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The Summer of Us
A swoon-worthy story about five best friends on a whirlwind trip through Europe, perfect for fans of Jenny Han, Stephanie Perkins, and Jennifer E. Smith!
American expat Aubrey has only two weeks left in Europe before she leaves for college, and she's nowhere near ready. Good thing she and her best friend, Rae, have planned one last group trip across the continent. From Paris to Prague, they're going to explore famous museums, sip champagne in fancy restaurants, and eat as many croissants as possible with their friends Clara, Jonah, and Gabe.
But when old secrets come to light, Aubrey and Rae's trip goes from a carefree adventure to a complete disaster. For starters, there's Aubrey and Gabe's unresolved history, complicated by the fact that Aubrey is dating Jonah, Gabe's best friend. And then there's Rae's hopeless crush on the effortlessly cool Clara. How is Rae supposed to admit her feelings to someone so perfect when they're moving to different sides of the world in just a few weeks?
Author Cecilia Vinesse delivers a romantic European adventure that embraces the magic of warm summer nights, the thrill of first kisses, and the bittersweet ache of learning to say goodbye to the past while embracing the future.
American expat Aubrey has only two weeks left in Europe before she leaves for college, and she's nowhere near ready. Good thing she and her best friend, Rae, have planned one last group trip across the continent. From Paris to Prague, they're going to explore famous museums, sip champagne in fancy restaurants, and eat as many croissants as possible with their friends Clara, Jonah, and Gabe.
But when old secrets come to light, Aubrey and Rae's trip goes from a carefree adventure to a complete disaster. For starters, there's Aubrey and Gabe's unresolved history, complicated by the fact that Aubrey is dating Jonah, Gabe's best friend. And then there's Rae's hopeless crush on the effortlessly cool Clara. How is Rae supposed to admit her feelings to someone so perfect when they're moving to different sides of the world in just a few weeks?
Author Cecilia Vinesse delivers a romantic European adventure that embraces the magic of warm summer nights, the thrill of first kisses, and the bittersweet ache of learning to say goodbye to the past while embracing the future.
314 pages, Paperback
First published June 5, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 222 reviews
November 27, 2018
Outside the window, the gray and brown buildings of London started disappearing behind them. Like a sped-up movie reel. Like the world on fast-forward.
I need someone to explain to me why I feel so happy about this ending even though I knew exactly what was going to happen.
I flew through this book and loved the fact that the story revolves around a group of friends. Each of them had very different personalities, different problems, and each character added more clarity to the story. The book shifts between Aubrey and Rae, who are best friends, and the fact that they are such different people allows the reader to see the story through two perspectives which in turn lets us see any situation or argument through two views which I
loved.
Aubrey and Rae planned their dream trip in middle school and now, two weeks before they all leaves for college, they’re finally going to do it. When they decided to go for it, the 5 friends never expected for their very friendship to come into question. I was very aware of what was going to happen because the author wrote most of the book in a pretty open and obvious way but watching the story play out, regardless of the fact that I expected what was going to happen, was very exciting.
The book follows Aubrey, Rae, Clara, Gabe and Jonah. Aubrey and Jonah are currently dating, but Gabe, Jonah’s best friend may have kissed Aubrey a few weeks ago and they’re awkwardly avoiding each other. And Aubrey may or may not have had a crush on Gabe a few years ago. Rae has been in love with Carla for quite a while now, but she doesn’t want to risk it ruining their friendship so she keeps it under wraps. Aubrey wants a future with Jonah but he might not feel the same way, and they seem to be growing apart.
I loved the feeling of familiarity between these characters and I would like to know more about their childhood but what they do tell us is adorable. Since Rae is a feminist, there is a lot of comments and jokes that support this which makes me very happy. Aubrey is definitely a little uptight and paranoid but that did not spoil the book or bring it down, it just brought out the contrast between their characters.
This was a funny, heartwarming, loving story among friends and their unexpected, spontaneous, yet slightly planned journey before they head of to college. I enjoyed this story extremely and give it 4 stars.
I need someone to explain to me why I feel so happy about this ending even though I knew exactly what was going to happen.
I flew through this book and loved the fact that the story revolves around a group of friends. Each of them had very different personalities, different problems, and each character added more clarity to the story. The book shifts between Aubrey and Rae, who are best friends, and the fact that they are such different people allows the reader to see the story through two perspectives which in turn lets us see any situation or argument through two views which I
loved.
Aubrey and Rae planned their dream trip in middle school and now, two weeks before they all leaves for college, they’re finally going to do it. When they decided to go for it, the 5 friends never expected for their very friendship to come into question. I was very aware of what was going to happen because the author wrote most of the book in a pretty open and obvious way but watching the story play out, regardless of the fact that I expected what was going to happen, was very exciting.
The book follows Aubrey, Rae, Clara, Gabe and Jonah. Aubrey and Jonah are currently dating, but Gabe, Jonah’s best friend may have kissed Aubrey a few weeks ago and they’re awkwardly avoiding each other. And Aubrey may or may not have had a crush on Gabe a few years ago. Rae has been in love with Carla for quite a while now, but she doesn’t want to risk it ruining their friendship so she keeps it under wraps. Aubrey wants a future with Jonah but he might not feel the same way, and they seem to be growing apart.
I loved the feeling of familiarity between these characters and I would like to know more about their childhood but what they do tell us is adorable. Since Rae is a feminist, there is a lot of comments and jokes that support this which makes me very happy. Aubrey is definitely a little uptight and paranoid but that did not spoil the book or bring it down, it just brought out the contrast between their characters.
This was a funny, heartwarming, loving story among friends and their unexpected, spontaneous, yet slightly planned journey before they head of to college. I enjoyed this story extremely and give it 4 stars.
September 9, 2018
This book is like a train ride. As in, you start at the beginning, and you’re introduced to these characters and their histories and you’re sort of overwhelmed with everything (just how you feel when you’re on a platform, getting on the train). Then you’re on the journey itself, and you see their paths unravel in front of you like you’re watching roads/trees/ towns pass by in the window. And you can’t do anything about the way the train just passes them by, so all you can really do is sit back and enjoy the ride. And this? This was a good train ride.
it was hard to believe that outside, the world was moving as fast as it could. But in here—for now, at least—they were holding still.
I *love* the characters - I think they were all written so well. Like, they talked like actual teenagers. I liked that each of them had their own mannerisms, and they all clicked, and it was so fun to read from. When you go into a summer contemporary talking about romance, you kind of expect these milestones of “Girl likes boy. Boy likes girl. They kiss at some point.” Etc. but I realized in the middle that this was a book about friendship, more than anything else. And I love books about friends.
”Can we stay here?” She held on to him as if he were the only thing keeping her in place. The only thing that could stop her from falling. “I want to stay here a bit longer.”
It’s about the way you feel these unseen cords connecting you and your friends pulled taut when you’re all leaving each other to college at the end of summer. It’s about realizing that you can keep holding onto each other. How you can feel different but the same all at the same time. I really enjoyed the friendships. My one compliant is that the relationship drama got a bit too much sometimes - which is fair, but it just got repetitive and tiring.
I’m kind of attached to Aubrey, but I think I could’ve 100% loved this if this was just Rae and Clara’s story. UGH. RAE WAS SO GOOD. I loved her and how shy sweet she was with her love and I love gay girls so much oh my god. They deserve ALL the love in the world. But I think Aubrey is a nice balance to have, and she’s not annoying despite the whole love triangle stuff, so that was good.
She lowered her head and saw Clara leaning against a wall by the Eurostar check-in. And that’s when Rae’s heart—and her lungs and probably everything else inside her—started to collapse. For a moment, the station quieter. Even the air in her chest went still.
I also wish we got more of Europe. There was a lot more descriptions of the places in Paris, I think. In Prague, they mention one location, and it’s mostly description of the photos Rae is taking. I just want more of Europe, okay. I don’t mean like, travel journal, but still. They went to Rome and it just felt like a backdrop for them to hang out rather than oh my god, it’s ROME. You know? Yeah. I might be biased because I just really love Europe.
