This One Summer

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Two kids share a summer of moments at a lake house in Awago Beach. A yearly pastime that the family shares together. With each passing day, the pair discovers more adventures and become more aware of the fuming adult conflicts around them.

This book is a collection of smooth and quiet moments. For me when reading, not all moments have to jump off the page at you. Life isn't like that, and neither should writing about life be. It is highs and lows, of which the author has written about so well. Also, Tamaki has walked a very delicate line, she has created a book that can easily be viewed from both sides of childhood divider. Kids and teenagers can read this book and relate to the moments that Windy and Rose experience throughout a Summer: Scary movies, talking about boys, walking home at night through the scary dark, and swimming in the lake. All these moments are quintessential parts of a summer childhood experience. However, simmering in the background are very adult-like issues such as pregnancy, inability to conceive, marriage dynamics, peer dynamics, anxiety, and depression. These issues touch Windy and Rose, and they react to them with a burgeoning adult understanding. Adults can read this story and read about these adult moments from a different lens and think back to what it would have been like to be at the age on the cusp of becoming an adult. It is very well written.

Graphically this book is beautiful. The characters are rendered with care and finesse, each panel delivering just enough information to show us a scene without falling into the trap of telling the reader everything.

This is a worthy award winner and should definitely be checked out. Wholeheartedly recommend.