One Crazy Summer

by Ines Bautista-Yao

A Recipe for Disaster?

Ingredients:
1 college junior, fired from summer internship
1 secret crush, the cute and flirty type
1 crush's best bud, with a secret of his own

1. In large bowl, mix together college junior and secret crush.
2. Gradually add in crush's best bud.
3. Stir until best bud’s secret is revealed.
4. Let mixture rest in a sleepy provincial town.
5. Bake under the blazing summer sun until golden brown (be careful, batter might burn).

Tania’s summer is more than she can handle! Her cooking career comes to a screeching halt before it can even take off. Then, best friends Rob and Mateo enter the picture. Can she figure out her feelings for them, AND get the internship credits she needs to make it to senior year?

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, Chick Lit, Fiction, Contemporary Romance

144 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2011

About the author

Reading and writing are close to Ines Bautista Yao's heart ever since she was a child. She graduated from the Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in AB Communication Arts. She has been a teacher at the Assumption College San Lorenzo and the Ateneo de Manila University's English department.

Her debut novel One Crazy Summer was first penned in 2007 when she was pregnant with her first daughter Addie. Being a mother has taken much of Ines' time so she was only able to write 13 pages of her novel. She completed her story in April 2011, while three-year-old Addie was sleeping and inspiration struck her again. Two months later her story was complete. After eight months, her dream of publishing her own book came true. The book was only launched last January 26, 2012, but Ines is already writing her second novel.

Most readers can remember Ines as the former editor-in-chief of K-Zone Magazine and Candy Magazine . At present, Ines is working as an editor of Summit Books. She is also married to photographer Marc Yao, whom she says she consults whenever she's stuck in the middle of a story she's writing.

Sources:
One Crazy Summer Author Ines Bautista Yao on Juggling Writing and Motherhood by Belle Yambao
Spotlight on Filipino Authors: Ines Bautista-Yao

Reviews

[Claire - The Coffeeholic Bookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story of summer love is so cute and sweet. It brings back memories of my younger years when I felt giddy and overwhelmed when I learned that my crush liked me back. Oh yeah.

Tania was interning at her aunt’s diner but she didn’t get to cook in the kitchen even if she had wanted to, because she was assigned with the garbage duties. Now, Tania is a good cook, but her self-esteem was so low, she couldn’t even be bothered thinking about her future. She had her eyes set for Mateo Locsin, but his best friend Rob made her more kilig.

Now, before you complain, let me just say that this isn’t the kind of love triangle that most readers would have frowned upon. No sireee. One Crazy Summer, as crazy as it might sound, is actually a romantic story that talked about finding love, cherishing friendship, balancing feelings and emotions, developing a fondness for food, and deciding what’s best for your future. A couple of times, I found myself yearning for that special feeling, basking in the moments of pure bliss and grinning like monkey while making a fool of myself in front of an audience. Tania Morales and Ines B. Yao do that to me. And I’m loving it. Loving that feeling. Loving that wonderful and exhilarating feeling of falling in love all over again.

Oh crap, I sound so cheesy… As cheesy as Tania’s baked goodies! One rainy afternoon spent reading this book is totally worth it! Add a flavor of Bohemian Rhapsody and Farmville on the side and you’ll find yourself sighing and laughing and wishing for your very own Mateo Locsin. Oh the feels!

[Kyra · Rating 4 out of 5]

"A story of teenage school crises, boy troubles and party dilemmas."

It has been a while since I read an actual book (not counting my Ebook copies), let alone of relating to teens and lovey-dovey heartbreak feelings. Blame my busy work schedule and my laziness to find a good book in one of my fave places to be which I have to add have not been visited by myself for a while, bookstores! It’s my definition of heaven on earth, the feeling of contentment you get when you enter a bookstore and that moment when you find the book that was totally meant for you, the new book smell when you flip the pages is like hallelujah in your smelling senses, the deeper you get into the story, the more you want it to not end and just enter that world of pure genius in prose these iconic authors have bestowed upon us. Ok, nuff about my reverence to these books and authors, back to the real topic ahead of us.

I’d have to owe Ms. Ines Bautista Yao for opening up my senses again. Now I remember why I love books before, more than I love movies now. I am not about to give out the entire plot of the book for that would be unfair to Ms. Yao and her copyright privileges especially now that I owe her snapping me back to my bookworm senses again.

If you wanna feel like a hopeless miss daydreamer, a gal with confused senses between two boys, a defensive and scared heart trying not to fall but eventually gave up its defenses, a fight between the heart and the mind that ended up breaking the guy’s heart, a spontaneous act of getting the guy back and the giddy feeling of having him by your side, all of these in just one sitting, a 3 hour sitting at most, then you better go to the nearest bookstore right now and get a copy.

