The Summer Love Strategy is one of those books where we as readers seem to get what’s going on before the characters do.
Hayley and Talia have been best friends since they were born. They know everything about each other, and have a seemingly rock-solid friendship. When they make plans for the summer they decide they are going to make a concerted effort to get dates and fall in love.
What follows is rather inevitable.
The Summer Love Strategy seems to be working, but neither Hayley nor Talia seem to be that excited by its results. In fact, they both seem to be struggling with things…and, of course, it’s because they each have a crush on the other and aren’t sure how to deal with it.
From start to finish this was a book that made me feel so old. Their attitudes to dating and life in general are unfailingly positive and accepting. Their angst stems from insecurity - which I’m sure many will identify with - but their everyday experiences of dealing with their identity were a long way removed from what I think the reality is for many. It shouldn’t be that way, so perhaps books like this are part of moving towards a less intolerant society.

This is a book I really liked! It's a great younger YA (the MCs are 15 and turn 16) all about falling for your friend. It's very neurodivergent friendly (one MC has ADHD and maybe autism; the other has autism; other major characters are autistic and that impacts their arcs) and queer, of course. The characters work through communication issues and feelings and it's a sweet summer romance!

Except.

There is a MAJOR error in this book multiple people have caught. You see, Ray Stoeve is very careful about the characters assuming what others' pronouns and genders are (a lot of some "I read as a girl," switching pronouns when found out, not assuming, etc). I admit that for the good first third or half of the book, some of the writing felt clunky surrounding this and other elements (the major events the girls plan around seemed to not be elaborated fully on the page?). But I got used to it later, I guess.

Anyway, a big highlight of this book promoted on social media from Stoeve themself is that the characters go to a MUNA concert and it's a big deal. Now, this book came out in 2024 which means the finishing touches were put on it at the earliest in 2023. I first started following MUNA in late 2021, and I learned literally by using WIkipedia--so it isn't anything new or hidden--that one of the members of the band, Naomi McPherson, uses they/them pronouns.

The book uses "she."

It's just one word in the whole book but it kind of undermines everything, you know? Plus, this is A REAL PERSON.

It's just frustrating.

- two queer bffs make a summer pact to both find love after struggling to find romance
- the representation in this book is INCREDIBLE! just about every character is queer, & really good mental health rep, too
- i would have loved this book as a teen, but it reads VERY young, especially reading this as an adult

I'm sad to give such a highly anticipated story for me a 2 star but the rating really boils down to the fact I just didn't enjoy this one.

When given the pitch and the marketing for this novel. I assumed the characters would be 16/17 and would act and talk like 16/17 year olds. But, the actual age felt like it was gearing to the very lower scale of YA which threw me. I think if it had been marketed as such I probably would've enjoyed it more as I went in with the wrong expectations. As well as this, the relationship felt like more of a convenience thing than because they actually had feelings for one another but my feelings on that were probably more because I was disappointed in the written age of the writing. The conversations felt stilted and cringey and the characters more so.

I was thrilled to see anxiety and autism rep in this book (as an anxious and autistic individual) and thought this was done well. And was happy to see all the queer rep in this book but there were times I felt it teetered more to ticking boxes rather than genuine rep. But again, younger readers will benefit so greatly from seeing this rep proudly discussed and a trans girl love interest in ya!! more please!! this is the rep I want to see!!

I'm truly so so sad this didn't work for me and I know it'll have its audience. I know to market it to my own audience as on the younger side of YA. This story has its home, its just not with me.

I'll admit, I read this mainly because I liked the sexy, curly mullet on the cover. But inside, there was a delightful friends-to-lovers romance that was tailor-made for Netflix queer from com content. If you love Sex Ed and the new reboot of Heartbreak High, then you'll devour this book up like ice cream.

First and foremost, I'll be honest and say I DNF'd this book at the start of chapter 2. I personally felt that the writing was immature, and contained a ridiculous amount of descriptors that took away from the story. Lots of useless information.

Now having said that, I still gave this book 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because of the diversity of the story and my hopes that between the ARC I started reading and the final copy, there were some edits made. Either way, I cannot recommend this book personally, but because of the representation, I will be recommending it for my library's YA collection.

I absolutely loved this! Such great representation for queer and also other things, I really enjoyed the summer vibe and friends to lovers, would love to see more books like this

This book was so queer joy. It was a short and fast paced read that kept me invested straight through. This book did suffer a tad from making too many references to current trends which I always stray away from in books. I loved the protags though, and it was just so fun so I can’t fault it at all. Honestly definitely read this one if you want a fun pride month read.

This was precious 🥹 Adding this to the list of books that help heal my inner child. I loved reading about high school kids having a group of queer and neurodivergent found family type friends. It was more healing than I realized it was going to be 😭 Also, reading about how all of the friends really cared about each other and knew each other’s accommodations was so special. No one treated it like it was a burden and it was just so effortless and seamlessly integrated into the story. Stimming, meltdowns, panic attacks, not liking to be touched, new gender and sexuality realizations, consent, so many things that show care between friends that some people can make us feel like is “too much” or “too hard to learn” or “annoying” presented as so average to the friends in this book. I had a great time 😭✨ Thank you for this 💖

I love a sapphic love story.

This one was giving all the summer vibes. We have two besties who make a pact to find a summer romance. But instead they realize just how close they are and they might just fall for each other or realize that they have already fallen?!!

I think that the vibes were great in this book. It really captured the feeling of young queer love and honestly a perfect little queer summer.

I think that it was not super memorable, but I had fun while I was reading.

I would recommend this to people who want a good summer lesbian romance.

