I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Excellent natural disaster concept but follow through completely fell apart for me.

A Massive Thank You to the Author, the Publisher and NetGalley for giving me the chance to read and review this book prior to its release date.

I don't typically like historical fiction novels, so this was outside of my normal genre. I thought this one was interesting. This book tells the story of the aftermath of the Tambora volcanic eruption of 1815. The pacing of the story is slow and the plot lacks momentum, making it difficult to maintain interest, I had to keep putting it down and take breaks from it. Some parts of the story felt forced. Overall, this was a good story and I'd give it 3 stars.

Thank you Net Galley and Publishers for allowing me the Digital ARC of this book, Unfortunately, I was late to download it and it expired before I could finish. I will update by review once I get a chance to finish it. It seemed like a book I would like for my Jr. High Library from what I could finish.

The Year Without a Summer is a well-plotted, original and thought-provoking read that looks at climate issues and the power of standing up for what you believe in.

Nope. The writing on this was awful. I had a hard time believing these characters were older than eleven, they were both so juvenile. There were also way too many issues packed into this book - natural disasters, global warming, PTSD.

Eighth graders Claire and Jaime have two different opinions on what is "cool" when it comes to storms. Jaime thinks it is neat that he could have snowboarded in June when a 1815 volcano eruption caused it to snow during the summer. Snowboarding is Jaime's life and is now causing his grades to collapse in Science. Claire has arrived from Puerto Rico after a hurricane destroyed the town she lived in. Her father is still there trying to rebuild their town. She has not heard from him in a while and she just wants him home. Jaime's life is about to be turned upside down after his brother returns from Afghanistan injured. After an emotional outburst in class, Claire and Jaime must now debate the effects of climate change and disasters. Can they both weather working together so they both get what they want - a passing grade. This book is perfect for middle schoolers or low-level readers. Really enjoyed this book and will be getting a copy for our classroom library.

I wanna start with a thank you to NetGalley and SparkPress for letting me read this one in exchange for an honest review.

I am sorry to say that this one wasn't really my cup of tea which I mourn because I really liked the description of the book and I was really liking the cover.
The cover felt so cozy and I really hoped that this story would fit me but it didn't.

The writing wasn't bad but I just didn't feel it.
Was it that it happened a lot of different things? Perhaps.

So for me this was just a 1,5 to 2 star read and I give it that because of the writing, cover and the fact that the plot was quite okey.

Two eight graders, Jamie and Clara, are doing a research on a volcano eruption to debate whether natural disasters are a good thing or not. Survivor of Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, Clara obviously doesn't thing they are. But skiing fan Jamie is enthusiastic by the fact that the particular volcanic eruption they are studying caused a snowfall in summer.
This is middle-grade fiction, I am clearly not to right audience for this, so it couldn't hold my attention. The dialogues are disorganized, but I liked the debate aspect of the story. It does talk a lot about other things going on in the world, and I would've preferred if it focused on climate change. I do see how a middle schooler may enjoy this, especially if they are interested in climate change.
I received an advance review copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I really enjoyed this book. It explored growing up and becoming aware of the world around us. I loved the characters and different family stories. I liked how there is a lot we don't know or see that the people around us are dealing with. It was really thought provoking.
This is a middle school read so things were solved in a simplistic way. It was a little frustrating because life isn't always tied up in a nice bow.
All in all though, i really enjoyed it.

There is A LOT going on in this book. Normal middle school angst, a brother in Afghanistan, climate change. I’m reading this as an adult, but I’m struggling to see exactly which grade level this would be best for. Good premise, but maybe a bit more editing and polishing would make it better.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sparkpress for the ARC of this!

I really liked that this would bring attention to historical events, climate change and how it ties into disasters we are experiencing now. That said, this felt extremely young for YA and the prose felt kind of stilted. The story tried to cover a lot of issues in such a short book, and I think maybe would’ve benefited from narrowing its focus some. Overall, I didn’t hate it, but it definitely wasn’t for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the opportunity to read an ARC of "The Year Without a Summer", written by Arlene Mark. This book is scheduled to release on August 16th, 2022.

Overall, I rated this novel a 2.5/5 stars.