And to mash up all of those feelings felt by the main character above, Ms. Yao had to add a cupful of true friendship, a dash of the knight in shining armor bad boy, a sprinkle of drinks and parties to make it more entertaining, a touch of a fashionable geeky boy-next-door and a pinch of college internship scrape, all combined to make one heck of an emotional yet truly believable teenage love affair.

A good book is where your imagination clouds your senses and makes you feel, breathe and think like the character in the book. It is when you want to just jump into the book and replace the main character’s life.

[Marynold · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is probably the cutest and most adorable book I've read this year!! I loved everything about it!
I love the romance, drama and the characters! Tan is my fave character because I can definitely relate to her experiences. I also adore Mateo and Rob! They are BAEs. The author's writing style was great and I can't wait to read more books by Ines Bautista-Yao!

If you are looking for a light, swoon-worthy read then you should definitely pick this book up!

[Biena Magbitang · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of those books I l could have DNF-ed but gave in and handed a second chance to. It blossomed into a cute, entertaining story somewhere in the middle so I didn't regret my decision to move forward. I hope to find time to write a lengthy review soon. #TeamMatty

[Maui Rochell · Rating 2 out of 5]

A college student named Tania was failed to find a company for her internship right after she was fired at The Happy Belly Bakery Shop because of being such a mess. When Mrs. Jean knew that Tania still don't have an internship, she sent her to Negros to be the ambassador of their school. She agreed to do it and unexpectedly, Mateo came up after her because the school discovered that Mateo was faking his internship.

It was a short read and the book was okay. It's not that fascinating for me because I usually read heavy type romance books. This is just a light romance for me, though.

I just did not like the personality of Tania. She was too afraid to face the reality of life. She's a coward until she finally realize what she wants in the end.

Mateo's personality from being a smoker guy to being a oh-so-nice guy when he shows up in his province because he originally lives there. He's a sweet, caring and hardworking guy and I should say a brave man, too.

Finally, Rob. He was hot and sexy. I just didn't like the part wherein Tania and Mateo had their own story while Rob and Tania's story stopped in the few chapters of the story. Maybe I just expect it to be a love triangle story but it was not.

Lastly, this book made me crave for some cookies. :(

[Ana Mayoca · Rating 3 out of 5]

They should have a longer version of this or maybe a sequel! I loved the guy characters for being so fun-loving and I liked the plot. It was simple but still makes you "kilig," wishing that you were in Tania's shoes!

[Gian Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much love story. It's adorable, though. But, I really, really have had enough of romance. :)

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I couldn't have picked a better time to read this book—it's getting all warm and toasty here in the Philippines and that means we're already in the season of beaches, sunscreen, and halo-halo. One Crazy Summer caught my attention with the book cover—it looks like a fun and light read—and it was just the thing I needed after reading a lot of non-local romances. Now I miss Summit's chick lit books all the more and I wish they still produced these feel-good stories. But I'm already digressing.

Ines Bautista-Yao's novel tells the story of college student Tania who's having one heck of a crazy summer due to the stress caused by her internship at her aunt's restaurant. Tania's a great cook and shows a lot of passion for it, so a restaurant internship seems like a good thing, right? But she messes up with the opportunity, although she still got to finish her internship in a laid-back provincial town...but not without a few hitches. She finds herself spending the summer with schoolmate Mateo who happens too be best friends with her crush, Rob. With work and two guys vying for her attention, she has her hands full balancing everything.

One of the things I really liked about this book was its simple and conversational tone that makes it very easy to latch on to. So far in my experience reading Bautista-Yao's work, this is like her signature thing, and it's something I look forward to because the author makes it easy for the reader to get her message at the onset. Reading this book made me reminisce my college internship days, though it wasn't as exciting as Tania's. Bautista-Yao has this knack of drawing the reader into a familiar memory and exploring those thoughts and feelings through her characters. This book likewise made me remember my first trip to Bacolod and Silay, and I had the same wonder and amazement as her main character when I first came to visit the province.

As great as the great parts were, perhaps the one thing I wish was present in this book was the character development. I'm not saying the characters weren't developed well, but I think the story could have been even more awesome had there been enough fleshed-out scenes between Tania, Rob, and Mateo. To be fair, Tania and Mateo did have good exposure in the story, but Tania's history with Rob left me hanging. I couldn't quite grasp her affection for him as much as I enjoyed reading about Tania and Mateo's interaction. Rob could have been a great character and I wished he had more page time in the book to balance the situation and maybe establish the conflict on deeper ground. Another thing I wanted to point out were the recipes—they had me craving for cookies and crepes! But seriously, their placement in the book's layout got me disoriented. It would have been great if they were placed at the end of the story where it wouldn't cut through the narrative flow. But I guess that's just a personal preference.

