Summer People

by Sara Hosey

Christmas thought her ADHD was a liability. Turns out, it is a superpower. Seventeen-year-old Christmas Miller is looking forward to a summer of sunbathing and waterskiing at her home in Sweet Lake with Lexi, the one friend who gets her completely, ADHD and all. But the day of Lexi's arrival, the girls have an almost-argument and worse, that night, they discover another friend, Lemy, floating face down in the lake. Though reeling from her rift with Lexi, Christmas is determined to find out who attacked Lemy, even if it means she must confront her own mother’s possible involvement in the crime. Christmas would do anything to protect her beloved Sweet Lake community, but when the lake becomes polluted and people around her start getting hurt, Christmas must face the profound problems in Sweet Lake―and in her own family.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller, Mystery Thriller

288 pages, Hardcover

Published May 1, 2023

About the author

Sara Hosey's debut novel, IPHIGENIA MURPHY, about a runaway who starts a new life in a wooded city park, has been called "gritty and unflinching" and named an audible buzzworthy listen. Kirkus Reviews calls her latest YA novel, SUMMER PEOPLE, "a timely mystery exploring multiple complex themes."

Sara's debut short story collection, DIRTY SUBURBIA, traces the experiences of girls and women living in a world that often hates them.

Reviews

[Naomi]

I’m not gonna lie, I’m REALLY confused on how I feel. The first, like, quarter of this book I was so sure this would be five stars. The premise’s build up at the beginning was SO good, I loved Christmas and the conflict that was erupting and I was just overall here for it. I LOVED Rory so much, and Lexi, despite everything. But after a while, I just feel… taken out of it? Like, there feels like there’s some focus on the mystery but not? Especially during the third act, I didn’t feel immersed in the story much, just felt like I was simply reading words. It just didn’t make much sense??

I liked it, but I think from the beginning, the story couldn’t been just so much more. Granted, I am reading the ARC, so maybe it’s different in the official published copy, but I don’t know if the ending will change much. I honestly think this book should’ve been about 100 pages longer, so it could be fully fleshed out more.

I was so ready to love this book, but now I’m just conflicted on how I’ll rate it. So for now, it’s TBD.

Edit: However, one thing that I applaud this book for doing was how it touched ADHD/Neurodivergent traits in women. VERY well done. It never felt like to me just some passing trait to make Chrissy seem more interesting, it was fully a part of the story and how she acted.

[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This YA summer romance slash mystery slash family drama blew me away! The ADHD/Autism rep in this book is some of the best I've read. Sooo relatable and authentic, Christmas is one of my new fav neurodiverse characters!!

Set on a New England island where the divides between the locals and the 'summer people' are stark, life gets thrown into turmoil when one of their own is beaten and left in a coma and the lake starts becoming polluted. Christmas takes it upon herself to investigate what happened to her friend and why the algae is suddenly getting out of control.

At times emotionally heavy, this book deals with alcohol addiction in a parent, homophobia, gentrification, consent and more but also has a sweet romance between Christmas and summer person, Rory, a boy dealing with his own parental pressures and expectations about his future.

Great on audio and highly recommended for fans of books like Tilly in technicolor by Mazey Eddings or Something more by Jackie Khalilieh.

[Patty (IheartYA311) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was on my TBR for a long time, and the premise sounds intriguing. The story was OK, the writing was mediocre but the story was not memorable.

[Razzle Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

📚ARC REVIEW📚

Summer People by Sara Hosey

Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Spice level: 0/3
Genres: YA, mystery
Tropes: small town, “perfect family”, coming of age, mental health and addiction, close to the story

Seventeen year old Christmas is looking forward to a fun summer with her best friend at her home on Sweet Lake. However, the night after a tense community meeting involving accusations about the cause of the algae outbreak in the lake, they find the body of Christmas’s friend floating face down in the lake.

While trying to uncover the source of the algae and who hurt her friend, Christmas begins to see that she may have been oblivious to both the narrow-mindedness of the townspeople as well as some of the more shady things going on in the town.