This book is about Jamie, an 8th grader who doesn't enjoy homework and studying, and is obsessed with snowboarding. His classmate Clara thinks that a natural disaster in 1815 (or anytime) is not a good thing at all. His brother Lucas is serving in Afghanistan. Their teacher makes them debate the idea. There are a lot of scientific and historical elements within the storyline of this book. I did, however enjoy that the emotional aspect of this novel.

Firstly thanks to Arlene Mark, Spark Press & @netgalley for this #gifted e-Advanced Reader Copy of The Year Without A Summer ☀️

This book centres Jamie, who upon learning that snow fell in June in his hometown because of an eruption on the other side of the world, he's psyched! He could have snowboarded if he'd lived back in 1815 during the year without a summer.

The book also focuses on Clara who recently arrived at Jamie's school after surviving Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, & she has a different take on all this. She is astounded--and disturbed--by Jamie's frenzied enthusiasm for what she considers an obvious disaster.

Queue the arguments resulting in science class disruption...

Ultimately, through hard work and growing empathy for each other, as well as for their classmates' distress over climate change affecting their lives, Jamie and Clara empower themselves and the people they touch...

This was quite a mature read. It was beautifully woven and a nice piece of historical fiction.

I enjoyed the focus on the climate as it's such an important topic. The interest in Science and the environment was refreshing to read. The interweaving of such complex issues such as the war in Afghanistan was done sensitively & poignantly.

Rating ~ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️/5

Overall if you enjoy historical fiction (which is well resesrched) then I'd recommend giving this a go!

🏷 #TheYearWithoutSummer #SparkPress #NetGalley #BookReview #bookish #BookNerd #BooksConnectUs #booksta #bookstagrammer #literaryadventueswithgabby

“People coming together definitely made things better.”

For Jamie, life is all about fresh snow and beating his best time for speeding down the slopes
just like his brother, a deployed soldier in Afghanistan, taught him. That is, until his dad catches
wind of his failing science grade and forbids him from competing on his school’s snowboarding
team. Jamie’s classmate (and long-time-crush!) Clara couldn’t be more different. Immigrating
from Puerto Rico to Albany after Hurricane María’s devastation hasn’t been easy, but leaving
her dad behind has to be the hardest. Between her day to day responsibilities, and lengthy
academic aspirations, Clara’s plate is full. So, when this unlikely pair must team up for a
scientific debate on the 1815 eruption of Tambora, the stakes are high for both of them. A once
simple debate turns into much more when the pair reckon with the effects natural disasters have
on climate change and further, the spark between them.

In some ways, Arlene Mark’s debut middle grade novel shreds down the slopes, and in others it
tentatively glides. Most notably, Mark is unafraid to tackle heavy subject matter across a broad
range of topics. Clara’s journey to accept help from others when managing her many
responsibilities, and commitments is important representation for eldest children in immigrant
families. And, the way Jamie begins to understand the gravity of his brother’s military career
gives vital context to the consequences of U.S. nationalism. However, this broad range of topics
also functions as the narrative’s biggest detriment. From a craft perspective, the initial super-
objective (completing the debate to improve their grades) becomes irrelevant without the
introduction of a new objective, which leaves the following portion of the novel straggling behind
trying to keep the reader’s attention. Perhaps as a way to compensate for the narrative’s
framing, there’s an overwhelming amount of accompanying threads like the romance plot
between Clara and Jamie, secondary-character friendship quarrels, and Clara’s babysitting
side-gig. These threads fail to contribute in any meaningful or important way to the narrative. In
the end, the novel’s commentary on climate change loses impact and the story just… continues.
While I may not recommend this title to friends, I do think there’s value to be found in the spirit
of collectivism and unity that permeates its story.

The Year Without a Summer releases August 16th, 2022.

(Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and SparkPress for sending us an ARC in
exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be
subject to change upon final publication.)

2.5 Stars

There’s a lot going on in A Year Without Summer. Too much going on. Climate change, earthquakes, volcanoes, war in the Middle East, immigration, school drama. The sheer number of topics is overwhelming. Trying to shoehorn all those ideas into one book makes A Year Without Summer less successful than if author Arlene Mark had chosen one or two to explore in depth.

