Cool for the Summer was an unexpectedly relatable and fun read. Filled with teenage angst, discovering one's identity and changes in sexuality, the changing of friendships and relationships, and more, this book is sure to take you on an emotional ride.

"Sometimes it's so fucking exhausting to feel good that it doesn't even feel good when it should."

This was the quote that really sold me on this book.

Slow to start and fall into, Cool for the Summer builds up an expansive storytelling, dual-setting, and dual time period of "then" and "now." I found it difficult to really become hooked by the introductory chapters and had to push myself a bit. However, as the plot began to truly develop and details emerged about our protagonist Larissa's summer with Jasmine, it became a fast and needy reading obsession.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching Larissa's development over the course of the story. Through trial and tribulation of friendships, relationships/situation-ships, finding one's wants and expectations in life, and making hard decisions are some of the major turning points in a lot of teenagers' lives. It made her character translate as authentic on-page, and it gave me some thinking about my own years as a teenager and some of the silly mistakes or decisions I also made.

When it came to each of the side characters, I feel they were just as well developed as the protagonist. Each had their own personality and identifiers (in the way that we could tell them apart and still recognize them as two and three-dimensional characters). While I do wish we had a bit more time with a few of the more minor side characters, I was satisfied with their interactions within the story and their involvement in the protagonist's life.

My biggest qualm about the book was the pacing. Unfortunately, this book felt longer than necessary. There were times when I was thinking, "Was this necessary to keep in?" Or, "Can we pick up the pace here?" For a book on the already-shorter end of the page count, the way in which some things were dragged out just did not permeate well with me.

That being said, I thoroughly enjoyed the overall arc of the plot and story. From the beginning, I knew this would be a book in which we saw a sapphic relationship develop more over the m/f pairing. There was never a doubt in which one could be swayed to believe otherwise, and I found that to be really refreshing. Adler made it clear to readers that this would not be the average "love triangle" (and I would argue that there was never a triangle to begin with, just misplaced emotions after years spent believing and pining for one path). Even with this being a contemporary romance, I was incredibly impressed with the underlying message of inner-working on oneself and taking the time to think over one's wants and desires in the present and future, as well as what that could mean when they shift or change.

Overall, Cool for the Summer won me over, and I have officially joined the anticipatory Dahlia Adler fan train. For that, I am giving this title a starred rating. I will be reading further books from this author, and I do encourage others to pick up her work and give it a taste. This could easily make someone's favorite list!

Lara is starting her senior year, and she is ready for it to be amazing. She had a good summer, making new friends and enjoying her time on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. But that was then, and this is now, and she’s back in New York City with her old friends and her longtime crush Chase Harding. Football player, popular, handsome Chase Harding. And when Lara shows up to that first day of school, Chase starts flirting with her.

After crushing on him for three years, Lara has Chase flirting with her. It’s everything she dreamed about. Until last summer changed everything.

After planning on spending her summer in the city, hanging out with her friends and hand-selling her favorite books in her favorite bookstore, Lara’s plans changed. Her mother’s boss was spending the summer with his daughter at their home in the Outer Banks. He wanted Lara’s mother to come and work from there, and Lara was invited also. Well, “invited” is the nice way to say it. At only 17, she didn’t have a choice but to take her mother’s boss up on his offer. So she packed a bag and headed to North Carolina.

Immediately, she meets the boss’s daughter, Jasmine, who invites Lara out to a party with her friends. Lara likes everyone right away, although Jasmine is a little distant. But little by little, with time spent in the pool, watching movies, eating, and laughing, they find more common ground. Jasmine is a photographer, and she offers to hire Lara to be her assistant for the summer. Lara agrees, as she lost her part-time bookstore job to come to North Carolina, and because she’s interested in watching Jasmine work. Lara appreciates how Jasmine looks at the world through her camera lens.

But now it’s fall, and Lara is back in New York. She’s going to school. She’s making plans with her old friends and flirting with Chase. She’s wearing some of the clothes that Jasmine had given her, working at the bookstore and giving graphic novel recommendations based on books Jasmine introduced her to, and generally thinking about Jasmine. Which isn’t really a surprise, given Jasmine has showed up at her high school.

Lara tries to wrap her head about why Jasmine had suddenly moved in with her dad instead of going back to Ashville with her mother. Or why Jasmine didn’t let her know she was coming to Lara’s school. Or how to tell her friends that she spent her summer fooling around with a girl. Or how to resolve the fact that she still has feelings for Jasmine while she’s finally making headway with Chase.

But Jasmine ignores Lara, making Lara feel like maybe their time together hadn’t meant as much to Jasmine as it did to Lara. So now that Lara ahs everything she’s wanted for years, does she still want it? Or has she changed that dream of dating Chase her senior year for something else?

