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Cool for the Summer

Dahlia Adler
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Cool for the Summer

Dahlia Adler
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Overall rating: 4.4 / 5 from 5 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: ["lara","interest","notice","chase","rep","summer","book"].

Review highlights

Reviews

A Fun Summer Read

"This was both a fun summer romance as well as a coming of age story involving discovering oneself and how that journey can change and be different for everyone. _x000D_ _x000D_ Even though this book isn't strictly set throughout summer, I'd say it's the perfect summer/beach/vacation read because of the atmosphere and 'vibe' it gives off. _x000D_ _x000D_ It was a really quick book to get through and was enjoyable to read."

— Brooklynnnnereads (4/5)

Perfect Summer Read

"I'M SCREAMING THIS WAS SO GOOD!!! Think ""Grease"" meets ""Outer Banks"" meets ""Love, Simon. "" After spending a life changing summer in the Outer Banks, Larissa has returned to school for her senior year. When her forever crush Chase Harding flirts with her by the locker, showing romantic interest on the first day back, she's thrilled. But then Jasmine walks through the doors and she's quickly haunted by memories of their last couple months together and filled with confusion. If she's finally got the guy, why can't she stop thinking about the girl? Now, Lara must choose between her heart and her head, and two seemingly perfect love interests. As a huge Demi Lovato fan, I appreciated how their single ""Cool For The Summer"" inspired the title of the book and played a powerful role in the story. It's like Dahlia Adler looked inside my head when writing this masterpiece, especially because it also included a Jewish MC, a Jewish love interest and a sapphic relationship. If I told people I ghost wrote this I know they would believe me, especially because of the endgame. I love messy pining and a slow burn. The bisexual/bi-questioning rep is wonderful and so reminiscent of my own queer experience that I connected with it deeply. Lara's self-discovery and confidence is so important. I also enjoyed how the story was told in past and present timelines, however I would fully accept a prequel which focused on the former only. I'm so done with men, give me all the wlw you can. I can not wait to see my loves Lara and Jasmine make appearances in ""Going Bicoastal. "" A couple of small notes. I would've liked it if Lara and Chase's dynamic felt more close friends-to-lovers than instalove-y considering his lack of notice in her prior. If they had been family friends before the shift I think it'd come across more believable. Also, I didn't care much for any of Lara's best friends as they felt very two dimensional, especially Shannon; some more character development was needed to fix that. Overall, this is probably one of my favourite YA and coming of age novels. The title is gorgeous, the cover is beautiful and everything else is *chefs kiss* too."

— Littleraeoflight (5/5)

Perfect summer read!

"3. 5 stars Not going to lie, I was really nervous going into this because bisexuality is SO stigmatized and often portrayed negatively but this was really well done! The confusion that the main character had about her sexuality and her struggle with labels was very realistic. Despite not being a huge fan of pop culture references, I especially liked how the title of the book was a defining moment of the story. I did find that some moments were over-explained and the dialogue occasionally felt forced and unnatural. Overall, this was super enjoyable to read and I look forward to reading more by this author!"

— Brianna (3/5)

everything I could’ve asked for

"As someone who has been singing the Grease soundtrack since I could talk, this book is literally everything I could’ve hoped for in a contemporary. A questioning main character, who’s summer fling is a girl who ends up at her high school just as the guy of her dreams finally notices her. SIGN ME UP. This book did not disappoint, I loved it so much, I thought it was witty, relatable and cute. It had me tearing up at the end too, reading a book that has well written representation is always good and makes me so happy. Also, I can never listen to a Demi Lovato song the same."