I definitely think this is the best European travel summer book I’ve read so far. The friendships were sweet and funny and heartwarming and it’s just a good book.
When Aubrey thought about the trip, she imagined her whole life expanding. She imagined moving beyond the walls of her tiny room in London and beyond high school and beyond everything that had seemed so important when she was a kid. She saw herself on a train, watching the world become a rush of color outside her window. Feeling like everything she’d been waiting for was about to begin. But that didn’t mean she was ready.
it was hard to believe that outside, the world was moving as fast as it could. But in here—for now, at least—they were holding still.
I *love* the characters - I think they were all written so well. Like, they talked like actual teenagers. I liked that each of them had their own mannerisms, and they all clicked, and it was so fun to read from. When you go into a summer contemporary talking about romance, you kind of expect these milestones of “Girl likes boy. Boy likes girl. They kiss at some point.” Etc. but I realized in the middle that this was a book about friendship, more than anything else. And I love books about friends.
”Can we stay here?” She held on to him as if he were the only thing keeping her in place. The only thing that could stop her from falling. “I want to stay here a bit longer.”
It’s about the way you feel these unseen cords connecting you and your friends pulled taut when you’re all leaving each other to college at the end of summer. It’s about realizing that you can keep holding onto each other. How you can feel different but the same all at the same time. I really enjoyed the friendships. My one compliant is that the relationship drama got a bit too much sometimes - which is fair, but it just got repetitive and tiring.
I’m kind of attached to Aubrey, but I think I could’ve 100% loved this if this was just Rae and Clara’s story. UGH. RAE WAS SO GOOD. I loved her and how shy sweet she was with her love and I love gay girls so much oh my god. They deserve ALL the love in the world. But I think Aubrey is a nice balance to have, and she’s not annoying despite the whole love triangle stuff, so that was good.
She lowered her head and saw Clara leaning against a wall by the Eurostar check-in. And that’s when Rae’s heart—and her lungs and probably everything else inside her—started to collapse. For a moment, the station quieter. Even the air in her chest went still.
I also wish we got more of Europe. There was a lot more descriptions of the places in Paris, I think. In Prague, they mention one location, and it’s mostly description of the photos Rae is taking. I just want more of Europe, okay. I don’t mean like, travel journal, but still. They went to Rome and it just felt like a backdrop for them to hang out rather than oh my god, it’s ROME. You know? Yeah. I might be biased because I just really love Europe.
I definitely think this is the best European travel summer book I’ve read so far. The friendships were sweet and funny and heartwarming and it’s just a good book.
When Aubrey thought about the trip, she imagined her whole life expanding. She imagined moving beyond the walls of her tiny room in London and beyond high school and beyond everything that had seemed so important when she was a kid. She saw herself on a train, watching the world become a rush of color outside her window. Feeling like everything she’d been waiting for was about to begin. But that didn’t mean she was ready.
November 18, 2018
Any book that has a plot even remotely similar to ANY element of the 2011 Selena Gomez movie 'Monte Carlo', I'm going to read, no question.
September 5, 2018
4.5 stars! v cute and exactly what i needed 💕
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apparently this is a sapphic travel romance??? sign me the fuck up
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apparently this is a sapphic travel romance??? sign me the fuck up
Read
April 29, 2018This is not for people who are like "OMG the characters were so dramaaaaatic," but as I have no problem with that, I thought this book was lots of fun. Chemistry, travel, and gayness - I'm here for it.
April 1, 2020
A lovely story of growing up, growing apart and the discovery that those things don’t necessarily mean leaving everything behind.
Although this didn’t entirely meet my expectations, the brilliant European/train setting, adorable f/f romance and exploration of friendship, made this an overall enjoyable read.
Although this didn’t entirely meet my expectations, the brilliant European/train setting, adorable f/f romance and exploration of friendship, made this an overall enjoyable read.
January 6, 2019
An alternate blurb: "Miscommunication! Shallow and self centered characters! Jealousy! Plot that makes no sense at all!"
The Good Stuff: Sapphic best friends to lovers, Prague, "Rae came to prom alone because her date was the patriarchy and she killed it"
The Good Stuff: Sapphic best friends to lovers, Prague, "Rae came to prom alone because her date was the patriarchy and she killed it"
June 19, 2019
Look I was here for the gay, and I was annoyed by the amount of straight angst I had to suffer through.
Okay but actually being serious - I was just expecting more. Also I was really only invested in Clara and Rae (and not just because they were the only queer characters), Jonah was bland, I had mixed feelings about Gabe, and Aubrey annoyed the hell out of me.
This was fine. It was fun enough. But it just wasn't anything special.
Okay but actually being serious - I was just expecting more. Also I was really only invested in Clara and Rae (and not just because they were the only queer characters), Jonah was bland, I had mixed feelings about Gabe, and Aubrey annoyed the hell out of me.
This was fine. It was fun enough. But it just wasn't anything special.
November 19, 2019
DON'T READ.
Wouldn't even give it 1 star because it's so bad. Only good part was when I finished because it was such a pain to get through. I forced myself to read it because otherwise I would have wasted my money.
Do not fall into the same mistake as me. Do not waste your money on this book. It is not worth it.
Terrible.
Wouldn't even give it 1 star because it's so bad. Only good part was when I finished because it was such a pain to get through. I forced myself to read it because otherwise I would have wasted my money.
Do not fall into the same mistake as me. Do not waste your money on this book. It is not worth it.
Terrible.
August 1, 2018
I really hate writing one star reviews. For the majority of this book, I felt that it could conceivably be a two-star read...until I got to this gem.
"And in the center of it all was the Duomo, a cathedral with a spherical, rust-colored top, like a sun caught in perpetual daybreak. It was pretty. But also boring."
Having recently visited the Duomo myself, I can vouch for it being anything other than boring. It's a medieval/ renaissance cathedral built in red, green and white marble, covered with frescoes, a giant dome, and doors that are more intricate than any of us could ever hope to see. I couldn't really bring myself to finish this book after that line, but I reached page 200, so I consider that a win.
And though that line was ignorant and annoying, my problems with the book began well before.
The novel centers around five friends on the brink of an uncertain future: college. I'm in this exact position now; in a little more than a month, I'll be leaving all of my friends for a new life in an unfamiliar city. I thought (key word, thought) that such an aspect would appeal to me. Anyway, the characters are taking a last-hurrah type trip around Europe, and there's supposedly drama or intrigue that will ensue. I saw the cover, read the description, and thought that there was no way I wouldn't like this.
Then I read the first chapter.
"'Aubs,' Rae said, 'this is supposed to be fun. We're young and we're free and we get to travel around Europe for, like, nearly two weeks. You get to make out with your boyfriend in five major European cities.'"
This quote captures the entire premise of the book: It's all about teenage luurrve. The settings play second-fiddle at best, but there really aren't in-depth descriptions. The descriptions all focus on Aubrey and Jonah, or Aubrey and Gabe, or Rae and Clara's distinctive relationships. There are no real surprises (at least not in the first 200 pages). None of the characters are particularly well fleshed-out, and they all feel like tropes I've seen a million times. Neurotic, organizational freak who's selfish with her best friend. Check. Douche-y boyfriend. Check. Token lesbian. Check. Broody hipster other boy. Check. Random girl with no personality who likes clothes. Check.
I'm all for diversity in literature, but believe me, Rae (the lesbian character) is only her sexuality. She has no real personality outside of Clara. I also didn't find any attempts at humor funny.
Even still, I could have overlooked dull characters if the settings had played a larger role. What I'll never understand is why the author would choose a series of exotic cities if she had no intention of really describing them. She spends more time in Paris talking about how the characters get drunk, rather than about the beauty of the city.
And of course, the whole will-they-won't-they is kind of spoiled by the fact that the Aubrey and Gabe kissed three weeks before. That's not a spoiler: the author mentions it within the first chapter or two. It's apparent that Aubrey and Jonah are not going to stay together and that she'll end up with Gabe. Rae and Clara's relationship holds a little bit more will-they-won't-they tension, but it's mediocre at best. I don't care about the characters, so I don't particularly care about their relationship either.