All in all, One Crazy Summer gave me the nostalgia feels and it was amazing. The ending wrapped up nicely and that grand gesture was a +1 for the kilig factor. If you're into YA light reads in romance, this is definitely your thing to read. Now excuse me while I go stuff myself with cookies and crepe and chicken inasal.

Reviewed at WillReadforFeels.com

[Shenna Lagdameo · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was published six years ago but this one's never getting old. 

One Crazy Summer can be a companion to every person out there who feels troubled with their lives. In this book, Tania shares her story wherein she is in the middle of her intership and everything just become falling into the wrong place. Then the bestfriends, Rob and Mateo enters the picture. As Tania says, she has the perfect recipe for a disaster. But in the end, she won against her doubts and worries. She fought them all alongside her heart. And you can do it too. 

I love how Ines narrated the story. This book is full of vivid explanations I could perfectly imagine every scene. It also has awesome references that will just make you feel good all over. 

Also, I love the recipes! I will surely try them out. I really got suprised when I read that Liane Camus Bautista, the one who wrote the recipes is Ines' mother! But it's wonderful. I'm glad Ines found a way to incorporate her mother's love for cooking with the book and main character. Thumbs up!

As for the plot, the setting the characters:

The plot and the type of conflict used here is very similar to the contemporary romance books I already read but I'm happy to tell you guys that it lived up to my expectations.

The setting is nice. Since I love nature, I instantly fell inlove with Silay City, Negros. It's ambience is similar with my town so it just felt like home. 

For the characters, they were all very relatable!

Let's start with the Bobbie or also known as B. I really love this girl since she's a lot like me. We have the same dreams and fashion sense so we're good! Also, I love her for staying with Tania eversince pre-kindergarten. She is really the bestest friend Tania could have. 

As for the best friends, Mat and Rob. They were best bros but I like Mat more. Rob can be compared to as a typical knight in shining armor while Mat is the laid back boy next door. (I have a thing for stylish dudes so don't me started.) Overall, I just like the way how they complented and value each other. 

And we have Tania. She is an amazing person (and cook, too!). She might get messed up sometimes but she can find a way to sort it out. Also, in the end, I love how she took the risk to follow her heart. She is really a keeper. 

This book deserves 4

[LouD · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a cute read with a serious undercurrent. It was about 3 sisters who travel from New Jersey to see their mother who left them in Oakland Ca. Come to find out that their mom was heavy involved with the black panther movement and not a very considerate host. By the end of the book she is a tad nicer to the girls, but mostly just plays a background role. The story is narrated in the voice of Delphine the oldest sister. Some of the activities I came up with for this book are:
- Topics: Civil Rights, Freedom of Speech, Protests, Missing parents, Parents in Jail, Black panthers.
-Journal topics on those listed above as they are encountered in the book.
-Hold a civil rights rally in your school similar to the black panther one. The classes could recite poetry, sing songs, and the like.
-Write poetry, could tie into a SS ELAR unit. I know I loved little Ferns poem: how could you tie in an important fact of something you witnessed into poetry. ( I wanted to cheer for her)
-Tie into an in depth study of civil rights movement and all of the key players.
-Take a virtual field trip to San Fransisco.
- Have the kids look at travel brochures for San Fran and pick out where they would go if they had a day like the three girls. Where would they eat, how much money do you think you would need.
Watch a video on Hippie culture in San Francisco and tie to Vietnam War- as they had an uncle there.
- Compare Contrast the Black Panther day camp that the girls went to to say a modern summer day camp that our students would go to. How are they the same/ different.

[Vanessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty captivating read. Delphine is 11 years old. Her mother Cecile abandoned her, Vonetta, and Fern when Delphine was 4 years old. Delphine always takes care of her sisters. The three sisters go to stay with Cecile in the summer in Oakland, CA where she ignores them. She won’t cook for them and won’t let them in the kitchen, so they have to resort to Chinese takeout. Cecile also never explains to the girls who the people are that visit her (the Black Panthers). Cecile sends the three girls to a summer camp, sponsored by the Black Panthers, where they realize a major aspect of life that they did not see before. They develop a better relationship with Cecile and Delphine being the oldest has conversations with Cecile which helps her understand why her life is the way it is. Themes of this book are family (sisterhood and motherhood) along with race, prejudice, culture, and perspective. The biggest part of this book that I noticed was the reality the girls were so oblivious to. The mother believes so strongly in her culture and race that she is involved with the black panthers which is a huge part of history. This can be taught during black history month if there is no other proper time, but more seriously it should be used in history classes.

