This story was captivating. It grew me, killed me, shored me up, and broke me back down. Tilla’s journey was mine. My heart soared and broke. This was the ultimate coming of age story and I loved every moment! Can’t wait to see more from this incredible author in the future, her story and truths are brilliant and beautiful! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my free arc in exchange for my honest opinion! I loved it!

Beautiful story, sometimes painful to read, stirring up emotions of anger. Tilla and her sister are traveling to Jamaica to spend the summer with their father. Although their parents settled in Canada, their father spends part of his life in Jamaica. It is a coming of age story, beautifully written!
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

TW: sexual assault, colorism, classism, sexism

This #OwnVoices story by Asha Bromfield is a beautiful coming of age story that clearly shows the “different perspectives the world has about girls and young women.”

Tilla has always been told by her mother that “you get two birthdays—one the day you are born and one when you leave home and give birth to yourself”. When she is sent with her younger sister, Mia, to spend a summer in Jamaica with their largely absent father, Tilla experiences much heartbreak and growth.

Upon arriving, Tilla quickly realizes that the summer will be spent in the countryside with extended family while her father remains in Kingston. Tilla and Mia have strikingly different experiences throughout the summer. Tilla comes face to face with the classism, colorism, and sexism present in Jamaican society while her younger sister has a carefree summer playing with younger cousins. In addition, Tilla faces bullying from her aunts and cousins who are jealous of her life in Canada, and she quickly realizes that the only true friend she has is her dark-skinned cousin, Andre.

At the heart of the story, Hurricane Gustav wrecks the island of Jamaica much like the ways Tilla’s life has been wrecked by her experiences. Yet, Tilla finds her voice and learns to protect her heart while recreating herself into the woman she wants to be.

I loved the characters in this story, and I appreciated that most of the dialogue was in the local language (Patios). The context clues were strong enough that this could be read without needing to flip to the Patios dictionary that was included. I just wished there was a bit more resolution about how Tilla & Mia were changed by this experiences as they returned to life in Canada with their mother (at the end of the book).

This book was hauntingly beautiful, filled with every emotion you can imagine. My heart was ripped to shreds and put back together again by the end of the story.

Asha Bromfield will mark her spot amongst the other YA powerhouses (I got Elizabeth Acevedo and Angie Thomas vibes from this) and I cannot wait to see what else she writes in the future.

*Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my early copy of this beautiful book.

This is a beautifully written story about a young woman finding her way in a foreign land. She heads there to spend time with her absentee father but instead finds love, family, and the mystery and power of weather. There are parts of this story that are hard to read, times that I was so angry I could barely breath around my rage. Of course, a testament to the author's amazing writing and message was that I couldn't stop reading, I needed to finish this story and know how Tilla faired through it all. Amazing story, wonderful words. I loved this one.

I really loved the character development and the way the island was described. The first few chapters seemed as if they were slow and it was hard to get through. Once I got to the second section of the book, it started to flow better. This was a hard read for me because I felt like the main character never caught a break. She was continually knocked down, mentally and physically. It was exhausting. She didn't have any positive experiences on her time on the island. It is difficult to read a story where you root for the main character that never gets a win. She was constantly battling someone or something. I wish it ended on a more positive note. I know that life isn't perfect and that books aren't always supposed to have happy endings, but geez, let Tiila have one positive experience in Jamaica. There are a number of hard topics in here for a YA book too.

Hurricane Summer was clearly heartfelt. The pacing kept me reading, and I did truly care about the characters of Tilla and Andre. Unfortunately, the book as a whole fell flat for me. The writing was heavy-handed; I found myself getting sick of the melodramatic turns of phrase and Tilla’s perfectly crafted monologues - which she was somehow able to consistently deliver in heat-of-the-moment situations. The story needed space for the reader to infer. I was dying for some “show not tell” moments, and I didn’t get any. The ending was certainly emotionally charged, but it felt abrupt.

I commend the heart behind this book, and I hope that it finds its way into the hands of people who need its message and can appreciate its delivery.

Tilla is eighteen her sister Mia nine. Their parents are separated. They live with their mother in Canada. Their father lives in Jamaica. He occasionally goes to Canada to see his family. This time it's been more than a year. The girls will be going to Jamaica to spend the summer with their father.
What Tilla discovers about herself, her family, her father and the island will be with her forever.
Things, people and places are not always what they seem.
A coming of age young adult book. It has everything you'd want in a novel. Love, hate, revenge, headache, betrayal, courage, and honesty. Great read!