There are many things I could have overlooked, but the combination of things together was impossible for me to get past. I live in a small town, and I would give anything to be able to travel to five beautiful European cities, steeped with history and art and culture and delicious cuisines. I would not give anything to waste my time reading about bland characters.
"And in the center of it all was the Duomo, a cathedral with a spherical, rust-colored top, like a sun caught in perpetual daybreak. It was pretty. But also boring."
Having recently visited the Duomo myself, I can vouch for it being anything other than boring. It's a medieval/ renaissance cathedral built in red, green and white marble, covered with frescoes, a giant dome, and doors that are more intricate than any of us could ever hope to see. I couldn't really bring myself to finish this book after that line, but I reached page 200, so I consider that a win.
And though that line was ignorant and annoying, my problems with the book began well before.
The novel centers around five friends on the brink of an uncertain future: college. I'm in this exact position now; in a little more than a month, I'll be leaving all of my friends for a new life in an unfamiliar city. I thought (key word, thought) that such an aspect would appeal to me. Anyway, the characters are taking a last-hurrah type trip around Europe, and there's supposedly drama or intrigue that will ensue. I saw the cover, read the description, and thought that there was no way I wouldn't like this.
Then I read the first chapter.
"'Aubs,' Rae said, 'this is supposed to be fun. We're young and we're free and we get to travel around Europe for, like, nearly two weeks. You get to make out with your boyfriend in five major European cities.'"
This quote captures the entire premise of the book: It's all about teenage luurrve. The settings play second-fiddle at best, but there really aren't in-depth descriptions. The descriptions all focus on Aubrey and Jonah, or Aubrey and Gabe, or Rae and Clara's distinctive relationships. There are no real surprises (at least not in the first 200 pages). None of the characters are particularly well fleshed-out, and they all feel like tropes I've seen a million times. Neurotic, organizational freak who's selfish with her best friend. Check. Douche-y boyfriend. Check. Token lesbian. Check. Broody hipster other boy. Check. Random girl with no personality who likes clothes. Check.
I'm all for diversity in literature, but believe me, Rae (the lesbian character) is only her sexuality. She has no real personality outside of Clara. I also didn't find any attempts at humor funny.
Even still, I could have overlooked dull characters if the settings had played a larger role. What I'll never understand is why the author would choose a series of exotic cities if she had no intention of really describing them. She spends more time in Paris talking about how the characters get drunk, rather than about the beauty of the city.
And of course, the whole will-they-won't-they is kind of spoiled by the fact that the Aubrey and Gabe kissed three weeks before. That's not a spoiler: the author mentions it within the first chapter or two. It's apparent that Aubrey and Jonah are not going to stay together and that she'll end up with Gabe. Rae and Clara's relationship holds a little bit more will-they-won't-they tension, but it's mediocre at best. I don't care about the characters, so I don't particularly care about their relationship either.
There are many things I could have overlooked, but the combination of things together was impossible for me to get past. I live in a small town, and I would give anything to be able to travel to five beautiful European cities, steeped with history and art and culture and delicious cuisines. I would not give anything to waste my time reading about bland characters.
May 12, 2018
When this came in the post, I felt a little giddy. Wrapped in a crisp world map with some string, and a fake boarding pass to Prague, was The Summer of Us, a serious yet exciting debut about the changing of friendships as you get older, told during one last summer trip through Europe.
I went into this feeling excited about a contemporary on travel, not that they're hard to come by, but after just coming back from Prague and desperate go back out there again, I really felt like this book had come to my doorstep at the right time.
Changing friendships is not often talked about in YA. The strengthening of friendships, yes, the blossoming of new ones, of course. But the weakening and the ultimate separation of friendships isn't - but it's something we all experience, especially changing from one school to the next. I moved primary schools so often that I have no long lasting friendships from when I was a kid, and once I'd left for university, I found that I only stayed in contact with one person from high school. Even now, I can feel the threads breaking between university friends since graduating and coming back home.
Aubrey and Rae's friendship may have worked during high school, but the change in personality, wants and needs, is evident during their trip through Europe, and it's the real crux of the story rather than getting excited over seeing a small part of the world. Yeah, we love a travel story, I love a travel story, but I'm liking this refreshing take on the subleties of friendships, and even the downside to some.
If this were a travel story, I would hope it would have focused on it more. The characters barely leave their hotels and Air BnBs when staying in the cities and only two of them explore Rome. When they visit Paris, Amsterdam and Prague, I found that either the author didn't do too much research on the places or just didn't want the reader to be too interested in the places when we should be focusing on the characters. We were given cobbled streets and narrow alleys and 'churches' rather than names and specific places. Not really a nostalgia or even an inspirational trip for me. It could have been set anywhere.
But like I said, it's still a nice backdrop for what the characters were going through, and I especially loved Aubrey's growth into independence and realising what she wants may not be exactly what she wants, but the influence of others. And of course, an F/F pairing thrown into the mix is everything you could want in YA story.
The Summer of Us comes out in June, perfect for summer reading, but maybe not so much if you want ideas for where to travel.
I went into this feeling excited about a contemporary on travel, not that they're hard to come by, but after just coming back from Prague and desperate go back out there again, I really felt like this book had come to my doorstep at the right time.
Changing friendships is not often talked about in YA. The strengthening of friendships, yes, the blossoming of new ones, of course. But the weakening and the ultimate separation of friendships isn't - but it's something we all experience, especially changing from one school to the next. I moved primary schools so often that I have no long lasting friendships from when I was a kid, and once I'd left for university, I found that I only stayed in contact with one person from high school. Even now, I can feel the threads breaking between university friends since graduating and coming back home.
Aubrey and Rae's friendship may have worked during high school, but the change in personality, wants and needs, is evident during their trip through Europe, and it's the real crux of the story rather than getting excited over seeing a small part of the world. Yeah, we love a travel story, I love a travel story, but I'm liking this refreshing take on the subleties of friendships, and even the downside to some.
If this were a travel story, I would hope it would have focused on it more. The characters barely leave their hotels and Air BnBs when staying in the cities and only two of them explore Rome. When they visit Paris, Amsterdam and Prague, I found that either the author didn't do too much research on the places or just didn't want the reader to be too interested in the places when we should be focusing on the characters. We were given cobbled streets and narrow alleys and 'churches' rather than names and specific places. Not really a nostalgia or even an inspirational trip for me. It could have been set anywhere.
But like I said, it's still a nice backdrop for what the characters were going through, and I especially loved Aubrey's growth into independence and realising what she wants may not be exactly what she wants, but the influence of others. And of course, an F/F pairing thrown into the mix is everything you could want in YA story.
The Summer of Us comes out in June, perfect for summer reading, but maybe not so much if you want ideas for where to travel.
September 15, 2021
It's done.
Ok. Let me preface this by saying I think I would have enjoyed this more when I was a lot younger, and I know that at 25 I'm not the main demographic for this book. Why did I read it then do you ask? I'd seen a good review of it, and thought the synopsis sounded really sweet. And I was in the mood for something fun and light that might remind me of my own trips away with friends to some of the same places, in a time when we all want to get away. So...
There were sweet moments and a few lines that Got Me. But I couldn't get past the rest. This book should be called 'Week of Infuriation.' I couldn't tell which characters I was more annoyed by. I was somehow aggravated by the characters not taking any interest in the cities they were in, just wanting to get trashed, and ALSO the ones wanting to actually visit museums and sight see- how did they manage that? I already mentioned it, but Aubrey waking her friends up from their sleep on the train because they were missing out on the Romance of it all ????? What ??? And they used the word 'grown-ups' when they're 18....
Look. I get it. And I could see myself in some of these characters, which probably infuriated me more. As I said, it's something I probably would have loved when I was.... 12. But that's not where I'm at now.
