Queer, black, and disabled youth representation!! A bi-awakening story without homophobia or some other issues.
I wanted to love this book because it was great in terms of activism, awareness, and representation but it fell flat. I had a hard time connecting with the characters as they read really young (13-14 instead of late high school/17) and it just made getting through the book a bit challenging. There are definitely some themes here that a lot of queer folks can connect to and I have great respect for the author's work, but this book was unfortunately not one of my favourites. I think the characters needed a lot more development, but for folks who want an easy read with some nostalgia and diversity, you can reach for this.

Thank you to the author and Levine Querido for this ARC.

I always enjoy reading a Young Adult story, but this time I just couldn't connect with the MCs. The communication was terrible in parts and the behavior was more like middle school than high school seniors, but maybe I'm just too old for this story.

Congratulation to Khea Brown for the diverse group of people (for example POC, bi) and also the theme of a chronic illness, cerebral palsy. This doesn't happen very often, but disabilities are an important theme. And it is about finding out one's own sexuality, which is not always easy at this age, as most of us probably know.

The romance is pretty innocent and a bit cheesy but in the end, the girl gets her girl. The dynamics in the friend group fluctuate between being wonderful and helping each other, and full-steam drama with manipulation and also unfairness, which I didn't like very much. And what I liked was the relationship of Drea with her parents.

All in all, an entertaining story for teens and young adults.

Thanks to Keah Brown and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The secret summer promise is a YA, queer coming of age story about a group friends aiming to have the Best Summer Ever!! (all while navigating some complicated feelings).

It could definitely just be the fact that I haven’t been 17in almost a decade (good lord) but some of the dialogue felt a little off? I know the characters are in high school but their conversations felt younger than that, more like 14/15 year olds than almost juniors (??) in hs buuuttt I also know how absolutely terrible I was at communicating my feelings when I was in high school.

The sometimes odd dialogue aside, I really enjoyed this! I appreciate the variety of family and friendship dynamics shown throughout the story (both healthy and unhealthy). I also really appreciated the way that there was no labeling when it came to sexualities. You love who you love and a name didn’t have to be put on it.

Sexuality and romantic feelings can be super confusing in high school and I think Brown did a good job of showing how overwhelming and scary figuring those things out can be, especially when those feelings have to do with your best friend(…a little too relatable.)

Overall, I really enjoyed this! It’s a quick read and a little goofy at times and definitely worth picking up:)

Thank you NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was good! The characters did read a lot younger than I was expecting (like 14 instead of 17) so that took me out of the story a bit! I also would’ve loved more emphasis on the list because it’s supposed to play a big part of the story but it felt like I quickly forgot about it. All of that aside, I loved the Black, disabled, and LGBTQIA+ representation in this book! This gave such good summer vibes too so I loved being able to read and review this at the beginning of summer!

(Haven’t done a Goodreads review yet because I have been traveling but I will soon!)

Last summer Drea was in bed recovering from surgery related to her cerebral palsy so this summer she plans to make up for the lost time. One of the items on her list is fall out of love with her best friend Hailee. When the most popular boy in school asks Drea out, she agrees to date him hoping it will cure of her of her crush on Hailee but she quickly finds it does not.

I Iiked but did not love this book. I really liked the Black and disability representation in Drea and the idea for the story was fun. I really liked that Drea had a great relationship with both her friends and her parents. I struggled a bit with how the teens were written. They were meant to be 17 but they talked and acted a lot younger. I honestly had to keep reminding myself that the characters were in high school and not middle school. Overall it was a cute, short read and fully appropriate for any teenager to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Levine Querido for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I absolutely appreciate the work that the author has done in terms of activism and advocacy, I was let down and disappointed by this one. It felt young and I wish it had embraced being either an upper middle grade/younger YA book or had a voice with just a bit more emotional maturity and lyricism to feel more like a YA book. The central relationship felt a little rushed and forced, and I found myself wincing at many of the social interactions. However, I hope that the young people who this book is for find it and enjoy it more than I do!

This was such a cute book. It is a great summer read.

The main character learned about first love and heartbreak, that friendships can go through ups and downs, and how to be confident in who you are.

The characters are 17 and the book felt a little young. I jumped around (didn’t read about 50 pages in the middle) and don’t think I missed anything important. It was hard to get into as it felt slow.

Overall the message is so cute and the fact that the author had different LGBTQ characters which wasn’t forced in was amazing! I would recommend this for younger audiences esp if they need confidence in finding their courage

First, thank you, Keah Brown, Levine Querido, and NetGalley, for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

The Secret Summer Promise is a young-adult story centered on friendship, family, and first love. Author Keah Brown brings a diverse cast of characters (great representation!) to the forefront and their challenges. The writing is easy to digest and reads realistically. That said, the characters do read much younger. They are 17 but sound closer to 14-15 years old. Besides that, it was a nice change to read about young adults with healthy relationships with their parents, where they communicate well and have friendships with support and boundaries that are respected and exchanged. The story takes place at the end of the school year, with the characters partaking in their hobbies and interests, making The Secret Summer Promise an excellent book to segue into summer.

