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A review by meghin
Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!
This book is the perfect YA romance summer read for me. It was a fast, fun read and I can see myself rereading it in future summers. Maybe it won't sweep the book awards, but it is exactly what I have been searching for. While there were some aspects I didn't love, overall I really, really enjoyed this book. Though I had a suspicion on who Lara would end up with both of the love interests got to be actual people which is such a rare thing in love triangle books?
The questioning aspect! As an adult I can look at Lara and be like "girl." but it was like reading old diaries from high school honestly.
The sex positivity (both with a partner and on your own) was an absolute delight as it always is when I find it in a book that isn't blatantly about sex positivity. Are all teenagers having sex? Of course not. But all teenagers who think maybe someday they want to have sex should know that that's totally fine and sex isn't evil.
I also loved that while it would have been very easy for me to hate some of (one of) Lara's friends, Dahlia made a point to stress the positive qualities of this person as well. Friendship is messy and no one is perfect, but if the good regularly outweighs the bad I think you're doing okay. Especially if you're only 17. In this house we absolutely stan Kiki though.
Also I had almost zero knowledge of Demi Lovato's music before reading the book as her Disney channel time was beginning right when mine was ending and I'm an audiobooks in the car no radio ever person, but I of course had to listen to Cool for the Summer. And then the entire album. And now she's all over my Spotify. You got me there Dahlia.
This book is the perfect YA romance summer read for me. It was a fast, fun read and I can see myself rereading it in future summers. Maybe it won't sweep the book awards, but it is exactly what I have been searching for. While there were some aspects I didn't love, overall I really, really enjoyed this book. Though I had a suspicion on who Lara would end up with both of the love interests got to be actual people which is such a rare thing in love triangle books?
The questioning aspect! As an adult I can look at Lara and be like "girl." but it was like reading old diaries from high school honestly.
The sex positivity (both with a partner and on your own) was an absolute delight as it always is when I find it in a book that isn't blatantly about sex positivity. Are all teenagers having sex? Of course not. But all teenagers who think maybe someday they want to have sex should know that that's totally fine and sex isn't evil.
I also loved that while it would have been very easy for me to hate some of (one of) Lara's friends, Dahlia made a point to stress the positive qualities of this person as well. Friendship is messy and no one is perfect, but if the good regularly outweighs the bad I think you're doing okay. Especially if you're only 17. In this house we absolutely stan Kiki though.
Also I had almost zero knowledge of Demi Lovato's music before reading the book as her Disney channel time was beginning right when mine was ending and I'm an audiobooks in the car no radio ever person, but I of course had to listen to Cool for the Summer. And then the entire album. And now she's all over my Spotify. You got me there Dahlia.