Graphically speaking… This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki, a Review

"Awago beach is this place… my family goes every summer… Ever since… like… forever."

And if you decide to breath in the summer air there too, with Rose and Windy, you'll experience a summer you won't soon forget…

This One Summer by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki, is wonderful. It's cool breezes off the water, cottages by the beach and summer friends. It's the summer where Windy and Rose start to notice boys, their boobs, and how growing up isn't always easy…

Rose and Windy are summer friends. Every summer their families vacation at Awago beach, and they've been BFF's each summer since Rose was 5 years old. Windy is a year and a half younger, but close enough for Rose to enjoy what summer is all about with Windy.  This One Summer is a kind of coming-of-age story, where you can tell by the dialogue that the girls are starting to grow up, especially Rose. The girls notice things… they notice the Dude at the convenience store, they notice the way the older girls act (especially towards the boys), and they start to deal with some serious issues, one of which is Rose's parents constant fighting. But it's not all horror movies at night (Rose & Windy become obsessed with them), and swimming at the beach, Rose starts to react to the tensions around her, which also causes some momentary tension between her and Windy, but it all works out in the end. It's a perfect summer read, and the artwork is beautiful! Yes, this is a graphic novel! The drawings have a beautiful soft almost charcoal quality and the muted colors of black, white, grays, and almost purples make the scenes dreamy.

This story reminded me of those summers I spent with my girlfriends as a young girl. My summer BFF's. Where you had not a care in the world, you could share your most silliest secrets and every day was a new adventure. Want to recapture a bit of that? Read this book! Never read a graphic novel before? This would be a great first read! I loved this book! Rose and Windy are wonderful characters that you'll be happy you spent a bit of summer with! Memorable! And one of my favorite reads this year!