This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, illustrated by Jillian Tamaki

This One Summer is a young adult graphic novel for ages 13 to 18. I will be reviewing this book in the category of Graphic Novel.

This One Summer tells the story of Rose's annual summer vacation at Awago Beach with her parents and her summer-time friend Windy. However, this summer feels different to Rose, a girl on the cusp of her teenage years.

I chose this book based on its many awards, including the Eisner Award for Best New Graphic Novel and both Printz and Caldecott Honors. I am unfamiliar with graphic novels as a genre and wanted to make sure that the book I selected would provide a strong introduction to the genre.

I will be evaluating the novel's Characters, Point of View, and Tone.

The characters within This One Summer are one of the book's greatest strengths. Every character is believable, with redeeming qualities and flaws, and each character in the book handles their challenges in exceptionally human ways. The relationship between Rose and Windy is an especially good example of this. While we are never told the girls' specific ages, we know they are in their preteen or early teen years, and Tamaki (2014) makes a point of saying "Windy's one and a half years younger than [Rose]" (p.19). This age discrepancy is central to their relationship and characters. Rose spends the summer pushing boundaries as she tries to leave her childhood behind. She calls other girls sluts, develops a crush on an older teen who works at the convenience store, pushes Windy to watch horror movies with her, and resists Windy's attempts at play. However, Windy wants to hold on to her girlhood for a little longer. She wants to play and joke about boobies, and she doesn't understand Rose's increased moodiness and anger, most especially the animosity that Rose feels toward her crush's girlfriend, Jenny. Rose is constantly correcting Windy and rejecting Windy's lingering hold on childhood. Windy looks up to Rose, trusts that Rose's instruction on how to be cool is correct, and is very vulnerable to Rose's teasing. Though Rose is moody and inconsiderate towards Windy all summer, it is not until the book's falling action that we see Windy challenge Rose and her opinions. This believable big sister/little sister dynamic effectively conveys the novel's theme of loss of innocence, with Rose and Windy on different sides of the turning point to adulthood that all children eventually face. It is interesting to note, however, that the moments of joy within the book all happen when Rose gives into Windy's childlike play and allows herself to stop trying and just be.

This One Summer is told from Rose's point of view, and the narrative uses this to highlight her naivety and the self-centered nature of youth. Because Rose has a crush on Dunc, the convenience store employee, his girlfriend, Jenny, is a manipulative slut. Because her mother, Alice, is aloof and argumentative, she is selfish and doesn't love her family. Because her dad is playful and fun, he is a good father and husband, who is innocent of wrongdoing. Because Windy is younger than Rose, Windy's interests and opinions are less valid than Rose's. It is only at the novel's end that Rose understands the truth about the people around her. Dunc isn't a virtuous victim of his girlfriend's seduction but rather a true deadbeat. Alice isn't cold and cruel, she is filled with inescapable grief. Rose realizes that her father is flawed. She realizes how precious her friendship with Windy is. Critically, Rose learns that she does not know everything, and life must be approached gently. These two concepts, an awareness of our own ignorance and the realization that other people hurt, too, are vital components of growing up, and using Rose's point of view so that all of these truths are revealed at the end of the novel reinforces the novel's loss of innocence theme.

Finally, This One Summer's tone is one of respect for teen readers. The book doesn't shy away from the difficult realities of growing up and of sexuality. Instead, Tamaki trusts that the reader is mature enough to handle the content. Rose's mother is an excellent example of this. Alice spends the bulk of the novel in a depressed fog. She argues with her husband and disengages with Rose. Additionally, she refuses to enter the lake with her husband, daughter, and friends despite Awago Beach being the family's vacation destination for years. She had always gone swimming with Rose before. We learn at the end of the novel that Alice experienced a miscarriage while swimming in the lake the previous summer, which explains her avoidance of the water. It also explains Alice's moods and behaviors throughout the book. Tamaki does not shy away from infertility, miscarriage, and depression, but embraces them and invites her readers to engage with them as well. Similarly, Dunc's rejection of Jenny and her pregnancy leads her to depression and, eventually, Jenny's attempted suicide. Tamaki embraces these harsh truths boldly. Though I would not recommend this book to a child younger than 15 or 16, due to the mature nature of the content, I think older readers have been given a gift by Tamaki in how she handles the story. Her recognition of her readers as intelligent and capable of understanding the story's nuance, as well as her unflinching representation of the challenges that teens face, should be applauded.

Tamaki, M. (2014). This one summer (J. Tamaki, illus.). First Second.