Nothing made sense. Characters kissed and then were somehow confused that they liked that person, everything was blown out of proportion, these obviously wealthy kids seemed to think they weren't (they stayed in a 5 star hotel one night???), there were too many pop culture references, and I know they were from an International School and I have little knowledge on them but WHY were they all American? Why not just set it in America instead of having them be in London, especially since they only ever seemed to refer to their childhoods back in America? And HOW are they ALL going to uni in different countries??? Again, this is something I'd probably find Really Cool when I was younger, but.... yeah.
Anyway. There were sweet parts. It was nice. I should have read it 13 years ago.
Ok. Let me preface this by saying I think I would have enjoyed this more when I was a lot younger, and I know that at 25 I'm not the main demographic for this book. Why did I read it then do you ask? I'd seen a good review of it, and thought the synopsis sounded really sweet. And I was in the mood for something fun and light that might remind me of my own trips away with friends to some of the same places, in a time when we all want to get away. So...
There were sweet moments and a few lines that Got Me. But I couldn't get past the rest. This book should be called 'Week of Infuriation.' I couldn't tell which characters I was more annoyed by. I was somehow aggravated by the characters not taking any interest in the cities they were in, just wanting to get trashed, and ALSO the ones wanting to actually visit museums and sight see- how did they manage that? I already mentioned it, but Aubrey waking her friends up from their sleep on the train because they were missing out on the Romance of it all ????? What ??? And they used the word 'grown-ups' when they're 18....
Look. I get it. And I could see myself in some of these characters, which probably infuriated me more. As I said, it's something I probably would have loved when I was.... 12. But that's not where I'm at now.
Nothing made sense. Characters kissed and then were somehow confused that they liked that person, everything was blown out of proportion, these obviously wealthy kids seemed to think they weren't (they stayed in a 5 star hotel one night???), there were too many pop culture references, and I know they were from an International School and I have little knowledge on them but WHY were they all American? Why not just set it in America instead of having them be in London, especially since they only ever seemed to refer to their childhoods back in America? And HOW are they ALL going to uni in different countries??? Again, this is something I'd probably find Really Cool when I was younger, but.... yeah.
Anyway. There were sweet parts. It was nice. I should have read it 13 years ago.
May 24, 2020
I filmed a video in which I read this book and 4 other YA travel novels just like this one if you'd like to check it out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnzrX5dHnvA
This book is kind of hard for me to review because I really liked some things about it, but it was also very lackluster in other aspects.
I went into it hoping to get a fun YA contemporary set in Europe, and while it is about that, the star of the show is actually the different character dynamics and all the drama that ensues.
I liked most of the characters, but my favorites were Rae and Clara. I liked how carefree and adventurous they were, but they were also very down-to-earth and not afraid to talk about the real stuff. I'm also very happy that we had f/f romance in this book!
However, I really didn't like Aubrey. Maybe it's because she reminded me of me, but she was bratty and selfish. She made everything about herself, and when people called her out on it, she wouldn't listen. She was a very frustrating narrator to follow and sometimes I just wanted to skip her chapters. However, I did really like the romance between her and her love interest. This relationship would have been perfect if it hadn't been for Aubrey (lol).
I wish we would have gotten more of the traveling and Europe, and less of the drama. There was so much drama that it felt very overdramatic at times, and I wish the author would have concentrated on the different cities that our characters visit than on what happens between them. I feel like we only got a little taste of each location, and I wanted more.
Overall, I'm a little bit disappointed. But if you like drama and want some European background, this book is great!
This book is kind of hard for me to review because I really liked some things about it, but it was also very lackluster in other aspects.
I went into it hoping to get a fun YA contemporary set in Europe, and while it is about that, the star of the show is actually the different character dynamics and all the drama that ensues.
I liked most of the characters, but my favorites were Rae and Clara. I liked how carefree and adventurous they were, but they were also very down-to-earth and not afraid to talk about the real stuff. I'm also very happy that we had f/f romance in this book!
However, I really didn't like Aubrey. Maybe it's because she reminded me of me, but she was bratty and selfish. She made everything about herself, and when people called her out on it, she wouldn't listen. She was a very frustrating narrator to follow and sometimes I just wanted to skip her chapters. However, I did really like the romance between her and her love interest. This relationship would have been perfect if it hadn't been for Aubrey (lol).
I wish we would have gotten more of the traveling and Europe, and less of the drama. There was so much drama that it felt very overdramatic at times, and I wish the author would have concentrated on the different cities that our characters visit than on what happens between them. I feel like we only got a little taste of each location, and I wanted more.
Overall, I'm a little bit disappointed. But if you like drama and want some European background, this book is great!
July 23, 2018
I’m somewhere between 3.5 and 3.75 stars on this one but for review purposes I marked it as 3. I’m not sure how memorable I would say this book is and it was frustrating at times, but I can honestly say all the characters eventually grew on me and I think Vinesse captured the fragility of that leaving-before-college mindset with Europe as the backdrop. I just want to read all the travel books. All of them.
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April 30, 2018Thank you to The NOVL for a free review copy for promotional purposes.
The Summer of Us is a whirlwind, travelogue adventure about 5 best friends and the trip that changes everything. Aubrey has always been a careful planner and a prepared student, but this European trip is testing her organizational and personal skills. Rae is spontaneous and determined to move on from high school but she’s hoping for a little summer romance with one of her friends before she starts college. Aubrey and Rae have been best friends forever and now they’re off on a group vacation but can all the friendships survive the trip?
The Summer of Us is a book about growing up. The plot focuses on lots of different relationships–friendships, parental relationships, and romances. My favorite duo was Aubrey and Rae. I loved seeing their friendship evolve throughout the story. This book really serves as a love letter to best friends and the ways they know us like no other. The Summer of Us is told from two perspectives. The book alternates between Aubrey and Rae’s points of view and each chapter picks up where the last left off. This method of storytelling successfully allows the reader to empathize with each main character and see the trip from their eyes. Both girls have very different experiences while on the trip. Both girls go into the trip expecting to have the best summer of their lives but things quickly go sour.
Vinesse so perfectly captures what it’s like to graduate high school and feel like you’re growing apart from everyone you’ve known. Both Aubrey and Rae feel like their best friend just doesn’t get them anymore. They’re both afraid of what the future has in store and are unsure of if their friendship will make it through their college years. Aubrey has always known Rae’s every thought and whim but soon they’ll be separated. Rae makes decisions without consulting Aubrey and doesn’t include her in all the parts of her life like she used to. Rae feels like Aubrey is selfish and doesn’t want to know anything about Rae’s college plans in Australia. Each girl feels misunderstood and ignored.
This book encapsulates that magical summer after graduating high school when everything feels so fragile, yet hopeful. Aubrey and Rae are both changing but don’t allow the other one any room to grow. This book’s strength lies in Vinesse’s ability to convey the complicated feelings that both friends have about leaving high school behind. You can feel Aubrey and Rae’s yearning for things to stay the same and wariness about the future throughout the book. Vinesse writes sad scenes about friendships fracturing but she also writes redeeming scenes of rediscovering why you were friends in the first place. This book is a triumphant story about loving your friends even as everything changes.
The highlight of this book was the friendship between the two main characters but it also featured some memorable romantic scenes. Vinesse definitely used the setting of a European vacation to her advantage when writing the swoony romance scenes. Aubrey finds herself in a bit of a love triangle after kissing her boyfriend’s best friend before graduating and things only get more complicated when all three of them are on vacation together. Romance fans will love the “will they, won’t they” feel of Aubrey’s story and cheer her on to find her happy ending. Rae also has an adorable crush on the other person on the trip, Clara. Vinesse wrote adorable, starry, twinkling kissing scenes, for both Rae and Aubrey, that will totally make you melt.
Contemporary readers will find a fun and light summer read between the pages of this book. It features a happy ever after for a lesbian teen couple, resolutions for the main conflicts, and provides a beautiful setting complete with some historical information. It has a lot of relationship drama and scenes of teen angst but it’s a pitch perfect read that teens will love!
