I didn’t know this was Grease-inspired when I read it, and I’m only seeing that in other reviews. I mean, it starts with a summer romance, but it feels like a reach, and I’m glad I didn’t see that parallel before I started reading this.
I loved Jasmine; she was such a surprise. I read a lot of books that portray the rich girl as snobbish and rude, and that wasn’t Jasmine at all. I loved watching her and Lara get to know each other, and get to know themselves over the summer. If there was anything I didn’t love or understand, it was Lara’s friendship with Shannon. Shannon pretty much treated Lara like a doormat and always made fun at her expense, and Lara just put up with it.
This is one of those books you pick up and don’t want to put down because the characters and storyline are super cute and addicting, and you really want things to work out for them. I loved the inclusivity; there is a character for everyone to identify with. Lara and Jasmine were both trying to find where they fit in the world. Cool for the Summer is a book I would have read when I was younger, and I’m glad to have read it now. Thank you, St. Martin’s, for sending this along!
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Cool for the Summer is available on Amazon for $10.99.
About the Book:
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?
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.
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