Descriptive Tags: Disability, Ableism, LGBTQIA, Race/Culture, Friendship, Family, First love, Summer, YA

The Secret Summer Promise is a sweet and quick YA summer romance following Andrea, a Black girl with cerebral palsy, as she deals with her recent discovery that she is head over heels in love with her best friend. We love a bi awakening story with no queer angst or homophobia! It is full of sweet summer teen moments.

I love the disability rep and how Drea's friend group stepped in to support her needs without being asked. The story dealt with ableism and bullying so CW for that too!

However, l again feel this is a book where the marketing doesn't quite match the story. Instead of a focus on the Best Summer Ever list, those activities felt like background to the love triangle between Drea, Hailey, and George. Drea's motivations in dating George weren't quite laid out enough in a way that made sense to me, even given their teen age.

But mostly what felt off was that Hailee was not fleshed out at all as a character. We were told she was extremely likable and outgoing, but that never came across, especially with the blow-up fights that occurred between the characters.

I also felt the conflict among the teen girls in the group, and the fights were written with the drama of a slightly younger group than those going into senior year. There was no real discussion of the pressures of what comes next that I remember permeating my senior summer. And the desperate desires to hold onto the last summer with no real-life looming.

Let me start by saying that regardless of my thoughts on the plot, the writing style and other technical aspects that come with reading a book for reviewing purposes, novels like this *need* to exist in the world. This novel is precious simply because it exists and it represents queer Black disabled teenagers, which is more than many other YA novels that I've read have done and will ever do. It is, BTW an own-voices novel, which means that the author is indeed queer, Black, and disabled herself, in case, you know, someone thought this book was "too diverse" or something.

Andrea, our main character, is in love with Hailee, her best friend, and tries to hide it from her for fear of losing her because she doesn't think Hailee will love her that way. She's immature in many ways, and she's very close to her parents, and for those two reasons I related to her because at seventeen (and even a little older than that) I was that way. While reading this, I also thought that Andrea was putting into words what I felt growing up towards women when I hadn't yet realized that it was possible to be attracted to them in the same way (okay, not totally the same, but you understand) that I felt about men. That, I think, was my biggest takeaway from this novel.

Now for what I didn't really love. There's this love triangle, and I was okay with it at first, but then it ended in a very tropey and abrupt way, like we were meant to hate this one character and root for this other and that was that. I also didn't like that we didn't really see how the romance that ultimately happens comes to be. It happened so quickly, and I would have liked more build-up, more angst. Then again, that could've just been me.

Something Like Possible meets She Gets the Girl in this sun soaked summer YA. Andrea is finally ready to have the best summer of her life now that she’s fully recovered from her cerebral palsy surgery. And she’s got the whole thing planned out. Including Drew Barrymore movie marathons, art shows, and even skinny dipping. Between her perfectly crafted bucket list and her ride-or-die crew of besties there’s nothing that could possibly stop her from having the summer of her dreams. Except maybe the fact that she’s in love with her best friend.
So when the most popular guy in school asks Andrea out it seems like the perfect distraction. I mean there’s no way Hailee could love her back, right? Until dating the golden boy turns out to be more trouble than it’s worth. And to top it off her ex-best friend Olivia has been secretly talking to her mom. What could that be about? Is Andrea’s summer of laughs transforming into a summer of secrets or will she be able to confront her feelings before the start of the new school year?
What a fun book! This was such a cozy read honestly. Perfect for some light summer reading by the pool. Andrea is a confident and fun teen who is just an absolute blast to experience. I loved the “low-stakes” adventures she went on.
I think we can all relate to the world-ending feelings of your first real crush. Especially us queer women crushing on our best friends. Which are often fraught with anxiety due to their inherently delicate nature. However, this book brought me back to all the good feelings without having to relive any of the trauma. It kept the essence of a first crush without the soul-crushing terror that comes alongside it.
A part that really stood out to me was Andreas' interactions with her parents. They were so full of unconditional love and honesty. It made my heart feel so happy and full to imagine a teenage hood that was so healthy. What a treat to be able to experience parental love as a teen through Andrea's eyes. Very healing honestly.
The representation in this book was also something to note. Although I must warn I am not a person with a disability so take my opinion on this with a grain of salt. But Andrea is not only queer and black, she also has cerebral palsy. However, her disability is far from the center of her story. You honestly completely forget during the majority of the book. And when it is brought up it’s never seen as a hindrance to Andrea or her loved ones.
All in all, if you’re looking for a fun, relaxing read with low stakes, this book is for you. Anybody interested in healing their inner teen and having some serious nostalgia read this asap. It’s not groundbreaking or the most literary book but it also doesn’t promise to be. It delivers exactly what it says and I love that. Enjoy!
Thank you to NetGalley and Levine Querido for sending this eARC for review consideration. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
CW: ableism, bullying, mention of racism

A beautiful lighthearted summer read, about a girl determined to make this summer, the best summer, yet there is one secret that threatens to ruin this,
I thought this was a beautifully written novel and it was a very fast, fluffy read!