Cool for the Summer is a teen romance about choosing between the thing you always thought you wanted and the new dream. It’s about being true to your desires and going after what you really want. It’s about being a teenager and seeing the world open up to you in new and surprising ways. And it’s about falling in love.

When I first started reading Cool for the Summer, I had some trouble connecting with Lara. So I switched to the audio book, and I had a much better time, getting caught up in the two love stories, the summer and then the fall. The more I listened, the more I liked these characters and wanted them to find happiness. Narrator Natalie Naudus brought Lara to life and drew me in to this bright, fun story. And then I couldn’t wait to get to the end to find out how it would all come together.

Egalleys for Cool for the Summer were provided by Wednesday Books through NetGalley, but I bought the audio book myself through Audible.

A quick, breezy YA with hints of a queer Grease-esque romance? SAY LESS.

While I wasn't completely head-over-heels, COOL FOR THE SUMMER was a super fast read that kept me entertained for the entire journey. I had fun while it lasted, but this book won't be one that makes a lasting impression.

Thanks NetGalley for the preview!

This book was a fun summer read. I liked the flashback and present tense switching. It seemed to make the story more interesting. I did think there was a lot of similarities to grease. My only complaint is that Chase seemed to be interested in Lara out of nowhere and after her waiting years that didn’t add up.

Title: Cool for the Summer
Author: Dahlia Adler
Release Date: May 11th, 2021
Page Count: 262
Format: Netgalley/Audiobook
Start Date: January 29th, 2023
Finish Date: January 29th, 2023

Rating: 5 Star

Review:

Going to start this off by saying that I couldn't read this book without the song by Demi Lovato popping into my head. In retrospect, I should have played it on loop when I read it. I'd probably drive everybody around me crazy though. I don't wear headphones unless I absolutely have to. Anyway, onto my actual thoughts on the book. Lara finally gets the boy she's been crushing on for so long. She'd be happy about it if it weren't for the fact that her summer fling didn't show up at her school and turn her entire world upside down. This is a sapphic story, but I really love the bisexual representation in it. I haven't read many that have that. Also, isn't this cover so adorable? This will absolutely be a reread for me one day.

I found the main character extremely hard to connect with even from the first few pages, the plot was lacking, and I got bored. I did manage to finish it but by the end I didn’t care about the story at all. This is my second attempt with this author and I accept that her books are not for me.

I really liked this one. I think the character development was really solid. I greatly appreciated the lack of labels, even at the end, as sexuality is very fluid, and I think it's brilliant to stress this amongst YA readers by not using labels.

I also loved how quickly Bi stereotypes were quickly corrected, and the lack of angst amongst the characters during the 3rd act breakup. sometimes, I feel authors pander to teens by writing younger, and Dahlia treated them as equals.

Real Rating: 3.5 stars

This is definitely one of those books I wish I'd read earlier. I got the eARC for goodness sakes and yet here we are.

I enjoyed this story immensely. It's messy and full of teen drama - worries over friendships, family, love, identity - but that's part of its charm. So often we get LGBTQ+ books where the character is so sure of who they are. Established, in a sense. This truly felt like a seeking, curious, exploratory story about a girl who was unsure about her identity. I don't LOVE how she treated people as part of that exploration process, but, being honest with myself, this is kind of the way teens figure things out.

Lara is great, she's a bit lost, especially when she sees her summer fling appear at her school right when her dream boy starts paying attention to her. Understandable whiplash. I enjoyed seeing her discover a different side of herself in the THEN chapters, while she struggles with her own benchmarks she set for herself and everyone's expectations in the NOW chapters. Lara is very much in her head for most of the book. She gets caught up in thought, even burning time in the real world as people catch her zoning out. So if you're looking for something that's full of self-discovery and self-reflection, this is the book for you!

I felt like Jasmine was a full fledged human, and even some of the summer friends had substance, but I was surprised how little development there was for Lara's NOW life - her "reality," where summer was away from all that. She doesn't seem to be present with her friends much and Chase is a caracature of "nice." I wish there had been more development there, as her independence and individuality also stems from those relationships.

Last thing I want to touch on was a weird comment or two when it came to a non-binary character. There were a few lines that made me uncomfortable, though I don't know what kind of phobia it'd be classed under. Just a heads up for that.

This book is messy, full of should-I-shouldn't-I's, and a lot of unknowns and unsures. Definitely a book of exploration, curiosity, and fear of the unknown. It was great seeing Lara break out of herself over time and learning that her growth can't fit back into the space she left behind before the summer. All in all, I enjoyed this and will definitely be checking out Adler's other books!

TW: biphobia, underage drinking, parental divorce, toxic friendship

Rep: Ashkenazi Jewish MC, Sephardi (Syrian) Jewish bisexual MC, aroace secondary character

Plot: 4/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 3/5
Writing: 4/5
Pacing: 3/5
Overall: 3.5/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by Wednesday Books via St. Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

I didn’t have time for this book when I was approved. I plan to read it in the future though. Looks fun!

