I'm not typically a person who likes reading about influencer types but Birdie had depth. The previous friendship with Cass provided a solid of foundation of closeness so it didn't feel like an insta-love. This was a fun summer read. Jennifer Dugan always provides good commentary on society's outlook on bi people. This book touched on class and while I think it could have gone deeper, I think for a YA audience it was a pretty good introduction to these bigger issues.

Even though Cass was very stuck in her ways, I enjoyed seeing her grow and learn to accept Birdie despite their economic situations. Understandably Cass was right to be skeptical, but after awhile of going over the same old argument, it became a little annoying. But her passion and work that she and her father did at the coalition to advocate for more affordable housing was really admirable. I like how both her parents and lifeguard friends grounded her and were able to support her in the way that she needed them to. Especially Bentley, who always seemed to know what to do or say when Cass needed it. They had an adorable love/hate, brother/sister friendship. Birdie on the other hand, had a lot more to overcome, therefore I felt more connected to her because of her more genuine growth. Birdie never had any solid role models in her life, so it made sense that she needed to realize a few life lessons and come to terms with her reality. Even though it took a while for her to get there, I really enjoyed seeing her work a job for the first time, learn about the work her father and Cass’s father do, understand Cass’s point of view (regarding economic disparity and unfair housing laws), and actually doing something to bring about change.

In terms of the chemistry and relationship between Cass and Birdie, I wish they had spent less time hating each other and more time accepting each other. The quick turn of events from hate to all of the sudden dating felt very rushed, especially for someone like Birdie who isn’t completely comfortable with her sexuality. The fact that they kept circling back to the same old argument regarding their two different worlds was frustrating. It seemed like Birdie was making more of an effort to get past it than Cass, who constantly used the same jabs to push Birdie away. Once they did get together, I wanted to see more romancing and cute dates, rather than working at the coalition or talking during their work shifts. When Birdie revealed that she used to have a crush on Cass as a kid, we weren't given much detail as to how that came about. Which again, made their quick enemies to lovers moment seem very sudden and not accurately built up. I did however really enjoy the rescue scene and Birdie’s very public declaration of love speech.

As for side characters, I honestly didn’t feel much for any of them mainly because they fell extremely flat, or had horrible personalities, or we just didn’t get to know anything about them. For example, Mitchell was an obvious villain, but we don’t know much about him. Ada is supposed to be Birdie’s best friend, but she seemed only concerned about herself or having a good time and then all of the sudden at the end she does a complete 180 and has the nerve to stand up for Birdie. Again we don't really get much of either of their backstories and they both had unlikeable personalities so I could have done without either of them. There also was a lot more potential exploration with Bentley and his crush on six but we only get the basics and its only to serve a purpose of growth for Cass. We get a lot of information about Birdie’s father (who stays static throughout the entirety of the story) but hardly anything about her mother and how she became so obsessed with fame and being an influencer. It was also confusing how Birdie’s father and Cass’s father could be such good friends even though they are both working against each other and have very different beliefs.

Something that I wished would have had more focus on was Birdie and coming to terms with her sexuality. Why was this never talked about or explained in greater detail? Obviously this is a huge part of who she is and yet we don’t know why she never felt completely comfortable with people knowing she was bi and how affected she was by other people’s reactions, especially her “friends” and family. Even the ending and so called “closure” between Birdie and her parents felt very forced and inauthentic. I also had mixed feelings about the epilogue. It kind of wrapped things up too nicely and we hardly found out much about Cass’s short college experience or current feelings. They both definitely felt very cute and happy with each other, which is what I wish we had more of in the actual story, rather than much of the toxicity that was constantly popping up.

So overall, I loved the summer setting and the insight into the two opposing worlds of Cass and Birdie and their journey towards accepting those parts of each other, but I didn't like the repetitive arguments, lack of side character depth or development, lack of attention to Birdie’s sexuality, and how rushed Birdie and Cass’s romantic relationship started.

Summer Girls is my first introduction to Jennifer Dugan, and it was a wonderful read!

The story follows Cass, a hard-working, community-engaged young woman who spends her time working with her family's community coalition. She comes from a working-class family. Her number one rule during the summer is to avoid summer girls, who are rich, privileged girls and are the epitome of everything Cass hates. Then she is reintroduced to Birdie, who is spending the summer in the small town as punishment for crashing her boyfriend's car. Birdie is the ultimate "summer girl," according to Cass.

