just felt like a book i'd be asked to analyze for english class but i wouldn't know what to actually analyze because not much was there. it was just a story about a summer with some loss of innocence themes thrown in there. it was fine, just not my thing.

Caroline Lewicki

A wonderful coming-of-age story. I couldn't put it down. It's a light, quick read with a great deal of depth. Graphics were also really nice and formed with the dialogue, created a perfect story about growing up, understanding others, and learning sympathy/empathy.

This One Summer

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