Tilla and her younger sister Mia are traveling from Toronto to Jamaica to spend the summer with their father. Their parents' marriage is shaky at best, and neither their mother nor his daughters provide enough reason for him to stay in Toronto. Tilla pictures all the times she has missed her father and is excited by the thought of all the time they will spend together.
That isn’t exactly what he has planned though. He leaves the girls with their extended family in the country and heads back to Kingston and ‘unavoidable’ work obligations. While Mia has fun with her cousins, Tilla feels unwelcome from day one. The cruelness of her family, combined with her longing for her father, lead her to embark on a relationship shrouded in secrecy.
There were so many important topics explored in Hurricane Summer. Friendship, family, young love, jealousy, racism, poverty, sexual assault, and the power of community. My heart broke for Tilla, so many things happened to her. Not all of them are bad, but it seemed that even the beauty of the Jamaican countryside was tainted by the attitudes around her. At first, I had some difficulty understanding the Patios language, but after a few chapters, it wasn’t an issue.
Tilla winds up being hurt in so many ways, but she also grows as a woman. To say much more would lead me to spoiler territory, so I will just say that this was a compelling read and one that I had a hard time putting down.

Incredible coming of age story. I've never been to Jamaica but the descriptions in this book made it easy to picture. I found the Patois glossary extremely helpful. Well written and well developed characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and ST. Martin's Press for the arc.

There was a lot to digest in this book. Relationships with family, abuse, sexual abuse, harrasement etc.
Tilla and Mia are going to Jamaica to spend the summer with their father who they hardly see and hardly know. Tilla is on the ledge of growing up and her body is changing as are her emotions. Being in a unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people makes coming of age that much harder for her.

All of Tilla's journey is set against the back drop of Jamaica. Bromfield does a wonderful job of bringing the setting to life which only added to the beauty of the story.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the arc of this book. All opinions are my own.

I am in a puddle of emotions. The raw pain emanates from the pages the further you get into it. You feel it within you. It’s powerful yet beautiful. The understanding of that pain rattled throughout me as I read. An understanding I wish I didn’t have, but there was beauty and realization in the same respect.

Following the story of Tilla during her summer in Jamaica, you learn what it’s like to understand your roots. Her journey of love, pain, growth and understanding is entwined in hurt and learning. In the prose and flow of the words Asha creates a land that is beautiful but full of pain. I can’t get over how stunning this was. Truly. As someone who has had the issues Tilla faces, I felt the words and the hurt she was going through. Watching her journey was powerful and painful at the same time. It also gave me a view of Jamaica I don’t think I ever would’ve gotten.

This story is filled with understanding, love, learning and growing through the pain. You see the family dynamics, coming to terms with your home land and learning who you are. Beauty comes from storms and that’s the wonderful thing.

Grab your tissue box because you're going to need it. This was a heartbreaking tale about a girl finding her voice and discovering just what she's made of. Reminiscent of the self-discovery journey in Their Eyes Were Watching God and the magic of nature in Bridge to Teribithia, Hurricane Summer paints a story worth remembering.

I normally have an issue with dialects. There's just something that trips me up. But between the helpful Patois Word Bank and our narrator not being as familiar with the Jamaican way of speaking, it wasn't impossible to understand. And by the end of this novel, I had gotten the hang of it. I am immensely grateful for this, as it made it possible for me, an individual who has barely "mastered" the art of one language, to read this novel and understand what was going on.

All in all, this was a poignant read that really emphasized the power of storms and the power that comes with growing up and discovering just who you are. It was a beautiful, at times heartbreaking, OwnVoices story by a debut author. Honestly, I'm kind of surprised that this is Asha Bromfield's first novel, and I'm interested to see what she'll write next!

It is worth mentioning that the blurb states that this novel deals with classism and colorism. It also deals with a lot more; including sexual harassment & assault, phycological trauma & abuse, and sexism.

I wish to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press / Wednesday Books for the eARC. I really appreciated the opportunity to read this novel!

Thank you to Asha Bromfield, St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

"I am screaming out to finally hear my own voice."

This is a fantastic coming of age story, about a Canadian teenager who goes to visit her father in Jamaica for two months during hurricane season. Tilla is a great character, albeit a little naive. The dynamic between Tilla and the myriad of characters she interacts with (whether it's her favorite cousin Andre, her new crush Hessan or her terrible Aunt Herma) is very well written. This story also goes to show that no matter what you look like, you can feel like an outsider within your own family, especially if you're a "foreigna".

