Title: Cool For The Summer
Author: Dahlia Adler
Published: 2021
Genre: Young Adult/Contemporary
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?
Source: Goodreads
If you enjoy a messy, queer love triangle, then this is the book for you. This book is about coming into your own and discovering your sexuality. From the start, Lara’s emotions and desires are all over the place. She isn’t sure what she wants or how she feels. I think that she portrays a lot of people who are trying to figure out their sexuality. The book flips between two time lines. The present day and the recent summer. I enjoyed both timelines, and it was interesting to see how Lara acted away for the summer versus at school.
There wasn’t one character that stood out to me, but I did enjoy Chase – Lara’s male love interest. He seemed genuine and understanding. His interest in Lara did seem random, but in adolescence, sometimes attraction happens out of the blue. One of my biggest problems with the book was the characters. I felt like nobody talked to anyone. A lot of the problems the main character faced could have been avoid by just communicating with others.
“Just because you’re telling a good story, doesn’t mean it’s the right story. And I think that it’s really important to tell the right story.”
It felt juvenile at times, and I wanted to scream at the characters to have a conversation with one another. One character’s actions would make another character do something, which would create a vicious cycle that ultimately prolonged the love triangle. One of the biggest annoyances was that the main character knew who her heart wanted, but continued to string both, love interest, along. I understand that she was confused, but instead of playing with people’s hearts, she should have taken the time to come to terms with her feelings.
The writing style was different than I was used to, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It was slower, and took a while to get into. Personally, I wasn’t a fan of the writing style, but don’t think it had a negative effect on the story. Actually, I think the writing style fit the book well.
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Until The Next Chapter,
Bunny
attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor. But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down, until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen. There’s nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.