Cass and Birdie's summer romance is filled with tension and sweetness. The differences in their backgrounds and the divides between the societal classes are really highlighted in this story, and Dugan does a wonderful job of showing how love and trust can bridge those gaps. The character growth and the way that Cass and Birdie learn to understand and support each other is really sweet to read.

Overall, this was a nice, easy read. Thank you, NetGalley and Penguin Group, for this ARC.

Summer Girls brings all the summertime vibes. The story follows Cass and Birdie, two girls who come from different lifestyles and places and are put together for the summer after Birdie ends up crashing her boyfriends car outside an event being thrown by her dad while live-streaming content for her mother. Spending the summer with her dad away from cameras in her face and social media may just be what Birdie needs to find herself and what is really important in life if her and Cass can get along that is. I thought this book was a good summer story that also focuses on deeper topics such as family vlogging and housing coalitions. It has some found family aspects while also being a queer story with two bisexual female main characters and a bisexual male side character. I would have loved just a little bit more at the end but overall I enjoyed this fast paced story.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC!

Another cute YA sapphic romance from Jennifer Dugan.

Dugan really understands the plight of the queer teenage girl, and this comes across in Summer Girls. Hard-working Cass and social influencer Birdie come from different lives but are forced to spend a summer working together on a popular vacation beach. Enemies quickly turns into infatuation as the girls develop crushes and re-kindle a friendship from their early childhood years.

While the falling in love happens quickly, just like most of Dugan's book, the relationship is put to the test and a will they/won't they plays out as both characters battle with who they are as people and what they want from their partner.

Highly recommend for anyone looking to get into the summer vacation vibes!

another one bites the dust 💔 when i read the synopsis of the book, i thought that Birdie would be acting out from a place of anger due to her absent parents. a rebellious teenager archetype of sorts. i didn’t expect Birdie to also be an influencer like her mom. i don’t know, it’s definitely a me thing, but i simply do not want to read about nepo baby influencer in the year 2025!!! sue me!!!

These two couldn’t be any different if you tried. These two get a second chance to reconnect and ultimately fall in love. The book is full of angst, hope, and found family, which is my absolute favorite trope. I genuinely loved it. It’s fast-paced, heart-warming, and the queer representation is done so well. Definitely recommend! Perfect book for a YA teenager.

Cass doesn’t date summer girls, especially not the child influencer daughter of her dad’s boss, who suddenly stopped hanging out with her when they were kids, crashed her ex-boyfriend’s car, and got exiled to Cass’ vacation town. Now, Cass has to babysit spoiled(?) Birdie, which doesn’t help with the animosity. Cass finds it funny when Birdie is forced to work as a parking lot attendant, but she’s not laughing when Birdie offers to go against her father to help Cass’ father. As the weather heats up, so does their relationship, and Cass might need to reconsider her summer girls rule. Is Birdie different from all the obnoxious, flighty rich girls around her?
Hate to love is my ultimate favorite trope of all time. Cass and Birdie’s banter fed my soul. It’s dual-POV too, so we got to see both sides of the story— literally. Though Birdie hides Cass at first, their grand reveal was so satisfyingly adorable. Birdie’s father is such an interesting, complicated character, and his relationship with Cass’ father reminds us that not everything is black and white.
Dugan also brings up an interesting take on child influencers forced into their fame. Birdie is sent on a social media ban to prevent more scandals for her image-obsessed mother, but considering her mother plays a huge role in her issues to start with, we see Birdie heal during her social media detox. The way she turns her upbringing into a job where she does good in the world is so admirable. I loved Birdie by the end. Summer Girls is the ultimate summer romance.

Summer Girls follows two girls from completely different worlds. Birdie is the daughter of a wealthy real estate developer and a social media influencer — her life is polished, privileged, and public. Cass, on the other hand, is grounded and guarded. Her family runs a non-profit that helps tenants struggling with rent, and she has a pact with her best friend: no falling for summer people. And Birdie? She’s the definition of a Summer Girl… or so it seems.

When Birdie is sent to spend the summer with her dad at the beach, Cass is asked to keep an eye on her—help her find a job, keep her out of trouble. What starts as an awkward babysitting gig slowly turns into something much deeper.

Their relationship unfolds in the sweetest, most natural way as both begin to see beyond first impressions (or second). Birdie, once seen as superficial, shows real growth and heart as she gets involved with Cass’s family’s non-profit. And Cass, in turn, learns that maybe not all summer people — or wealthy ones — are as shallow as she thought.

The book is full of angst, hope, and a beautiful sense of found family. I genuinely loved it. It’s fast-paced, heart-warming, and the queer representation is done so well. Highly recommend!

