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This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki
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Kathy
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Aug 01, 2014 01:41PM
Booklist says "...the Tamakis capture the struggle of growing up in a patchwork of summer moments that lead to a conclusion notably absent of lessons. Wistful, touching, and perfectly bittersweet."
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The artwork in this book is certainly beautiful, which is what enticed me to read this book in the first place. The story is somewhat quirky, and the conflict with Rose's mother seems out of place with its YA designation. In the end, I don't know if the positives of this book outweigh the issues I have with it. I don't see this book on my short list for the Printz this year.
Having read and loved Emiko Superstar, I was really looking forward to This One Summer. Unfortunately, it just felt really forced to me, and did not have the same charm and vulnerability Emiko did. I would love to see a graphic novel take a major ALA award, but this isn't the book to do it. (I was really rooting for Smile several years back).P.S. I think this author is Canadian. Is she still eligible for the Printz?
Jenni- Yes, for the Printz award, the author does not need to be American, unlike the Newbery.I think this book is a contender because it's a really great slice-of-life, coming-of-age story with dynamic characters. For my personal taste, some parts were a bit slow, but overall I really enjoyed it. LOVE the art!
I thought this was fantastic - perfectly capturing that just-becoming-a-teen feeling, and the way friends aren't always ready for the same things at the same time. I thought the plotline with the mother added nice weight to the story, and I thought all the family dynamics rang true.
I liked THIS ONE SUMMER well enough, but it is hard to figure out the audience for it. It's too mature in content and tone for middle-graders, but has main characters so young in appearance and outlook that a high schooler wouldn't be caught dead with it. (As my colleague commented, what teenager would be nostalgic for such a fraught period of her life and interested in reading such a dour presentation of it?)Reading it as an adult, I finished it thinking this would make a wonderful New Yorker story (except the ending is too tidy).
I had really complex feelings about the ending of this book. On the one hand I agree that it felt too "tidy" but on the other hand I love the last few pages (with the ticking of the clock) that really seem to sum up the slice of life feel of the whole thing. I agree that the content is more YA than middle grade, but I'm not sure teens would shy away from it.
I go back and forth on this one. I appreciated the art but didn't really connect with the story the first time I read it. I kept thinking about it after I finished it, though, and went back through a second time. I think a lot of the story is between the panels; there are a lot of meaningful, dialogue-free sections that are easy to skim over but are expertly done. I found the book to be a bit staid, but it really uses the graphic storytelling format well.
Caldecott Honor??? still scratching my head on that...really for an older audience, does any library have this as a J?
Weird that it got Caldecott and Printz Honor titles. Can that be said of any other book?
Sarah wrote: "Caldecott Honor??? still scratching my head on that...really for an older audience, does any library have this as a J?"I'm scratching my head over the whole Caldecott list myself....
Sarah wrote: "Caldecott Honor??? still scratching my head on that...really for an older audience, does any library have this as a J?"Caldecott goes up through and including age 14, and I think THIS ONE SUMMER is definitely appealing to 13 & 14 year olds. And that would still put it in the teen section.
I think This One Summer is perfect for 12 & up, which makes it just as eligible for the Caldecott as a book for 3 year olds. But I think it's definitely the first time there's been overlap between the two awards - I love it!
The overlap came close with 'The Invention of Hugo Cabret,' it won a 2008 Caldecott Medal and the same year was a National Book Award Honor title and an ALA Best Book for Young Adults.