This book is a captivating mix of a YA/coming-of-age story of a girl who is struggling with typical teen drama and a thrilling mystery about a town with secrets that go all the way to the top.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I really enjoyed this book. I love when mysteries and thrillers start with everything seeming perfect on the surface (like the people, the families, the town, etc.) and details are slowly revealed that show how wrong that is. This book really hit on that, with a lot of the townspeople being pretty opposite to what is originally assumed about them.

The dynamic of Christmas being the one to try to figure out the mystery was also super interesting; being only 17, she had a lot of people who didn’t want to talk to her (or saw her as a child) which added hurdles to finding the answers.

Christmas definitely had a “rose colored glasses” type of view of her town, and through the book the process of her growing up causes the glasses to come off.

My only qualm is that this book focused a lot on Christmas’s ADHD and her struggle with symptoms; which is fine, and not what I had an issue with. The amount that her and a couple other characters monologued about ADHD felt excessive. There were at least 5 or 6 spots where the character was discussing it in length, and it felt almost like how at the end of kids shows they have a segment with “lessons learned” or “moral of the story”. It felt a bit forced and inorganic in almost all of the spots.

I will also mention that although the plot and the mystery itself was very captivating, this was definitely still a YA novel. The drama Christmas has with her friends and parents as well her inner dialogue about liking boys felt very juvenile and on brand for a teen. That being said, this would definitely make a great read for anyone in that age range who enjoys mysteries.

Thank you to CamCat Books and Storygram Tours for a copy of this ✨

[Kara Kunselman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had the pleasure of reading an ARC of Summer People, thanks to Sara Hosey, and I'm so happy I did! This was a wonderfully written story full of twists and turns to keep you guessing, but also touching on real-life issues that some people deal with every day. A story of a girl named Christmas who is not only dealing with freshly graduating and figuring out her next steps in life, but also dealing with the realization that things are changing around her. She's lived in her small town since she was 10 years old, before that her family was considered "summer people", or people who only visit during the summer months. Determined to prove that her small town isn't as bad as summer people say, certain circumstances make it difficult for her to keep that theory alive. Filled with secrets, lies, twists and turns, realizations, and growth, this book keeps you on your toes and never expecting what comes next. I truly enjoyed this story and was not expecting it to turn out as it did. It's filled with all of the right things to keep you hooked and wanting more.

[Maddie T · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. My favorite part other than the
plot from this book was the discussion of ADHD. This book
provided me with more of an understanding on ADHD. I
have some loved ones that have been diagnosed with
ADHD, and I feel like I now have more of an understanding
for them. I also realized that ADHD has many symptoms,
and it has honestly made me wonder whether or not I may
have it, and whether I should be tested soon for it. I loved
the characters as well. I loved Christmas, I thought that
was such a unique name and that she was born on
Christmas. I also liked how Christmas was so passionate
about the environment and how she wanted to help the
ecology of the lake. The plot was really well written. I
thought it was going to go a different route, but overall it
had a satisfying ending. Overall, if you like a great mystery
book that discusses real world problems from mental
health to environmental ecology, then you need to pick this
up.

[Jennifer McGill-Sadera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like many adults, every now and then I like to read YA. The emotions in young people are so raw and real. This book delves into those emotions by highlighting the toll challenging family life takes on main character Christmas Miller. Add in the pressures of coping with ADHD, a lifelong friendship waning, difficult peers, and a town whose lifeblood--the lake at the center of their community--is draining, and you've got a recipe for disaster.

How Christmas deals with this bubbling brew of troubles without the whole mess blowing up in her face is intriguing. The author deftly deals with each individual issue by maintaining a strong conviction within Christmas about right versus wrong. This conviction is her superpower.

Hosey tackles many of the problems today's teens face with compassion and insight without sacrificing pacing. A good read for adolescents just discovering how important it is to be active in their community, and in the own lives.