The highlight of A Year Without Summer comes in the debate between Clara and Jamie. This is where science and life collide and Mark seems to hit her stride. (Although I can’t imagine a teacher would be thrilled with the “just Google it” line that gets thrown around way too much.)

When it comes to Clara and Jamie, Clara seems to be the author’s favorite. Clara is, for the most part, well-developed, while Jamie just seems kind of dense. Other than the two attending eighth grade, it’s really hard to get a sense of what age they should be. They often read younger than 13 or 14 and yet the setup sometimes reads more YA.

This book would have benefitted from tighter editing throughout.

The publisher’s suggested age range for A Year Without Summer is 12 to 16, but it’s hard to see older readers engaging with this one. Ages 10 to 14 is a better bet. I suggest checking this book out from the library prior to purchasing.

The book wasn’t what I was expecting. Sadly I was disappointed. The natural disasters element ruined it for me. Was a shame as the general plot could have played out well.

This would be a good middle grade book if the author hadn’t tried to make too many stories. There was just too much. Natural disasters. Climate change. Friendships. Family relationships. War. PTSD. Immigration. Babysitting. Divorce. Narrow the story and build upon that one, don’t try to tell every story.

DNF at 30%

I wish I would have read the synopsis of this book better because I was under the impression based on the cover and title that this was more of a science-fiction, "what if this happened to the earth" type of book alone the veins Life as We Knew It or The Day After Tomorrow. Instead, it's a contemporary book that just addresses issues like climate change and war and talks about the volcanic eruption from 1815 that resulted in a "year without summer" due to the clouds of ash.

While the topics in this book are certainly important to address, it seemed a bit heavy-handed at times from what I read. There was so much going on for a middle grade book that it felt like the author couldn't pick what they wanted to write about. The writing also confused because at times I would think it's middle grade based on the writing and the characters' actions and words and age, but then something would happen that seemed a bit mature for middle grade. I'm all for publishing books that hit that sweet spot between upper young adult and middle grade (for those in-between ages that don't quite fit in one category or the other), but this book didn't seem to do it in a way that worked.

There is a read for every book out there, but I just wasn't interested enough in the story or characters to continue once I realized this wasn't what I expected based on the cover and title.

Puerto Rico native Clara moves to Albany with her family, though her Papi has gone back home to help rebuild after disastrous Hurricane Maria hit their island home. She's trying her best to fit in with her new classmates in New York, instead of letting herself get stuck in her memories of Puerto Rico. Jamie's snowboarding season gets cut short when he bombs a science test and is barred from the last two competitions of the year. His big brother, Lucas, is stationed in Afghanistan, and it's all Jamie can to do get himself from one day to the next while his brother is seeing horrors that Jamie can only begin to imagine. Jamie and Clara get forced to debate the consequences of a disastrous volcano eruption on 1815 because they got into a fight over whether good things could possible come out of a natural disaster.

Honestly, this book is super "preachy." I'm sure the vibe the author was going for was more fictional with an educational edge, but it feels really aggressive, and not in a fun and interesting way. Clara seems to just "get over" her PTSD from being in the middle of the hurricane. She's also SUPER judgey about everyone's motives, and how they act toward her, and everyone else. It's never resolved whether Jamie's grade actually improves, but suddenly his relationship with his dad is sunshine and rainbows, and he's going to a dancing snowboarding camp? Lucas seems to be miraculously healing from severe 3rd degree burns on his leg after repeated discussion of his possibly losing his leg. Molly, a side "mean girl" character doesn't seem to have any redeeming qualities until 10 pages from the end, and suddenly she's friendly to Clara.

The writing itself feels very juvenile, almost like the author was a 13 year old herself, rather than writing FOR a 13 year old. Everything gets wrapped up in a tidy little bow in the last chapter, and it feels 100% rushed. If one more character said they were going to "google" for information just one more time, I think I might have lost my mind.

I appreciate the amount of information I learned about the Tambora. I appreciate the desire to steer kids toward working to help the environment. But the way it was presented could really have used some more editing.

I received an Advanced Reader Copy via NetGalley in return for sharing my thoughts on this book. Thanks to the author and publisher for this opportunity!