<i>Thank you NetGalley for providing me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>

2.5 stars

I was expecting to love this but unfortunately I just…didn’t. The main problem was that I was just bored. I love YA because it’s usually easy to breeze through and although this was fast-paced and dramatic, it wasn’t capturing my attention. This book was simultaneously exactly what I was expecting, and not at all. I think plot-wise, it followed through with its description, but I was expecting something different from the characters. I suppose I don’t have to relate to every single book I read, but there was something quite frankly annoying about the characters’ personalities and the way they interacted. It was very high school-y but not in the down-to-earth, awkward, and painful way that I love in YA, but in the way I imagined high school to be like before I had started high school—cool kids and Adult experiences and all that glam. I wished I liked this more, and I do think it would be suitable for someone with slightly different reading tastes than mine, but unfortunately I was disappointed.

If the Demi Lovato song gets stuck in your head when you see the cover of this book, I 100% feel the same. But setting aside the catchy title and the pretty cover, Cool for the Summer is the perfect read for the season—especially if you're looking for a coming of age story.

This book tells the story surrounding the character's sexuality with Grease vibes and LGBT representation. I have to admit, there are times when this main character's decisions frustrated me and I was reminded how frustrating it was to read about love triangles—and a part of me still bleeds for the person she didn't end up with.

From summer lovin' to living the life during senior year, this book is a throwback to those high school years and the feeling of being surrounded by hope and potential.

Overall, I really enjoyed everything. It's a quick read and the writing style of the author makes it easier to turn the pages. Would love to read more of this author's works in the future!

This was my first Dahlia Adler book but it definitely won’t be my last! I adored this book and all its chaotic messiness. Its one I definitely will be holding close and I can’t wait to pick up another one of her books.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an amazing plot, but I felt the characters were a bit hard to connect to.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

Um dos melhores livros young adult que já li! Fofo e leve na medida certa. Realmente uma leitura para o verão!

This review is very lateee... but I loved the way the author represents bisexuality in the main character and the development of the love triangle, this last thing put me in edge in the whole book. Even if I didn't like it very much, the message of the book was important for everyone who still not knowing themselves...

I will admit that when I read the synopsis for this novel, my first thought was Grease. I even described it to my kids and one of them thought the same thing. Luckily, I'm a fan of that musical, so it didn't faze me. However, the story went above and beyond the charm of Grease.

I really enjoyed getting to know Larissa and Jasmine throughout this novel and seeing their story unfold in the recent past and in the present. The descriptions, dialogue, and characters really brought the story to life. There was a steamy element, but it left a lot to the imagination instead of going into detail. I especially loved the flashback scenes, as they made me feel like I was vicariously enjoying Larissa's summer in the Outer Banks.

I wish Larissa hadn't been popular as it's hard to feel sympathy for someone who has the attention of the hottest guy in school and doesn't have trouble making friends. However, I appreciated that she did have to struggle in some ways. Also, in this day and age, it seems like more people are accepting of LGBTQ+ and I didn't see why Larissa had to hide that part of herself. It seemed like she lived in a place where people were open-minded, especially given that there was a nonbinary student and no one gave them any problems.

Overall, this was a fun and sweet page-turner that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys YA LGBTQ+ novels!

This was a fun, messy love triangle about a girl learning more about her own sexuality. What a good time!

Sapphic Grease! Demi Lovato Music! Two great love interests! Oh my!

I loved this! Home Field Advantage remains my favorite, but this was enjoyable! Since I read HFA first, it was interesting to see the similar bits and pieces; or what I’ve come to think of as ideas Adler came up with while writing Cool for the Summer but couldn’t use until HFA.

I’ve seen mixed reactions to the flashback portions. I, personally, enjoyed them. I feel like Adler interwove them smoothly into the narrative. The past experiences add to the present and vice versa. But I didn’t enjoy how that meant Lara and Jasmine had next to no positive interactions in the present.

I meant to write this review sooner after I read it so I don't remember everything I wanted to mention or all of the side characters, like Lara's friend group. But I do remember that Kiki is the best and I want a whole book focused on her please and thank you.

the book had a cute cover and a fun description so i was excited to read but it was kind of disappointing. their wasn't much plot and it felt a bit messy at times.

Can a book be a bi-icon? Because if so, Cool For The Summer is one. Lara’s senior year is upended by an unexpected love-triangle between Chase, the guy of her dreams, and Jasmine, the best friend/summer fling she thought she’d never connect with again. Just have “Betty” by Taylor Swift along with Demi Lovato’s titular anthem on repeat and maybe queue up Grease for when you’re done?