Reviews with content warning for Body shaming - Den sommaren

This is a character-driven coming of age story of a summer Rose spends with her family at a lake house. Her family situation is complex, with her mother suffering from depression after infertility issues, and so the story has a quiet melancholy feel as so much goes unsaid. The story is also focussed on the friendship Rose has with another younger girl, which was not without its difficulties with their age gap and long time between seeing each other. The art was evocative and effective at telling the story, but I found the story itself more sparse than I prefer and I didn't feel moved despite the emotional content. In the end I felt a little dissatisfied with the resolution when so much is left no better than before, and the character development is minimal for everyone - which is why I consider this to be a slice-of-life story. Overall, it didn't really work for me but was an enjoyable enough way to spend a few hours, and I can see why others would enjoy this more.

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fandomsandfiction's review against another edition

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challenging emotional

3.0

a stark representation of growing up and navigating your pre-teen/early teen years.
the illustrations are gorgeous.

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some_things_cosmic's review against another edition

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4.0

the first time i read this book i was 13 or 14 years old. i understood what was happening in the book but i didn’t understand the true meaning of the book. i didn’t understand why this particular summer was so important. this book is SO raw and honest, to the point where it is physically uncomfortable to read - but that’s the point. it’s a totally unfiltered meditation on how young people see the world. i think the biggest thing i took away from the book is how important it is for adults to communicate with teens, and to do so honestly.

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travelseatsreads's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

For a graphic novel to work both the narrative and the graphics need to marry and compliment each under and unfortunately in This One Summer the stunning graphics grossly outshone the narrative.

The story unfortunately fell completely flat and left me with with an overwhelming 'meh' feeling by the end. Rather than there being a lack of plotting, the plotting just stopped dead without any sense of growth or closure being found. The coming of age concept married with the summer of firsts should have been fun and engrossing with some lessons learnt however it was full of slut shaming and a character that seemed to overflow with an unexplained meanness. I feel the last line, when Rose is thinking to what could be in her future, pretty much summed up the sincerity of the story "maybe I will have massive boobs. Boobs would be cool."

It pained me to write such a negative view because the artwork is absolutely beautiful. The palette is a one of hazy lavender blue hues which at times feel dream-like or like a distant recalled memory. The tones very much matched the floating sense of melancholy throughout the book and the different page layouts from comic style squares to splash pages really kept the book moving. Each character is very much drawn as a distinct individual and there a lots of tiny details to keep you lingering on each page. There were so many gorgeous pages that, if I had owned the book, I would have ripped out to display.

Would I recommend it? If you want some stunning art work to look at and even possibly cut out and keep yes! If you want a meaningful coming of age story with growth then definitely no.

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eliasiexil's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

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bexdorothy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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