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This One Summer | October 28, 2015

by Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki (First Second/Macmillan, May 2014)

Rose Wallace and her parents have spent every summer that she can remember at their lake house on Awago Beach. It’s a yearly ritual to a safe space where the family can get away from it all. Rose looks forward to spending her summer reading, watching movies, going to the beach, and, most of all, hanging out with her childhood friend Windy. But something feels off this summer: Rose’s parents are constantly fighting with each other, and she can’t quite figure out why. Rose finds herself disagreeing with Windy more, and, strangely, falling for the guy behind the counter at the local convenience store. In short, things are changing—or maybe things have already changed without Rose’s realizing it. Author Mariko Tamaki keeps readers equally in the dark as the story unfolds. But as questions are answered and the pieces begin to fit together more clearly, readers suddenly find themselves in the middle of a complex emotional narrative that deftly tackles issues of growing up, falling in and out of love, and sorrow. Tamaki’s cousin, Jillian, beautifully complements the text with artwork that captures the ups and downs and ebbs and flows of the characters. What begins as a seemingly quiet tale about a summer getaway quickly turns into an engrossing emotional story—and it’s that quietness that ultimately grounds this wonderful story and creates its realism and resonance.

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