REVIEW for It's Not Summer Without You

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for sending along a copy of this book for me to read and review.

TITLE: It's Not Summer Without You

AUTHOR: Jenny Han

GENRE: YA

RATING: 3 Stars






It's Not Summer Without You is the type of book that I love. Each character is written with various levels - just when you think you have one figured out, they do something that makes you rethink your entire opinion of both the character and the storyline.

This story is about friendship and about growing up - discovering just how odd and tortured some people can be. It is about discovering that people are not always as they seem and that, for the most part, nothing is always absolutely white or black - but rather somewhere in the middle. I found myself engaged in these characters and, more specifically, their own distinct personality traits - which for me, was really the attraction of this book.

Although the plotline was interesting, for the most part, the story dragged and dragged way too much for me - the author took way too much time setting up the various events and, although it gave me more time to focus on the characters, it also made the book feel boring at times - hence the 3 stars. I would have rated this one 4 stars if the pacing had been better.

The author knows how to create great characters, now please work on the "tone" of the book a little bit more.