Reviews with content warning for Child death - Dogs of Summer

Follows the friendship of two feral girls. It’s disgusting and intimate in a way that made me want to stop reading. Many times. Can’t say I’d recommend it.

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taylorsevalia's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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lidia7's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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audreyxine's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

grossness and girlhood

I love love loved the themes and ideas in this story: classicism & tourism, early childhood friendships & obsession, the fixation of thinness and EDs of the 2000s, sexual identity & violence... it's kind of amazing how this book covers such serious and broad topics while remaining in our 10-year-old protag's perspective.

The writing style was artful but challenging. It wasn't a perfect match for me but I still enjoyed it. Paired with the revolting imagery in the book, it slowed me down significantly and I had to put it down several times.

For anyone who enjoyed the style but not the vibe of this book, I strongly recommend Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss. It's similar in length, features a young girl protag, and shares some similar themes. I enjoyed it much more.

Regarding the ending:

Typically, I do not enjoy endings with abrupt deaths because it usually feels like a cop-out for some cheap shock factor. After sitting on this one for a while, I have come around to appreciate the ending. The way I interpret it, it represents the abrupt end of our protag's childhood after the rape, and the end of her life (maybe even literal way) after Isora drowns. We do not get to see our protag struggle with grief because it is shut out. There is no processing or healing or growth, just an end. In that way, this book is two stories: what it tells, and what it leaves out.

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rayannotates's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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alexandrabelze's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

i don’t have much to say about this read. but, i really enjoyed abreu’s writing style, and i liked her portrayal of scenery and time. good coming of age novel.

isora’s death was so unbelievably sad.

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