[Brady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you CamCat Books and Edelweiss for this eARC, these opinions are my own. Very enjoyable! Christmas lives in Sweet Lake on the lake. She loved the town but the lake looks worse every year. She just graduated and with summer here her best friend, Lexi, will finally be in town! She only comes for the summer and Christmas has been feeling the distance between them. Everything seems ok but then the two are fighting about Sweet Lake. They stop fighting when they hear an odd noise, they discover a body floating in the lake. Who is it? How did the end up in the lake? What is Lexi not saying? Can their friendship last? A mystery that had me guessing! The depictions of ADHD were well done. I enjoyed Christmas and Lexi’s relationship! I liked Christmas connection to her down and how she was environmental friendly! I like how that fit into the larger mystery! Excited to read this one again!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Difficult to rate. I read this because it features a protagonist with ADHD (which the author has). This is marketed as YA, but I think most high schoolers would find this too young. On the other hand, much of the non-ADHD subject matter might be too mature for an eleven-year-old.
As an adult, I found the ADHD information comprehensive, but the overall arc of the story was somewhat scattered and diffuse. I think the author tried to include too many themes and tropes. Because of this, there were quite a few important topics that were mentioned, but not fully, or even partially explored. I applaud the author for including difficult information, I just think that if she had gone into more detail, it would have been more beneficial for young readers.

[Jadyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summer People by Sara Hosey was to me a relatable (because of ADHD) and well-written story that deals with important issues such as addiction, and disabilities. While it can be emotionally heavy at times, the novel also features a sweet romance between Christmas and Rory. Hosey's writing is honest and engaging, and she creates characters that readers can root for. Overall, Summer People is a well-written and thought-provoking novel that is sure to stay with readers long after they finish it.

[Nash! · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that this book had an incredible attention to detail when it came to the narration of a person with ADHD. I think that’s why I Was able to finish it as fast as I did and was able to get as much from it as I did. Well, some parts of the story are out of nowhere toward the end, I still think it was a pretty good book altogether when it came to the mystery and accountability of being a good friend aspects.

[Leslie Popp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed watching Christmas evolve throughout the book, gaining confidence in herself and learning to handle stressful situations. The story gives us a peek into Christmas' challenges with her ADHD, the complexity of living with a parent with alcoholism, and the delicate balance of friendships.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book to potentially review for The Strand magazine. Overall I liked the book so when I write the review I'll post a link to it should whenever the magazine accepts and prints it and/or puts it on the website.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a partner read to A Long Stretch of Bad Days if you want to explore "A+ Parenting."

[Michelle m · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just couldn't get into this book and took therefore took me awhile to get through it.

[Nan · Rating 2 out of 5]

One last quick read for the summer genre.

[Rowan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun YA mystery with engaging characters. The only thing that was a minor annoyance was the protagonist being named Christmas. It's cheesy.

[Kylie Ewing · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️
Easy read! Started off kind of slow, but mystery unfolded and had me hooked.

[Lisa Castecka | lisawiththegoodbooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I connected with Sara Hosey on Instagram when I featured her book, Imagining Elsewhere, in a post. She graciously sent me a signed copy of Summer People to review.

I really enjoyed this story! I liked the friendship between Lexi and Christmas/Chrissy, as well as the accurate depiction of a character with ADHD. It was refreshing to see ADHD represented in a different way. It was definitely realistic seeing as how I used to be a teacher and we saw this often.

The story had a few small twists that were a bit predictable because the book is YA. Overall, a good story! I recommend reading it when it comes out on August 8! Thank you to @sarahoseyauthor for my ARC.

Read this if you like:
☀️ Young adult fiction
☀️ ADHD representation
☀️ Strong friendships
☀️ Small town vibes
☀️ Hanging out at the lake

Check out more book recs and reviews on Instagram // @lisawiththegoodbooks

[Courtney Floyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mystery in this book is present but takes a backseat to the protagonist's personal issues. Despite this, the book never feels bogged down by difficult topics, even while dealing with homophobia, learning disorders, and unwanted advances. The writing is not the best, but the story and characters are compelling.

Thank you to the publisher for a digital audiobook copy.