Erin
3/21/16
Review
of This
One Summer by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki
*Graphic
Novel Selection
In
This One Summer Jillian and Mariko
Tamaki tell the story of summer friends, Rose and Windy. The 2 girls have been friends as long as
they have been going to Awago Beach. This summer Rose is 13 and she is excited
for vacation. As the summer rolls by, Windy and Rose pick up their friendship
and also begin to notice a group of local teenagers who work and hang out at the
convenience store. The girls are uninterested by them at first, but when a rift
is torn between one of the couples and the boy won’t talk to the girl,
curiosity gets the better of Windy and Rose. They have to get to the bottom of
what has happened. As they follow the teens, the girls slowly uncover that the
girl is pregnant. But it isn’t all just summer gossip and fun. Rose has been
dealing with trouble between her parents. Her mom sinks into a depression, her
father leaves, and Rose begins to change. The summer comes to a climax with
party for the teens where the central couple confront each other, driving the
girl (Jenny) to disappear into the ocean. It takes Rose’s mom to save her
bringing back both Jenny and herself.
This One Summer conveyed its style not
solely through words, but primarily through illustrations. Jillian Tamaki is
the illustrator. Her pictures have a soft bubbly style that keeps the light
feel of summer throughout the story. She also uses her illustrations to flash
back to previous trips to the beach. Jillian focuses and highlights important
symbols throughout the book by giving close ups of individual images. For example,
the first images of the book where we see single leaves floating to the ground.
These isolated images help to cement the tone of the book. This novel was a fun
and easy read but allowed for exposure to deeper themes and topics that young
adults deal with in our world today. I recommend this book to 8th
and 9th graders as well as reluctant readers who have yet to get
excited by a book or who may struggle with reading.
Reference
Jillian Tamaki, M. T. (2014). This one summer.
New York: First Second .
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