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Book Review

Publisher's Note:

A relatable novel about unrequited love, rock 'n' roll, and what you find when you go searching for yourself. Sixteen-year-old Nora Wakelin has always felt like an outsider in her own family. Her parents and older sister love her, but they don't understand anything about her: not her passion for music, not her all-encompassing crush on her bandmate Daniel (who is very much unavailable), not her recklessness and impulsiveness. Nora has always imagined that her biological mother might somehow provide the answer as to why she feels like such an outsider. Through internet stalking and leaps of logic, Nora identifies three women living elsewhere in California who seem like they could be her biological mother. So she sets out to track them each down, one by one, under the pretense of a statewide tour with her rock band, Blue Miles. Three cities, three gigs, three possible birth mothers--it sounds so easy. But once they're on the road, of course, it's anything but easy. Nora wants to be with Daniel, she wants to find her birth mother, she wants to keep her parents happy, she wants the band to stay together, and she wants to know why she is the way she is. But she won't be the first musician to find out that, while you can't always get what you want, sometimes you get what you need.…

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When I Was Summer

by J. B. Howard

Reviewer: Lydia
Genre: Fiction
Recommended Age: 14+

Overall Book Review:

On the surface, When I was Summer is simply a book about a teen girl searching for her identity in several different ways. But once you get into the story it’s much deeper than that. Nora is an adventurous young teen who is the bass player in her popular band and a mostly-dedicated student at school. Nora deals with all of the typical stressors that high-schoolers have, except for one major difference–Nora is adopted. It’s pretty clear within the first few chapters of this book that Nora feels a little out of place in her adoptive family and that she thinks she’ll understand who she is meant to be if she finds out more about her biological mother.

When Nora finds out some key details about her life before being adopted is when the story really starts.  She decides that school finals and the rest of her life can wait while she goes on tour with her band and explores her identity. And so, a whirlwind few days begins, where Nora and her bandmates travel to a few different towns and play small gigs. Nora has an ulterior motive for wanting to escape her town for a short time though. She thinks she might have found her birth mother online, and the town she lives in just happens to be where her band will be playing one night.

Saying anything more might give the story away so I will stop there, and end by saying that this book is a relatable YA read that is fast-paced and touches on some important, heartfelt issues any teen could face. This book gives readers an opportunity for readers to understand how who and where you come from may play a bigger role in your future than you might think, but to be too focused on your past could also influence your future negatively.

Review of an Advance Reader’s Copy

This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Viking Books for Young Readers


Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  5 mild obscenities; 4 derogatory names; 4 scatological; 2 anatomical terms; 2 F-Word derivatives. 

Violence/Gore:  None 

Sex/Nudity:  Minors kiss in several brief scenes; a minor couple has a serious discussion about their relationship; two friends hug each other and lay down in a bed and sleep together in a non-sexual way; “friends with benefits” is referred to; sexually transmitted diseases referred to jokingly; “cheating” in a dating relationship is mentioned.

Mature Subject Matter:

Adoption; abandonment; death of a loved one; minors hitchhiking; theft.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

A minor is depicted drinking beer; a minor is mentioned to get drunk off of parents’ wine and pass out; an adult is mentioned to have been high and stolen some items from a store.

Overall Book Rating
Profanity/Language
Rating:
7
10
Violence/Gore
Rating:
0
10
Sex/Nudity
Rating:
3
10

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About the Reviewer

Lydia
Books and reading have always been an important part of my life. When I was very young, my grandma was the library director at our local public library. Years later, after she had retired, I became a librarian at the same library and worked there for several years before taking a part-time job at a local coffee shop, which gives me more time to do what I love, to read and to review books! A few of my favorite authors are Aimee Bender, Diane Chamberlain, and Curtis Sittenfeld however, I will read almost any book I come across! In my spare time you can find me reading (of course), volunteering at a wildlife animal rehab, or hanging out with my three house rabbits.

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