— Callie (5/5)

Perfect summer read

"Lara has had a crush on Chase Harding, the star quarterback at her school, for six years. When she starts her senior year, Chase finally notices her and starts flirting with her immediately. However, Lara isn’t the same girl she used to be. She spent the summer with her mom at her mom’s boss’s summer house where she met Jasmine, the daughter of her mom’s boss. Lara and Jasmine had a summer romance that Lara thought was in the past since Jasmine was going back to her home with her mom. Now that Jasmine has moved to Lara’s school, she is a constant reminder of their summer fling. Lara has to wonder if it was just a fling and she should enjoy the attention from Chase, or if she has deeper feelings for Jasmine. This was such a fun story. It would be perfect for summer because there were many scenes from Lara and Jasmine’s summer spent at the beach. There were also lots of feelings in this book. Lara was experiencing so many emotions, with her surprise feelings for Jasmine and her dreams of dating Chase coming true. This was a heart pounding story about figuring out your teenage romantic feelings. This story explored what it means to identify as bisexual. In other novels that I’ve read with bi characters, they have a hard time defining their feelings. Lara had always had a crush on Chase so she assumed she was straight. When those feelings were finally recognized by him, she thought she had to be with him since that was her dream. However, she started to question her sexuality after having a relationship with a girl. For some reason, it’s sometimes difficult for people to accept that people can like both girls and boys, including the person experiencing those feelings themself. It’s possible to identify as bisexual and be in a relationship with someone of the opposite sex or the same sex, without being identified as straight or gay. Lara had to come to terms with her feelings before she could become her true self. Cool for the Summer is the perfect summer read! Thank you Wednesday Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review."

— Jill (5/5)

Q&A

  • Published date: Jun 13, 2023
  • Language: English
  • No. of Pages: 272
  • Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
  • ISBN: 9781250888471
  • Dimensions: 5.4" W x 0.65" L x 8.25" H

* Winner of the Alma for Best Jewish YA of the Year *
* May/June 2021 Kids' Indie Next Pick *
*2021 Booklist Editors' Choice *
*A 2022 Rainbow List Pick *

"Un-bi-lievably good." - Buzzfeed

"With its summery vibes and rollercoaster of queer confusion, Cool for the Summer is the sexy, sweet and steamy beach read of the year!" - The Nerd Daily

"As bright and sweet as its cover and poignantly explores queer identity and self-discovery." - Buzzfeed

"This book is a gamechanger for queer Jewish teens." - Alma

"[S]trung through with humor, warmth, and sensuality, this romance will speak to any reader who has ever struggled to know their own heart." - Booklist (starred review)

"Dahlia Adler’s latest has me longing for the summer. This story of a bi girl discovering who she is and who holds her heart sounds like the perfect summer 2021 read." - Bookish

"...echoes of Demi Lovato's 2015 bop resound throughout these sweet and sultry pages, but Adler's novel offers a wonderfully queer spin on another August-becomes-September anthem: Grease's 'Summer Nights.'" - Oprahmag.com

"Writ­ten in a clear, acces­si­ble style, this book tells the com­pelling and sweet sto­ry of one girl’s jour­ney of self-discovery." - Jewish Book Council

"The thoughtful representation of a questioning teen's struggle to understand herself...is sorely needed. A welcome addition to the small but growing canon of questioning queer fiction." - Kirkus

"Witty, wise, and disarmingly tender. I am hopelessly devoted to this summer dream of a book." - Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Kate in Waiting and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

“Adler captures the radiance and joy of summer love and perfectly mixes it with all of the longing and wonder that comes after. Filled with nuance and charm, and queer girls you can’t help but root for, Cool for the Summer will leave readers grinning long after they finish.” - Jennifer Dugan, author of Some Girls Do

"A little bit sexy and a little bit sweet - Dahlia Adler has written the perfect summer romance, filled with humor, joy, and self-discovery. Cool for the Summer is a delight and an anthem to self-love all at once.” - Aminah Mae Safi, author of Tell Me How You Really Feel

"Filled with summer vibes and swoon-worthy moments, Cool for the Summer is a book I wish I’d had as a teen. I related to Lara’s story so much, from dealing with divorced parents and the struggle of finding your own voice, to the rollercoaster ride of figuring out your sexuality. Dahlia perfectly captures what it’s like to feel torn between what we think we should want and what our hearts actually desire." - Jen Wilde, author of Going Off Script

DAHLIA ADLER is an editor by day, a freelance writer by night, and a Young Adult author at every spare moment in between. She is the founder of LGBTQReads, editor of several anthologies, and author of many novels, including Cool for the Summer and Home Field Advantage. She lives in New York with her family and an obscene number of books.

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