The Summer of Us is a whirlwind, travelogue adventure about 5 best friends and the trip that changes everything. Aubrey has always been a careful planner and a prepared student, but this European trip is testing her organizational and personal skills. Rae is spontaneous and determined to move on from high school but she’s hoping for a little summer romance with one of her friends before she starts college. Aubrey and Rae have been best friends forever and now they’re off on a group vacation but can all the friendships survive the trip?
The Summer of Us is a book about growing up. The plot focuses on lots of different relationships–friendships, parental relationships, and romances. My favorite duo was Aubrey and Rae. I loved seeing their friendship evolve throughout the story. This book really serves as a love letter to best friends and the ways they know us like no other. The Summer of Us is told from two perspectives. The book alternates between Aubrey and Rae’s points of view and each chapter picks up where the last left off. This method of storytelling successfully allows the reader to empathize with each main character and see the trip from their eyes. Both girls have very different experiences while on the trip. Both girls go into the trip expecting to have the best summer of their lives but things quickly go sour.
Vinesse so perfectly captures what it’s like to graduate high school and feel like you’re growing apart from everyone you’ve known. Both Aubrey and Rae feel like their best friend just doesn’t get them anymore. They’re both afraid of what the future has in store and are unsure of if their friendship will make it through their college years. Aubrey has always known Rae’s every thought and whim but soon they’ll be separated. Rae makes decisions without consulting Aubrey and doesn’t include her in all the parts of her life like she used to. Rae feels like Aubrey is selfish and doesn’t want to know anything about Rae’s college plans in Australia. Each girl feels misunderstood and ignored.
This book encapsulates that magical summer after graduating high school when everything feels so fragile, yet hopeful. Aubrey and Rae are both changing but don’t allow the other one any room to grow. This book’s strength lies in Vinesse’s ability to convey the complicated feelings that both friends have about leaving high school behind. You can feel Aubrey and Rae’s yearning for things to stay the same and wariness about the future throughout the book. Vinesse writes sad scenes about friendships fracturing but she also writes redeeming scenes of rediscovering why you were friends in the first place. This book is a triumphant story about loving your friends even as everything changes.
The highlight of this book was the friendship between the two main characters but it also featured some memorable romantic scenes. Vinesse definitely used the setting of a European vacation to her advantage when writing the swoony romance scenes. Aubrey finds herself in a bit of a love triangle after kissing her boyfriend’s best friend before graduating and things only get more complicated when all three of them are on vacation together. Romance fans will love the “will they, won’t they” feel of Aubrey’s story and cheer her on to find her happy ending. Rae also has an adorable crush on the other person on the trip, Clara. Vinesse wrote adorable, starry, twinkling kissing scenes, for both Rae and Aubrey, that will totally make you melt.
Contemporary readers will find a fun and light summer read between the pages of this book. It features a happy ever after for a lesbian teen couple, resolutions for the main conflicts, and provides a beautiful setting complete with some historical information. It has a lot of relationship drama and scenes of teen angst but it’s a pitch perfect read that teens will love!
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May 9, 2020In some ways, this totally lived up to my expectations, while in others, it was a little lackluster.
The star of the show for me was the character dynamics. During the first third, I was a little hesitant because it felt like everything was going to be botched up--the men would mansplain things and everything would just go terribly, horribly wrong--but it ended up actually being okay in the end.
The way the characters worked with each other felt very realistic by the time the conclusion came around, which is what I enjoyed the most.
At first, it felt like Vinesse was drawing a line between the protagonists and antagonists--Jonah being the antagonist because of how he spends times with his friend Leah--and that everything would be very sided, but in the end, the lines blurred together really nicely and I definitely appreciated this.
Everything is a little messy and a little real and in the end, the characters felt this way.
I still did have reservations at the beginning and I do kind of wish Vinesse had resolved this a little because initially, the characters felt very type [insert type of choice] or very stereotypical.
Aubrey is the mom who obsesses over planning, Rae is the queer one, Clara is the party girl, Gabe is the broody one, and Jonah is the straying boyfriend. Luckily, these stereotypes fall apart, but I wish I was given more confidence in the characters at the beginning.
I think that part of this was because of how most of the characters' initial dynamics weren't really included, but more so mused over during the beginning of the novel. Aubrey and Gabe have this whole history together about theater and painting a set, but we never really see this particular part of their history in the novel, which made their characters less enjoyable at the beginning because the characters were doing things, but the reader had no connection established with them yet.
I wish that Vinesse had gone a little more in depth with who the characters are in the beginning, maybe showing a few quirks or individual, non-stereotypical characteristics, which would have inspired more confidence in me.
By the end of the book, I understood all the characters' agency and how they weren't just stereotypes of people embarking on a journey across Europe (especially Jonah--I liked how he changed from emotionally cheating antagonist to rational in Aubrey's mind).
In the same vein, I wished there was a little more on Europe. I mean, this is the time of their lives--they should be enjoying it and reveling in the pure Europe-ness of it all. I just wanted a little more from the more fluffy, cinematic portions of the book.
Despite all of this, I did find The Summer of Us to be an easy read that comments on friendships as you go into college, which is a topic we definitely need more YA in. It's fun and flirty yet still grounded in friendship. (But it's also a misnomer and this should be called The Ten Days of Us ;))
The star of the show for me was the character dynamics. During the first third, I was a little hesitant because it felt like everything was going to be botched up--the men would mansplain things and everything would just go terribly, horribly wrong--but it ended up actually being okay in the end.
The way the characters worked with each other felt very realistic by the time the conclusion came around, which is what I enjoyed the most.
At first, it felt like Vinesse was drawing a line between the protagonists and antagonists--Jonah being the antagonist because of how he spends times with his friend Leah--and that everything would be very sided, but in the end, the lines blurred together really nicely and I definitely appreciated this.
Everything is a little messy and a little real and in the end, the characters felt this way.
I still did have reservations at the beginning and I do kind of wish Vinesse had resolved this a little because initially, the characters felt very type [insert type of choice] or very stereotypical.
Aubrey is the mom who obsesses over planning, Rae is the queer one, Clara is the party girl, Gabe is the broody one, and Jonah is the straying boyfriend. Luckily, these stereotypes fall apart, but I wish I was given more confidence in the characters at the beginning.
I think that part of this was because of how most of the characters' initial dynamics weren't really included, but more so mused over during the beginning of the novel. Aubrey and Gabe have this whole history together about theater and painting a set, but we never really see this particular part of their history in the novel, which made their characters less enjoyable at the beginning because the characters were doing things, but the reader had no connection established with them yet.
I wish that Vinesse had gone a little more in depth with who the characters are in the beginning, maybe showing a few quirks or individual, non-stereotypical characteristics, which would have inspired more confidence in me.
By the end of the book, I understood all the characters' agency and how they weren't just stereotypes of people embarking on a journey across Europe (especially Jonah--I liked how he changed from emotionally cheating antagonist to rational in Aubrey's mind).
In the same vein, I wished there was a little more on Europe. I mean, this is the time of their lives--they should be enjoying it and reveling in the pure Europe-ness of it all. I just wanted a little more from the more fluffy, cinematic portions of the book.
Despite all of this, I did find The Summer of Us to be an easy read that comments on friendships as you go into college, which is a topic we definitely need more YA in. It's fun and flirty yet still grounded in friendship. (But it's also a misnomer and this should be called The Ten Days of Us ;))
September 9, 2018
4 stars.
The Summer of Us was such a quick read for me; I read it in basically one day, haha. It's such a sweet, fluffy, heartwarming, yet emotional book, and I honestly enjoyed it a lot! Although it wasn't the most thought-provoking or "deep" book, I still loved it because I need to read fluffy and lighthearted contemporaries every once in a while.
In The Summer of Us, five friends (Aubrey, Rae, Clara, Gabe, and Jonah) are traveling together across Europe, enjoying each other's company before they all go off to college on their own separate ways. However, this trip doesn't go as planned, and many unexpected things happen, which tests many of the characters' friendships and relationships. This book alternates between Aubrey and Rae's points of view, which I liked because I was able to see both sides of the situation. However, sometimes the shifts in perspectives seemed a bit abrupt.