This was beyond good. Great if I must say. I can’t wait to rave about this to everyone. If you are looking for a good book, pick this up. We need more love stories like this.

A super fun queer friends to lovers YA summer romance with great neurodiversity and trans rep as two friends try to find love over the summer and discover they might just have it where they weren't looking for it. Great on audio by a new fav author! Highly recommended! Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

I absolutely adored this fun, bright and fresh queer YA. Needed and so well written. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the free review copy!

Sometimes when I read YA I ask: is this just what the adult author thinks teens are like or (almost too horrifying to consider) is this just what this ADULT is like? In this case, I suspect the latter and it's a shame! There's a good book hiding in the bones of The Summer Love Strategy, but it's choked out by caricatures of adult social justicey asides that go nowhere and say nothing of substance about homophobia, racism etc! And I was a teen on tumblr dot com so that's saying a lot to say these teens are over the top & unrealistic.

3.5/4

Synopsis: BFFs Haley (a lesbian cis girl) and Talia (a bi trans girl) are both determined to experience summer romance for the first time. They try everything to meet new people and find dates, but at the end of the day, romance may have been closer than it appeared all along.

Review: This was the perfect short and sweet YA summer romance for fans of Alice Oseman! I really loved the whole cast of characters, including the abundance of queer and neurodivergent representation. The cover is also absolutely stunning and I think it perfectly represents the story. If you’re looking for a cute, light sapphic romance, I definitely recommend picking this one up!

This review was a bit difficult for me to write. This book was well written and captured what it can feel like to be a teenager trying to figure out who you are and the best way to relate to others. For me as an adult, that wasn't very fun to read about. Being a teenager can be hard and overwhelming and it's not really something I want to revisit. However, I'm not the target audience for this book! I could see it being incredibly comforting for an adolescent to know other people shared their feelings and experiences.

I also thought the mental health issues were handled with care and accuracy. I dealt with generalized anxiety as a teenager and I worried about a lot of the things that Hayley worries about. A lot of Haley's worries are about relationships but adolescence is a very socially focused time. I did like that the book talked about learning how to have relationships with different people and communicating.

Thanks to ABRAMS Kids for the eARC! All opinions are my own.
I think if you want to know what it feels like to be this age and a bit anxious or you are a teenager this is a great choice! I think if you mostly enjoy YA with older characters this one won't be for you. The main character is 15 and definitely deals with 15-year-old problems.

"The Summer Love Strategy" by Ray Stoeve is a very sweet YA rom-com. Hayley and Talia, who are best friends, are on a mission to find summer romance, embark on a series of adventures inspired by movie clichés. As they navigate crushes, mishaps, and unexpected twists, they discover that love may be closer than they think. Stoeve's writing is witty and heartfelt, making this novel a perfect summer read. With its endearing characters and delightful premise, "The Summer Love Strategy" is sure to capture the hearts of readers young and old. Also, MUNA happens to be my favorite band, so seeing them featured in this book was definitely a plus!

I enjoyed this one a lot, but I expected nothing less because I've enjoyed every book I've read from this author before.
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The outcome of the plot was something I saw coming. It was slightly predictable in that regard, but that's not a mark against the book or any real problem, it's just something I've seen a lot before. That doesn't make it a bad concept though.
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I did really like that there was a range of neurodivergent characters though, several of whom were autistic and presented that in different ways. I also liked that there were various different queer identities represented too.
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Overall I really enjoyed this book, it was a very enjoyable experience and a lovely light-hearted read.
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Thank you to NetGalley for sending me an ARC copy of this book.

Again this problem I have a lot of YA comes up…I really do not find this a realistic depiction of how teenagers talk to each other. I am a few years older than these characters But i was just sixteen and have a lot of exposure to sixteen year olds whether through classes or my sister and i really have never heard anyone speak this way. The way they think about the world and interact with each other just seems like a caricature of how adults think teens talk to each other. Please give them some credit!
It also just seems there’s more analysis of plot/actions whether through dialogue or internal monologue than actual plot/actions.
Another thing that does not usually bother me but I know is a problem a lot of readers have is constant pop culture references. Here it seemed that they were not prominent enough in our culture to not become dated incredibly fast. With something like Harry Potter, at least it’s been a thing for a few decades. Or in a period piece, including music/artists/etc that were popular makes sense. I don’t think including a band that’s been around for a few years and has not necessarily cemented themselves is a great idea for a book set and released in the present day.

These are a lot of personal issues and there will be many who disagree and enjoy aspects I didn’t. However I think it is fair to point out the vast disaparity in how YA writers view and write teenagers because it bothers me now but has also bothered me since I was the same age as these characters and felt books targeted towards me were in no way towards me at all.

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an ARC of this story!
SPOILERS TO FOLLOW

I'm not really a fan of the trope friends-to-lovers but I thought I'd try this novel out. I'm glad I did. It was better than I expected. (I know I rated it a three but it's a very STRONG 3 it's really more of a 3.75) Part of the reason I don't like friends-to-lovers is for the exact thing that happens in this novel. One of the girls (Hayley) realizes she likes her best friend (Talia) and then DECIDES TO NOT TALK TO HER FRIEND ABOUT ITS. I understand how nerve wracking it would be to suddenly have a crush on your best friend and NOT WANT things to change but the pain that the MC's of these kinds of novels face is NOT worth it in my opinion. Maybe I feel like this though because I actually took a shot and, although it didn't end how I wanted, I felt much better about everything in the end.

I really liked all the representation in this novel too. Sometimes it felt like people were being described with TOO MUCH detail but that's not a bad thing. Hayley sounds like a very perspective person so it made sense that she would notice so many details about people as she's people watching (which she does often).