Summer Girls by Jennifer Dugan is a heartfelt sapphic romance that perfectly captures the intensity and fleetingness of Summer love. Cass and Birdie are as different as possible but they work so well together. I liked the contrast in the girls lives and how they both worked to be something more than what was expected of them.

Thanks to Penguin Young Readers Group, G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

I love Jennifer Dugan's books and this one will definitely be added to my collection. This is a cute summer YA. How fast they went from Enemies to Lovers through me off some but overall a good read.

Friends-Enemies-Lovers

I love the relationship between Birdie and Cass. It started out as enemies then they became lovers. The way that Cass was always there for Birdie when she needed her and how Birdie helped with Cass's family business.

I will always read LGBT+ books

Thank you NetGalley!

What an original & beautiful sapphic summer YA romance, which really set itself apart from all the other summer romance for this genre. I really loved this band of characters, the sweet romance that built over the course of the book; while still tackling heavy topics with such grace and being easy to disgust for the age demographic. Birdies character was wonderful, with such a great character development while still showing the mistakes that are learned from.

I honestly could not get invested in the story at all because the characters felt like archetypes from a bad 2000s movie. I also felt like the romance progression was super quick I was hoping for more of a slowburn.

decently cute sapphic summer romance that gives modern pride and prejudice. i didn’t love how much miscommunication there was and the fact that cass’s preconceived notions about birdie got in the way of their relationship at every step. i genuinely could not see them working as a couple long term, but the sappy summer romance moments were cute and did the job.

I loved Some Girls Do by Dugan and have many more of her books on my TBR, so I jumped at the chance to read her latest book!

💜 What I liked about it 💜
🏖 I really enjoyed Cass and Birdie as characters individually and together. I loved that the book is dual POV so we could get insights into both of their minds
🏖 It’s not just a light-hearted romance, as there are some heavier themes in this book. For example, there are discussions around gentrification, affordable housing and the impact of tourism and gentrification on locals, which are all important topics to raise. The book also touches upon money and social status - and the strain that has on Birdie and Cass’s relationship at times - and the difficulties of coming out (and feeling like you have to keep coming out as a queer person)
🏖 Birdie’s mom is a famous influencer and, by extension, practically forces Birdie to be in and make her own content. This is a very timely conversation to have with the rise of family vloggers and the impact this can have on the family itself
🏖 There are some great side characters - I particularly liked Cass’s friends Bentley and Six and the way they looked out for her

✨️ What to expect ✨️
🏳️‍🌈 Queer love stories
💜 Enemies-to-lovers
🩵 Complicated friendships
🤳 Family vloggers and influencer content
☀️ Summer setting
⛱️ Beach read vibes
🎙 Dual POV

This was an amazing book for young readers. This gives a good portrayal of what it's like to be a lesbian couple as teens especially when one doesn't really have an accepting family. I also enjoyed the little rivals to lovers bit in the beginning. I think this book is perfect for young teens who are looking for a fluffy LGBTQ book for the summer. My only problem was that it is a little childish in some aspects, especially when it comes to the fights, but that might just be because I'm older than the intended audience.

fun and well-written romance with themes of the wealth divide, family, and other such things. a lot of awesome vibes. 4 stars. tysm for the arc.

Jennifer Dugan strikes again. While I didn't like this one as much as I've liked books from her in the past, this was a cute easy read. It's perfect for any beach trip as a short read. I did find the characters a little relaxing and I felt like there could have been more added to it because it did feel short to me. I loved that despite this being a YA book, they talked about topics that young adults face today—even if they don't realize it. Both Birdie and Cass did feel like well thought out characters with flaws that were relatable. I always hate when people expect teenagers in YA books to be fully fledged adults and know how to be communicative with each other. I like that that wasn't the case with this book. While I did love the topic of gentrification being spoken about, I did feel like that was probably the weakest element of the book. But other than all of that, this truly was a cute little summer beach read.

This story follows 2 girls from 2 different walks of life. A girl raised to be conscious of money and society. Another who was raised with more money than imaginable, as a daughter in the spotlight.
This story takes such a modern and truthful look at financial struggles, differences, and the housing crisis amid air bnb rising in popularity.
With the serious conversation at hand, it’s a light love story that follows two girls who was to hate each other so bad, but can’t seem to no matter how hard they try.
Jennifer Dugan brought back the writing I personally found in her earlier work of Some Girls Do. With a heavy topic behind and fluffy read.