I really enjoyed how this book showed that although change is scary, change is okay and a normal part of life. Going off to college is definitely a drastic change, but it doesn't have to be scary (or bad) with your friends and family by your side. Also, I adore the friends-to-lovers trope and that is definitely part of the reason why I enjoyed this book so much. It makes my heart so so happy when friends realize that their feelings for each other go so much deeper than friendship. The relationships in this book were so cute (for the most part)!!
The main reason this book wasn't a 5-star read for me is that some of the characters became annoying to me at times (cough, Aubrey), and I felt that the pacing was kind of slow at the beginning. Otherwise, I liked this book overall and I flew through it; it's a very fast read (which is great for me, since I can only read on the weekends nowadays due to school).
If you love fluffy contemporary books about friendship, travel, love, and friends-to-lovers, this book is definitely for you!
Representation: lesbian character, bi/pan character (never explicitly stated), f/f romance
The Summer of Us was such a quick read for me; I read it in basically one day, haha. It's such a sweet, fluffy, heartwarming, yet emotional book, and I honestly enjoyed it a lot! Although it wasn't the most thought-provoking or "deep" book, I still loved it because I need to read fluffy and lighthearted contemporaries every once in a while.
In The Summer of Us, five friends (Aubrey, Rae, Clara, Gabe, and Jonah) are traveling together across Europe, enjoying each other's company before they all go off to college on their own separate ways. However, this trip doesn't go as planned, and many unexpected things happen, which tests many of the characters' friendships and relationships. This book alternates between Aubrey and Rae's points of view, which I liked because I was able to see both sides of the situation. However, sometimes the shifts in perspectives seemed a bit abrupt.
I really enjoyed how this book showed that although change is scary, change is okay and a normal part of life. Going off to college is definitely a drastic change, but it doesn't have to be scary (or bad) with your friends and family by your side. Also, I adore the friends-to-lovers trope and that is definitely part of the reason why I enjoyed this book so much. It makes my heart so so happy when friends realize that their feelings for each other go so much deeper than friendship. The relationships in this book were so cute (for the most part)!!
The main reason this book wasn't a 5-star read for me is that some of the characters became annoying to me at times (cough, Aubrey), and I felt that the pacing was kind of slow at the beginning. Otherwise, I liked this book overall and I flew through it; it's a very fast read (which is great for me, since I can only read on the weekends nowadays due to school).
If you love fluffy contemporary books about friendship, travel, love, and friends-to-lovers, this book is definitely for you!
Representation: lesbian character, bi/pan character (never explicitly stated), f/f romance
June 19, 2018
Disclaimer: I received this free from the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
Aubrey has only two weeks left before she leaves for college so she decides to go on a trip around Europe with her friends – Gabe, Clara, Rae, and Jonah. Visting places such as Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Prague they plan to spend two weeks having the times of their lives before they all go their separate ways going to college and university across the world. When secrets are revealed, their carefree adventure turns into a complete disaster.
The Summer of Us is legit the perfect summer read and I absolutely adored this. The Summer of Us is about friendship and growing up. It about how when you grow up your friendships change. I loved how it discussed co-dependence and how scary it can be to grow up and move away from everything and everyone you know.
The Summer of Us main focus is the relationships while using European cities as a backdrop. I adored the relationships, they were well developed and complex. There was a love triangle between Gabe, Jonah, and Aubrey but it wasn’t a terrible one considering Jonah and Aubrey learned at the end that they didn’t really want to be together and I must admit Aubrey and Gabe were kinda cute. But, there was cheating involved which is always a dislike of mine but I guess it all worked out for the best.
However, my favourite romance was between Clara and Rae and it was adorably cute. It was best friends to lovers and I loved how they both liked each other for so long but neither of them knew. Clara and Rae were easily the most developed characters as was their relationship.
Normally, having so many characters can sometimes be a disadvantage, especially in a short contemporary romance but Cecilia Vinesse really manages to balance all these characters really well.
Overall, The Summer of Us had some really great summer vibes with some really great group dynamics and some really great messages about preparing for the future. The Summer of Us is just an awesome and fun book that I highly recommend.
Aubrey has only two weeks left before she leaves for college so she decides to go on a trip around Europe with her friends – Gabe, Clara, Rae, and Jonah. Visting places such as Paris, Amsterdam, Barcelona, and Prague they plan to spend two weeks having the times of their lives before they all go their separate ways going to college and university across the world. When secrets are revealed, their carefree adventure turns into a complete disaster.
The Summer of Us is legit the perfect summer read and I absolutely adored this. The Summer of Us is about friendship and growing up. It about how when you grow up your friendships change. I loved how it discussed co-dependence and how scary it can be to grow up and move away from everything and everyone you know.
The Summer of Us main focus is the relationships while using European cities as a backdrop. I adored the relationships, they were well developed and complex. There was a love triangle between Gabe, Jonah, and Aubrey but it wasn’t a terrible one considering Jonah and Aubrey learned at the end that they didn’t really want to be together and I must admit Aubrey and Gabe were kinda cute. But, there was cheating involved which is always a dislike of mine but I guess it all worked out for the best.
However, my favourite romance was between Clara and Rae and it was adorably cute. It was best friends to lovers and I loved how they both liked each other for so long but neither of them knew. Clara and Rae were easily the most developed characters as was their relationship.
Normally, having so many characters can sometimes be a disadvantage, especially in a short contemporary romance but Cecilia Vinesse really manages to balance all these characters really well.
Overall, The Summer of Us had some really great summer vibes with some really great group dynamics and some really great messages about preparing for the future. The Summer of Us is just an awesome and fun book that I highly recommend.
September 4, 2018
The Summer of Us was the first book from my summer TBR. Aubrey has two weeks before she leaves for college. She and her best friend, Rae, have planned one last trip across Europe to explore famous museums, sip champagne in fancy restaurants, and eat as many croissants as possible.
Continue reading this review over on Pretty Books.
Thank you to the publisher for providing this book for review!
Continue reading this review over on Pretty Books.
Thank you to the publisher for providing this book for review!
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January 23, 2019Thank you so much to The Novl for sending me an ARC of The Summer of Us to review!
May 8, 2020
Oh gosh. This book. I don't even know lol. So pretty much my pal Marissa and I decided it would be fun to have a little book club during quarantine, where we would read a certain amount of a book each day and then FaceTime every night for a little bit to discuss. We chose this book because when we were hunting for a book, it sounded like a fun European travel book and not to mention the cover is wonderful. So we both ordered the book and read it.
Now for my feelings about the book. I don't even know where to begin haha. I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis reminded me of an "Anna and the French Kiss" meets "I See London, I See France", which are 2 of my favorite books. Maybe I just went into this with too high of expectations, but it was much different than what I imagined. For starters, it is written in an omniscient POV type thing but also goes back and forth between our 2 main gals, Aubrey and Rae. See, I have read a book by Cecilia Vinesse before, "Seven Days of You", which I am almost positive was written in first person- I guess I could be wrong but I swear it was. Which may have also been why I was so shocked that this was not in first person. I usually HATE third person/ omniscient POVs, but this book didn't bother me as much as I expected. Don't get me wrong though, I still didn't love that aspect lol.
Another thing that I didn't love was the fact that although this is a European travel book, I would occasionally forget that the setting was Europe. The book was not at all focused on the travel aspect of the plot- that was more of the backdrop for drama to happen. But the drama that did happen usually felt annoying or SOOOOOO dramatic. Like the characters were doing too much- they just needed to chill out sometimes. And it wasn't the fun drama that you can find in books such as "I See London, I See France", but it was actual drama except blown way out of proportion. I was not about that life.
Yet another part of the story that wasn't my favorite was the lack of communication between characters. When fights would happen, because obviously stuff was bound to go down on this trip lol, the characters would basically just ignore each other and not talk it out until multiple days later. This ties back in to the idea of the drama being over the top. So many problems could've been solved by talking for 5 minutes but that didn't happen. I mean, the characters are all theater nerds, so I guess maybe they are just all dramatic??? Who even knows.