I did find the book a bit hard to understand in the beginning due to the Patois language. Once I got further into the book, I was able to discern the language a lot easier.

I loved this story, and can't wait to read more from the very talented Asha Bromfield.

First off, let me say that this will be a read that needs content warnings. I was aware of the themes going into the novel, but I was not braced for the full extent of its content. In addition to the described sexism, classism, and colorism, there is also on-page sexual harassment and assault.

As for the overall story itself, Hurricane Summer reminded me of a modern Summer Reading book. The problems were heavy and the story of transformation through destruction felt very literary. I can see this being a contemporary choice for discussion in classrooms, opportunities to discuss several different topics through a lens that isn't Old Dead White Men. This Jamaican OwnVoices story was powerful in nature, and I will admit I was unaware that this was a celebrity author debut.

There were a few instances where the tone of the prose slipped from the main character's voice and into clearly the author's own commentary on a subject. I'm hopeful for some editing before final print just to clean up the lines a bit, but it certainly doesn't detract from the story. Patois is used fluently throughout the book, and while there is a guide in the beginning, if you stick with it you do adjust!

Tilla, the main character, is broken and hurting and very real. The drastic changes she goes through via her surroundings and circumstances and experiences can and do happen. She doesn't always navigate the waters well, but that's what it means to be a teenager under duress: not every decision is a smart one. But you take what you can learn from every choice or mistake and keep moving towards the best version of yourself.

Again, I hope that the marketing of the book is more blatant in its content warnings, as some scenes can be triggering for others. Nonetheless, this story is powerful and I hope it finds its rightful place in discussions and classrooms!

Tilla has spent her entire life trying to make her father love her. But every six months, he leaves their family and returns to his true home: the island of Jamaica. This was a great book and I highly recommend reading it.

I received this book in exchange of a honest review from NetGalley.

Some triggers to be conscious of: verbal, emotional, psychological, sexual, racial and physical abuse

Tilla is traveling to Jamaica with her younger sister Mia to spend the summer with their father, who has been in and out of their lives for years. They arrive in the country where the girls are introduced to family members they have never met, and some they haven't seen since they were small. It's a culture shock for the girls, and hard to overcome the many preconceived notions people on the island have of them. Tilla struggles with rollercoaster emotions as she begins to understand that her father isn't person she thought him to be. I don’t want to give any spoilers so I’ll stop with I loved everything about this YA book.

Tilla is traveling to Jamaica with her younger sister Mia to spend the summer with their father, who has been in and out of their lives for years. They arrive in the country where the girls are introduced to family members they have never met, and some they haven't seen since they were small. It's a culture shock for the girls, and hard to overcome the many preconceived notions people on the island have of them. Tilla struggles with rollercoaster emotions as she begins to understand that her father isn't person she thought him to be.

I loved everything about this YA book. Tilla is your typical egocentric teenager who starts to understand how her actions can affect those around her, and how she has to be very careful around people whose motives may not be entirely clear. The way this book is written felt like poetry, with the words beautifully flowing on to the pages. I felt like I was in Jamaica, standing under the waterfall, and walking through the jungle. Bromfield is a talented author and this book drew me right in, I didn't want to put it down and found myself reading under the covers late into the night. At first I thought the Jamaican dialect would be difficult to follow, but you quickly get used to it and the dictionary wasn't needed. I recommend this book to anyone who likes YA~

I'm honored to have been given the opportunity to read this book early; as someone unfamiliar with the Jamaican culture, I was thrilled for the opportunity to learn.

In Hurricane Summer, we get to know Tilla - an eighteen-year-old young woman trying to navigate her life whist in a precarious family situation. She and her nine-year-old sister Mia spend their summer in Jamaica with their father; while their parents had immigrated to Canada and the girls always lived there, their father keeps going back to Jamaica for long periods of time. We learn a lot of Tilla's inner struggles, her racial, national, family and personal identity,

The writing is so vibrant and alive. I particularly loved the setting; as someone who's never been to Jamaica, I felt like I was there.

While I don't have much in common with Tilla, I grew very connected to her because like no character ever before, she truly impersonated me in my relationship with my father. I fully relate to her desperate attempts to be loved by him and to the effects of his avoidant attachment to his own daughter. I felt like she could understand me like no one else, and that was simply a beautiful feeling - to find a character like this in a novel.

Some triggers to be conscious of: verbal, emotional, psychological, sexual, racial and physical abuse.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

While I like the idea of this book and feel it has potential, there were just too many errors in timeline for me to overlook. I hope that it will see a good edit before the date of release.