Williams-Garcia, R. (2010). One crazy summer (1st ed.). New York: Amistad.

[Jay Tria · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's been a while since I've read YA romance, so the torrent of feels and wide-eyed kilig I got from this book was a sweet, delicious rush that I've missed. Tania had me from her first mishap in the kitchen. She was feisty, plucky, but at the same time earnest and kind, and vulnerable in a way that made her endearing and--cliche as the word may sound--relatable. Although quite young, she knows what she's good at and what wants to do in life. But at the same time she had her own niggling moments of doubt, and that made me root for her even more. I loved Rob, that cute, sweet, awful little flirt. I loved Mateo, but it was the sort of love that grew on me and surprised me. Because he smoked and he teased Tania so (but mostly because he was a smoker). I loved Rob and Mateo's friendship, and I loved Nat's BFF Bobbi too, since we're talking about the posse. I loved when the story moved from the city to Silay, and it was written so well that I felt like I was there. Also I'll never listen to Bohemian Rhapsody the same way after this book. And if that alone made you curious, that should be enough for you to read this book too.

[Niña Magsael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review at https://ninireadspng.wordpress.com/20...

THOUGHTS: THERE WAS SO MUCH ‘KILIG‘ IN THIS LITTLE BOOK. It was light read with very familiar elements. The characters were very precise and adorable.What I didn’t like so much was Tania being scared about achieving what she really wants. I mean it’s super obvious she wants to be a chef. Come on, Tania! I expected a love triangle but I was deceived. Rob and Tania’s ‘almost’ love story ended as quickly as it started (like where is the thrill?). I just loved how this book was laid out so short but it didn’t feel rushed or anything. The story and plot wasn’t anything out of the ordinary but I honestly enjoyed it. I loved when the story moved from the city to Silay, and it was written so well that I felt like I was there.The author’s writing style was fluid and fluent. Overall, it’s a cute and interesting read!

[Blesie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me just one day to finish these book, I didn't even notice while we were waiting at the hospital for my brother's check up in the eyes.. but anyway I sooooo love these book.. especially the ending part :D.. I almost think that me and Taina are almost the same.. we both love to bake, a nice boyfriend (in the end to love us for who we are).. and some others things.. hehehe :P

[Jhec · Rating 5 out of 5]

I totally relate to the story. Each chapter is fun and exciting to read. I hope for the sequel (if possible). The last 4 chapters of this book made me squeal. Mateo is so sweet in this story. I think I've fallen for him. lol. I really love the story that I want to read it over and over again. Good job! :)

[Jennifer Redmile · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this 'feel good' love story by Ines Bautsita-Yao. The story is set in the Philippines, with a few native words that fit the story without confusing the reader. I found the idea of adding the various recipes along the way as Tania cooked was a novel and nice touch.
The book is well written and a pleasure to read.

[Likka Garcia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely a summer read. It gets you so hooked up by the idea of having a crazy, last minute vacation at some place so alien to you. This book will surely be a hit for readers who love outdoors, baking, and of course finding where your heart truly belongs.

[Fay · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a light read, and I find myself smiling all-over. Given that a Filipina wrote this book, she knew how to catch the attention of her readers; she knew how Filipinos would react to the scenes and how to make them "kilig." I like this book.

[Kathleen May]

I love how she had placed the recipes in the story, makes me want to crave for more.

[kath · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read my review about this book here: https://mariakathrinetan.wordpress.co... ♥

[Jillanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

One Crazy Summer
http://t.co/kFNLNMf

[Paolo Binasbas]

I Think the story is all about summer holiday :))

[Nadiyah Alanazi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this lovely story. It is about summer holiday. Teacher can use this book for different strategies. For example, she can ask students to make a short summer holiday story.

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read it and liked it.

[Cath Stackhouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet teenage read! Not life-changing but it still is a fun one.

[Nica · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO KILIIIIG <3 Might write my review soon :)

[Phoebe · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's so great! Unlike other books, it never fails to excite me I honestly love it. But I honestly I felt like I Rob would be better for her but he already has a girlfriend sadly. Though Mateo is already good.

[Shizuru · Rating 5 out of 5]

Its AWESOME!!! :DDD

[Erin Bondoc · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really amazing :)
You will really wish for a summer romance <3

[Aaliyah]

Good