The story was also just kinda bland. I wouldn't say I was bored with it, but it felt so basic at times. Not even like the guilty pleasure cliché type things, but just boring stuff. The juiciest part of the story finally came within the last 6 chapters of the book. I had to wait that long, and the juiciness lasted for all of one chapter. Wwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyy? Why did Vinesse have to do me like that? So rude.
One aspect of the story that I did enjoy, however, was our romances :-) our main characters are Rae and Aubrey. The other friends they are on the trip with are Clara, Jonah, and Gabe. Rae is in love with Clara, but she is pretty sure Clara is straight. Aubrey is dating Jonah and has been for 2 years, but she has some *history* with Gabe. This makes for an interesting trip with a lot of romance hehe. I am not going to spoil anything, but obviously a lot of stuff goes down with that. All I'm gonna say is that I was happy with the way it ended/ satisfied with the relationships that came out of the story.
Overall, I did enjoy this book, even though my review seems to suggest otherwise. I will say though that this book gave me a lot to write about so this is definitely my longest review so thanks for that "The Summer of Us" lol!
I honestly don't know if I would recommend this...I'm not mad that I spent $11 for this book because I love the cover and the romance wasn't awful, but I wouldn't say that I suggest doing that lol. If you wanna read it, borrow it from the library or me haha.
P.S. I can't shake the thought from my head that "The Summer of Us" is the Walmart version of "I See London, I See France"... if you want a European travel book, spend your time reading that one instead!
P.P.S is this review better than the actual book? The world may never know (just kidding Cecilia Vinesse I’m sorry it was only a joke)
Now for my feelings about the book. I don't even know where to begin haha. I really wanted to like this book. The synopsis reminded me of an "Anna and the French Kiss" meets "I See London, I See France", which are 2 of my favorite books. Maybe I just went into this with too high of expectations, but it was much different than what I imagined. For starters, it is written in an omniscient POV type thing but also goes back and forth between our 2 main gals, Aubrey and Rae. See, I have read a book by Cecilia Vinesse before, "Seven Days of You", which I am almost positive was written in first person- I guess I could be wrong but I swear it was. Which may have also been why I was so shocked that this was not in first person. I usually HATE third person/ omniscient POVs, but this book didn't bother me as much as I expected. Don't get me wrong though, I still didn't love that aspect lol.
Another thing that I didn't love was the fact that although this is a European travel book, I would occasionally forget that the setting was Europe. The book was not at all focused on the travel aspect of the plot- that was more of the backdrop for drama to happen. But the drama that did happen usually felt annoying or SOOOOOO dramatic. Like the characters were doing too much- they just needed to chill out sometimes. And it wasn't the fun drama that you can find in books such as "I See London, I See France", but it was actual drama except blown way out of proportion. I was not about that life.
Yet another part of the story that wasn't my favorite was the lack of communication between characters. When fights would happen, because obviously stuff was bound to go down on this trip lol, the characters would basically just ignore each other and not talk it out until multiple days later. This ties back in to the idea of the drama being over the top. So many problems could've been solved by talking for 5 minutes but that didn't happen. I mean, the characters are all theater nerds, so I guess maybe they are just all dramatic??? Who even knows.
The story was also just kinda bland. I wouldn't say I was bored with it, but it felt so basic at times. Not even like the guilty pleasure cliché type things, but just boring stuff. The juiciest part of the story finally came within the last 6 chapters of the book. I had to wait that long, and the juiciness lasted for all of one chapter. Wwwwwwwwwhhhhhhhhhhyyyyyyyyyyy? Why did Vinesse have to do me like that? So rude.
One aspect of the story that I did enjoy, however, was our romances :-) our main characters are Rae and Aubrey. The other friends they are on the trip with are Clara, Jonah, and Gabe. Rae is in love with Clara, but she is pretty sure Clara is straight. Aubrey is dating Jonah and has been for 2 years, but she has some *history* with Gabe. This makes for an interesting trip with a lot of romance hehe. I am not going to spoil anything, but obviously a lot of stuff goes down with that. All I'm gonna say is that I was happy with the way it ended/ satisfied with the relationships that came out of the story.
Overall, I did enjoy this book, even though my review seems to suggest otherwise. I will say though that this book gave me a lot to write about so this is definitely my longest review so thanks for that "The Summer of Us" lol!
I honestly don't know if I would recommend this...I'm not mad that I spent $11 for this book because I love the cover and the romance wasn't awful, but I wouldn't say that I suggest doing that lol. If you wanna read it, borrow it from the library or me haha.
P.S. I can't shake the thought from my head that "The Summer of Us" is the Walmart version of "I See London, I See France"... if you want a European travel book, spend your time reading that one instead!
P.P.S is this review better than the actual book? The world may never know (just kidding Cecilia Vinesse I’m sorry it was only a joke)
July 29, 2020
Klappentext
Fünf Freunde, fünf Städte … und mehr als eine Lovestory
Aubrey und Rae planen seit der Mittelschule ihren Interrail-Trip, bevor sie nach dem Abschluss auf unterschiedliche Universitäten gehen. Diesen Sommer ist es endlich so weit, zwei Wochen und fünf Metropolen Europas liegen vor ihnen. Allerdings reisen sie nicht wie ursprünglich geplant alleine: Zum einen ist da Jonah, Aubreys perfekter Freund, und Gabe, den Aubrey vor ein paar Wochen geküsst hat. Dazu kommt Clara, die Freundin, in die Rae verknallt ist, obwohl sie keine Chance hat, weil Clara nicht auf Mädchen steht. Nachdem in Amsterdam die ersten Geheimnisse ans Licht kommen, ist es erstmal aus mit der gemeinsamen Reise. Ist dies wirklich ihr letzter gemeinsamer Sommer, an dessen Ende sie getrennte Wege gehen?
Cover und Schreibstil
Ein wirklich mehr als gelungenes Cover welches mich direkt angesprochen hat und nur deswegen habe ich lesen wollen. Es weckt in mir Fernweh und die Weltkarte macht es für mich perfekt.
Der Schreibstil ist echt angenehm zu lesen und man kommt schnell in die Geschichte rein.
Inhalt
Es geht um 5 Freunde, mehr oder weniger zusammen passen, das ein oder andere Geheimnis haben. Leider fing ab dem Geheimnissen und Heimlichkeiten die Vorhersehbarkeit an. Was wirklich etwas schade war, weil der Klappentext so vielversprechend war.
Es wird auch leider nicht so sehr viel von den jeweiligen Städten preisgegeben sondern dreht sich viel um die Gedanken, in denen sich die Autorin manchmal verliert.
Ein besondere Fokus liegt auch Aubrey und Rae, die beste Freundinnen sind. Hm, anhand ihrer Gedanken kann ich das so nicht unterschreiben.
Das gesamte Buch konnte mich leider nicht überzeugen und die Geschichte war einfach nichts meins. Das ist natürlich alles sehr persönlich, es hat mir einfach nicht zu gesagt und konnte mich damit nicht fesseln.
Fazit
Ein Buch welches wirklich viel Potential hat, es für mich allerdings nicht erfüllen konnte.
Fünf Freunde, fünf Städte … und mehr als eine Lovestory
Aubrey und Rae planen seit der Mittelschule ihren Interrail-Trip, bevor sie nach dem Abschluss auf unterschiedliche Universitäten gehen. Diesen Sommer ist es endlich so weit, zwei Wochen und fünf Metropolen Europas liegen vor ihnen. Allerdings reisen sie nicht wie ursprünglich geplant alleine: Zum einen ist da Jonah, Aubreys perfekter Freund, und Gabe, den Aubrey vor ein paar Wochen geküsst hat. Dazu kommt Clara, die Freundin, in die Rae verknallt ist, obwohl sie keine Chance hat, weil Clara nicht auf Mädchen steht. Nachdem in Amsterdam die ersten Geheimnisse ans Licht kommen, ist es erstmal aus mit der gemeinsamen Reise. Ist dies wirklich ihr letzter gemeinsamer Sommer, an dessen Ende sie getrennte Wege gehen?
