hardcover, 288 pages
Published May 11, 2021 by Wednesday Books.
Lara's had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He's tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he's talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe...flirting, even? No, wait, he's definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara's wanted out of life.
Except she’s haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers.
Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she's finally got the guy, why can't she stop thinking about the …
Lara's had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He's tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he's talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe...flirting, even? No, wait, he's definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara's wanted out of life.
Except she’s haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers.
Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she's finally got the guy, why can't she stop thinking about the girl?
Cool for the Summer is a story of self-discovery and new love. It’s about the things we want and the things we need. And it’s about the people who will let us be who we are.
If you don't have an earworm right from the start, you'll have one afterwards. Trust me. Also, this book was good enough to finish in 24h and keep me up all night.
I love this book. This book is everything I never knew I needed in a book. Larissa, who is perfectly imperfect and complex in exactly the way you want your female characters to be, finds herself full of conflicted feelings when the guy of her dreams finally shows an interest in her--at the same time the girl she had a summer fling with appears, having transferred to her school. The only problem is, said girl won't acknowledge they even know each other, much less that they were together. Once I got into this book, I couldn't put it down, as the story weaves between the present and the past to paint a full picture of Larissa and Jasmine's swoon-worthy romance. Lots of great representation here, including POC, queer characters, a single-family household, a child of divorce, and various degrees of commitment to Judaism. I related a lot also to feeling …
I love this book. This book is everything I never knew I needed in a book. Larissa, who is perfectly imperfect and complex in exactly the way you want your female characters to be, finds herself full of conflicted feelings when the guy of her dreams finally shows an interest in her--at the same time the girl she had a summer fling with appears, having transferred to her school. The only problem is, said girl won't acknowledge they even know each other, much less that they were together. Once I got into this book, I couldn't put it down, as the story weaves between the present and the past to paint a full picture of Larissa and Jasmine's swoon-worthy romance. Lots of great representation here, including POC, queer characters, a single-family household, a child of divorce, and various degrees of commitment to Judaism. I related a lot also to feeling like one's identity changes with one's hairstyle. A great, light YA novel for romance lovers, especially us bi romance lovers.
