Book Description

The guy of her dreams… or the girl in her heart?

Lara’s had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He’s tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he’s talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe…flirting, even? No, wait, he’s definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara’s wanted out of life.

Except she’s haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers.

Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she’s finally got the guy, why can’t she stop thinking about the girl?

Dahlia Adler’s Cool for the Summer is a story of self-discovery and new love. It’s about the things we want and the things we need. And it’s about the people who will let us be who we are.

My Review

This review is extremely overdue, but I’m so glad I finally had the opportunity to read this book because it was amazing.

Lara is a delightful narrator. Yes, she could have had a conversation with Jasmine when she first saw her at school, but we have to give her some grace on that because she’s a teen and her brain is still developing.

Plus, there’s the fear of rejection—not to mention the Sisyphean victory of FINALLY getting the cute boy to notice her and realizing that she still feels unfulfilled. The angst is palpable!

I loved the way the narrative shifted between the summer and the present day. Getting to experience the slow shift from Lara and Jasmine shifting from strangers to friendship to something more provides the reader with a tender glimpse into first love. Add in that neither girl has any experience with Sapphic relationships, and it’s easy for them both to believe that what transpired over the summer was an anomaly.

On that note, the narrative (both the “past” summer and the present-day school year) unfolds only from Lara’s perspective. This helps keep the reader on the same level as Lara as to Jasmine’s feelings/intentions. Knowing more than Lara would defeat some of the mystery, although realistically, what kind of book would throw away a magical dream girl summer for the protagonist to end up with the hot quarterback?

I would absolutely recommend Cool for the Summer. This book is sure to delight the target demographic looking for queer YA books. I can’t wait to read more of Adler’s books!

I received a digital ARC of this book from St. Martin’s/NetGalley