This was a super sweet and hopeful book. The entire cast of characters were likable and relatable in some way. The author did a great job including diversity and a strong sense of perseverance. The love story between Penny and Mateo was slow-burn and incredibly wholesome. Plus, it’s set in a donut shop, which adds to the sweet atmosphere. Penny shows great strength and determination in both her personal life and in trying to save the donut shop. For a YA book, this shows a nice level of depth.

Before I get into my review of “Donut Summer”, I’d like to thank NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishing for the eARC!

Oh my gosh, I have so many thoughts on this book. Donut Summer was nothing but a blast. This book had me giggling and crying at the same time.

The characters in this book were so relatable it was almost painful. The young teenage fear of what you’re going to do after high school, figuring out if you’re going to leave your hometown or not, what school you want to go to and more.

I related to Penny the most, her anxiety was very similar to mine when I was her age.

I’m a firm believer that anything Anita Kelly writes turns to gold, and I’m still upholding that belief after reading Donut Summer.

This book was easily a six-star read and I never wanted it to end.

For Anita Kelly's young adult debut they have adapted their signature queer romance novel for younger audience. I will say this: it's not for adults. It is YA written with teens in mind. It reads on the younger side. That's the point.

It also reads too young for me and I'm in my mid twenties but it reminds me of the kind of things I would have read at that age.

The most poignant part of this story is less the main romance but the inner familial conflict of the main character. Whereas people find her annoying I always take the side of a young teen stuck in unsolvable familial situation that is usually the fault of the parents and where you are asked to suck it up or figure it out yourself. It's not fair. It's not fair that some kids have it easy and you don't. Penny is a way better person than me in many ways. Parents force you to grow up faster because of their choices. I liked the resolution of this conflict but it still makes me a little mad

This book was so sweet it made me cry from joy. I would do anything for these characters they were so amazing. I loved Penny’s first person perspective. It was very conversational, and necessary to understand her since she spent so much time wrapped up in her thoughts. I related so hard to Penny’s struggles with anxiety, and I appreciated the progress she made through therapy during the book. I also loved how understanding and supportive Mateo was, or at least tried to be. Honestly they were such a sweet, caring person and was amazing with Penny. I loved the two of them together. They had great chemistry from the start, even when they thought they hated each other. And once they got over their misunderstanding they were the cutest couple, with Penny lifting Mateo up while Mateo helped ground Penny. I do wish it had been dual pov to get Mateo’s thoughts. I also wish there had been a bit more progress with Penny’s family and that situation. But the ending was so hopeful and sweet, and overall I truly loved this book.

I absolutely ADORED this YA summer romance between two high school teens working at their small Oregon town donut shop.

Penny cares about everything so much and has anxiety which was SO well written in this book!! She also regrets how things with coworker Mateo went down in the past.

The more time Penny and Mateo spend over the summer trying to help save the donut shop, the more they realize they both still have strong feelings for each other.

This was a sweet summery and oh so REAL and relatable story that doesn’t shy away from tougher topics like Mateo’s complicated relationship with their father refusing to accept or acknowledge their pronouns and constantly misgendering them.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!!

I requested this ARC for review because it's Anita Kelly and I love their Nashville and Moonlighter books. And because it's a queer YA romance. And donuts.

Penny is an over achiever 16 year old with anxiety and six-year-old triplet siblings whom she has to babysit a lot. And an enemy/rival/she doesn't know why they hate her so much, named Mateo - who is the other new summer hire at the donut shop.

Turns out, they both are dealing with the sort of "hate" that's actually fear of being rejected and as they get to know each other, they start to figure that out.

I honestly would have liked to have some from Mateo 's pov as they negotiate their pronouns, pink and purple hair, their dad's insistence on "manly" things, and being one of a very few people of color in their small Oregon Town.

I swore I wasn't going to use any donut jokes in this review, but really, the whole story is sweet. It's sweet and it's hopeful and it's a little fluffy, but a lot serious about finding your place while recognizing that these are children who aren't done becoming (are we ever?) who they will be as adults.

It's a piece of hope and light and love.

You know, if you would have asked me a couple years ago about YA books, I would have said they weren’t for me. But I’ve read quite a few since then, and I stand corrected. This new book by Anita Kelly is yet another ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ YA read for me!

Penny and Mateo had some miscommunication the previous year but they need to work together at their summer jobs at Delicious Donuts and try to save it from a larger entity taking over. They are also discovering who they are as people and working through some difficult things in their home lives.

Great main and secondary characters. Cute. Funny. Thought-provoking. Emotional. Did I cry for the last four chapters? Yes. But it was a good cry. One of those cries where you just felt better in the end. Like you really just needed a good cry.

Thanks to HarperCollins and Quill Tree Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review. Watch for Donut Summer to come out July 29, 2025.

There were a lot of parts of this I liked but I just didn't enjoy the experience of reading it and couldn't wait for it to be over. I did like the way that the issues of gender and sexuality were discussed but it still felt realistic for teens. I also liked that Penny's mental health issues felt accurate and that she was in therapy. However her issues plus her personality just made her insufferable and I didn't care about her at all. She was so annoying that I was actually rooting against them being together and didn't want a happy ending.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.