I really enjoyed this cute summer read. It was cute and fun, but I will say the MCs did seem a bit too young for their age. Either way the story line and themes were great and overall I had a nice time reading it.

Thank you to Levine Querido for sending me an advanced copy of Keah Brown’s YA debut. I loved Keah Brown’s memoir so this book has been on my most anticipated list since it was first announced. Unfortunately, while I loved the disability rep, the rest of it was honestly disappointing…

What I loved:

- The main character. Drea is a ray of sunshine and a welcome addition to the canon of disabled MCs in YA fiction.
- This book is NOT about Drea “overcoming” or even accepting her disability. She’s proud of her identity and it’s a substantial part of her story, but not the focus.
- Although Drea faces ableism (a really horrible instance in particular), she has a supportive and loving community. Her identity is constantly affirmed and celebrated.

What I didn’t like: I hate to say it but Drea and Hailee’s dynamic did not work for me. I don’t want to give spoilers, but their relationship felt extremely toxic. Friends shouldn’t try to control who the other person hangs out with or throw fits when the other person needs alone time. I wanted a real confrontation about how unhealthy their friendship was before anything else.

The writing also felt unfinished with too much emphasis on “and then Drea did this. And then she ate that. And then she painted this.” I’m all for some fun fluff but it needed to have more character growth.

I think there’s a really good story here, but unfortunately I feel like it needs a lot more work. I was left feeling frustrated rather than transported. I think the author has a ton of potential though and I look forward to seeing her growth in the future.

4 stars.

This book is a YA novel full of adventure, romance and representation. The MC is Andrea, who is determined to have the best summer ever after spending the previous summer recovering from a cerebral palsy surgery. She has made a Best Summer Ever list with 8 steps to having the best summer of your life. On that list is a secret ninth item to fall out of love with her best friend Hailee because she does not want to ruin their friendship. Andrea and Hailee’s friendship is well developed in the book any their interactions are genuine and realistic. I gave the book a four star rating because the characters seemed a bit juvenile instead of being young adults. It’s a great coming of age story and it’s full of heart.

Thank you to Hear Our Voices Tour for providing me a copy of this book for my honest review.

Andrea has the best summer planned with her best friend Hailee and her other friends. She wasn't able to enjoy her previous summer due to a major surgery so she has to enjoy that one. But most of all, she has to fall out of love with Hailee. It could never work anyway. Oh and what if that guy, George who is showing interest was the perfect way to get over Hailee? What could go wrong??

I was really excited for this one. I love a good friends to lovers story and with a Black queer protagonist with Cerebral Palsy? That sounded great to me. Sadly, the execution was a bit of a let down. The characters sounded much younger than they were and the writing as a whole felt a bit off to my ear. Some situations were just too dramatic or unbelievable to me and I wasn't able to fully invest myself into the story. The family dynamics were pretty interesting though and I did like some of the friendship storylines. I also loved that one part where Andrea stands up for herself and tells boys to get f*cked.
But overall, this didn't really work for me. I will still check out more books by this author though. I do think some of them will work for me.

The Secret Summer Promise is a Young Adult Novel following our main character and her group of friends while she navigates her romantic feelings towards her best friend. This book has wonderful pacing, dimensional characters that offer so much representation, and real reactions/emotions to be expected out of our 17 year old protagonist. This book is such an easy read perfect for summer. There’s no high stakes or overly emotional moments that will make you worried about becoming a crying mess next to the pool, but it still has plenty or heart and substance.

I won't lie, romance isn't my strong suit, but this book carved itself a home in my heart. It's portrayal of young queer love, Summer flings, and the realities of being a teenage girl, will make you feel like you are right there alongside the main character, Andrea, figuring out that little thing called love. It made me giggle, it made my eyes well up, it gave me nostalgia for the Summers between High School. To all my queer black women and girls, please read this for that representation we have been waiting for. To everyone else, please read it to understand some good representation. If you are a fan of cute rom-coms, a fan of happiness, a fan of best friends who fall in love, give this book a chance. I guarantee it won't disappoint.

Enjoyable, great pacing, exciting settings kept me hooked. Fun novel that will be the perfect beach read. Thank you Net Galley for ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

This had a good premise but it was just not good. The characters are supposed to be around 17 but they acted more like they were 13-14. I also still don't fully understand Andreas motivation for dating George. It could have made sense if the writing was better but alas it was not.

I received an arc through netgalley.