Why Did I Read This Book?
Initially, I was interested in This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki because of the Stephanie Perkins blurb. I know, I know allegedly blurbs don’t work anymore, but this blurbed worked for me. I thought that This One Summer would be a pretty neat female focused comic book perfect for my summer reading. My instinct about this did indeed prove correct and so — the summary combined with a quick flip through to look at the art combined with A TON OF BLURBS from authors I really enjoy lead to me reading This One Summer and I regret NOTHING.
What’s The Story Here?
This One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki is about Rose and Windy, two girls whose families are friends who spend every summer at a house on Awago Beach. Unfortunately, this year is different from the other years in that Rose’s parents are constantly fighting which is kind of hard for Rose. So, the two decide to distract themselves by going to the store every day for horror movies and such, also to see the really good looking clerk. Only, ugh, this ends up in more drama because the clerk has a girlfriend whom he has gotten pregnant. So, young Rose who has been raised in the same society that we live in now thinks of the pregnant girl as a slut because her crush on the clerk is so overwhelming. So, essentially This One Summer is about growing up, about coming of age, about summer, about that revelation you get when you realize that your parents are actually people and life is not so easy as it looks.
What Did I End Up Thinking Of This Book?
I actually really loved This One Summer. I know, I know people did not like it because of the slut shaming, but honestly that felt true to life to me. I felt like in this society girls are taught to compete for the male gaze and male attention, so when Rose feels a threat to her feelings for the clerk guy, of course she is going to automatically call her a slut because we’re taught to be ashamed of our sexuality. At least she gets called out on it. Does she immediately change? No, but she’s human. Chances are at 13 (I think she’s 13 or 14) she hasn’t taken any women’s studies classes and IDK, I just know that at 13/14 I totally used those words too because that’s the society in which I live. I don’t know. I just wasn’t as bothered by it as others, I guess. We all read books differently.
What I really liked here was the portrayal of Rose’s mother’s depression. From what I see, she had a miscarriage, so of course she’s experiencing depression and loss and at Rose’s age, she doesn’t get that.She just wants her mom to snap out of it. And, when her mom is unable to do this and unable to stop fighting with her husband, Rose finds something else to take her attention. I thought that seemed pretty true to life.
I guess I just really liked this book and how realistic it felt and how it made me consider my childhood and the society in which I was raised. I am not sure that is the book’s intent, but yes, it was a good one.
How’s The Artwork?
I am seriously in love with the graphic novel style inside This One Summer. I am unsure if the illustrator is Jillian Tamaki or Mariko Tamaki or both and I am okay with that. If it’s both, you can’t tell because the art blends really well. The pages are rendered in violet-indigo looking ink and the effect is quite beautiful, matching the cover very well. The illustrations remind me a lot of manga, only not so angular. It’s like a softer looking manga style. Further, the art looks like it would be textured because it’s so intense and detailed, but alas it still feels like paper when you touch it. It’s very easy to tell all the characters apart. I had no challenges with being able to see the writing clearly, sometimes I feel like with some graphic novels you need a magnifying glass in order to be able to properly read the book, but that’s not the case with This One Summer. Ultimately, reading This One Summer is a gorgeous and tactile experience.
Sum It Up With A GIF:
Even though the girls are never on bikes at least that I can remember, this GIF feels perfect in spirit.
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I was big on slut-shaming when I was that age. I didn’t really find an issue with it until I was in my 30s, when I started to figure out that something popular isn’t always right.
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