Cover und Schreibstil
Ein wirklich mehr als gelungenes Cover welches mich direkt angesprochen hat und nur deswegen habe ich lesen wollen. Es weckt in mir Fernweh und die Weltkarte macht es für mich perfekt.
Der Schreibstil ist echt angenehm zu lesen und man kommt schnell in die Geschichte rein.
Inhalt
Es geht um 5 Freunde, mehr oder weniger zusammen passen, das ein oder andere Geheimnis haben. Leider fing ab dem Geheimnissen und Heimlichkeiten die Vorhersehbarkeit an. Was wirklich etwas schade war, weil der Klappentext so vielversprechend war.
Es wird auch leider nicht so sehr viel von den jeweiligen Städten preisgegeben sondern dreht sich viel um die Gedanken, in denen sich die Autorin manchmal verliert.
Ein besondere Fokus liegt auch Aubrey und Rae, die beste Freundinnen sind. Hm, anhand ihrer Gedanken kann ich das so nicht unterschreiben.
Das gesamte Buch konnte mich leider nicht überzeugen und die Geschichte war einfach nichts meins. Das ist natürlich alles sehr persönlich, es hat mir einfach nicht zu gesagt und konnte mich damit nicht fesseln.
Fazit
Ein Buch welches wirklich viel Potential hat, es für mich allerdings nicht erfüllen konnte.
April 3, 2018
An arc of this book was sent to me by Little Brown Young Readers in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
I really enjoyed this book, even more than I expected! I practically flew through this book, which is quite a feat because I have found myself in an actual reading slump as of late. This book was a perfect mixture of cute, sweet, and heartbreaking.
In this book I've learned some important messages, whether intentionally put there by the author or not, that no matter how much you plan/imagine certain things, they almost most likely won't turn our picture perfect as you planned. Sometimes that can be for the better, but it might be for the worst. But in the end, it's going to be okay.
In this book, I found the characters to be so relatable. Although at times during the book I felt very annoyed with certain characters, they were so real, and flawed, that I just grew to love them all (okay...maybe not ALL).
There were some aspects of this book that kept me giving five-stars and those are:
- The character point-of-views were a bit hard to distinguish. The way it was transitioned made it hard for me to figure out which character it was, but it got better as the book went on.
- Some of the character conflicts seemed to be resolved a lot quicker than it would be in reality. As much as I appreciated this at times, it kind of got annoying.
- The ending was slightly too rushed.
Overall, this book was just so amazing. The ending kind of had me getting a little teary eyed, but it was absolutely perfect! I totally recommend this book if you're a fan of contemporaries that involve friendships, growing up, and traveling.
I really enjoyed this book, even more than I expected! I practically flew through this book, which is quite a feat because I have found myself in an actual reading slump as of late. This book was a perfect mixture of cute, sweet, and heartbreaking.
In this book I've learned some important messages, whether intentionally put there by the author or not, that no matter how much you plan/imagine certain things, they almost most likely won't turn our picture perfect as you planned. Sometimes that can be for the better, but it might be for the worst. But in the end, it's going to be okay.
In this book, I found the characters to be so relatable. Although at times during the book I felt very annoyed with certain characters, they were so real, and flawed, that I just grew to love them all (okay...maybe not ALL).
There were some aspects of this book that kept me giving five-stars and those are:
- The character point-of-views were a bit hard to distinguish. The way it was transitioned made it hard for me to figure out which character it was, but it got better as the book went on.
- Some of the character conflicts seemed to be resolved a lot quicker than it would be in reality. As much as I appreciated this at times, it kind of got annoying.
- The ending was slightly too rushed.
Overall, this book was just so amazing. The ending kind of had me getting a little teary eyed, but it was absolutely perfect! I totally recommend this book if you're a fan of contemporaries that involve friendships, growing up, and traveling.
August 2, 2018
I always dream of having a group of friends gallivant around the globe for a summer break like those in The summer of us. It would be so much fun that you won't forget. Well, it is summer and I’ve been in a contemporary mood as of late so I was excited to dive in this book. IT's a light-hearted and fluffy read.
The characters felt real and relatable, the story was nolstagic, the cinematic portions of the book were vivid and fun. This story follows a group of five friends on the trip around Europe before parting ways to enter college and not be able of going to hang out as frequently as they used to anymore. Therefore, they should enjoy the last trip they have together. This made me reflect on my own experience of graduating high school before entering college. I was both excited to lead a new life but also being scared of losing my friends. However, I've never have chances to share a trip like that with my friends. I felt this book captured that sentiment quite well.
The Summer of Us is told in alternating close third person POVs of two best friends—Aubrey and Rae—as they embark on a backpacking trip across Europe with their other friends. This story is heartwarming, truthful and beautiful.
“It’s about this group of friends who all go to school together when they’re kids, but then they get older, and they start leading these really different lives. But I think the point is supposed to be that they’re still connected in some way. Even when they don’t talk to each other for years. Even when they’re in completely different parts of the world.”
The characters felt real and relatable, the story was nolstagic, the cinematic portions of the book were vivid and fun. This story follows a group of five friends on the trip around Europe before parting ways to enter college and not be able of going to hang out as frequently as they used to anymore. Therefore, they should enjoy the last trip they have together. This made me reflect on my own experience of graduating high school before entering college. I was both excited to lead a new life but also being scared of losing my friends. However, I've never have chances to share a trip like that with my friends. I felt this book captured that sentiment quite well.
The Summer of Us is told in alternating close third person POVs of two best friends—Aubrey and Rae—as they embark on a backpacking trip across Europe with their other friends. This story is heartwarming, truthful and beautiful.
“It’s about this group of friends who all go to school together when they’re kids, but then they get older, and they start leading these really different lives. But I think the point is supposed to be that they’re still connected in some way. Even when they don’t talk to each other for years. Even when they’re in completely different parts of the world.”
August 7, 2019
This book was so cute! It is about 5 friends graduating high school and taking a two week trip around Europe before they all go off to college. They will all be changed people from when they started the trip and when they boarded their plane home. It made me so nostalgic. The end made me tear up of how you are sad to leave your friends for college but excited about your new life at the same time. Of course there was some romance and drama. :)
July 20, 2022
this book is not worth your time or money- don’t bother. it’s boring, the characters are annoying, the plot is confusing and doesn’t go anywhere, the relationship’s and conversations are boring and i just think it really didn’t do anything for me. i skimmed the last 100-150 pages because i just wanted it to end!!!!! two words: don’t bother.
August 9, 2021
There wasn’t really a point to this book but I still mostly enjoyed it. I loved the overall setting and it made me want to visit more of Europe. However, there was a lot of drama that I did not care for. Overall, it was okay, nothing really amazing but not entirely terrible.
July 6, 2024
I think this book made me realize I’ve outgrown YA. Or maybe this particular book just wasn’t my cup of YA tea. It felt very immature and predictable. But it checked the box for an easy read on a long roadtrip.
March 25, 2018
*Thank you to TheNovl for sending me an advanced copy of this book to read a review*
Okay, first of all can I just point out how freaking gorgeous this cover is? It's so pretty and some of my favorite colors and I just love it. Okay, now on to the actual contents of this book, haha! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even more than I expected! I practically flew through it, despite working most of yesterday. It was cute, and sweet and heartbreaking all at the same time. Any good contemporary I feel like can make me laugh, smile and cry all in the span of a few hundred pages.
I very much appreciated and enjoyed the messages woven through out this novel, whether intentional or not. The message that no matter how much you plan, or worry or imagine certain things, they aren't always going to turn out the way you picture them. Sometimes in the worst way possible. And while the way it turns can be hard and heartbreaking and just plain crappy, in the end, it's going to be okay. Some way or another it'll be okay. Also just the clear reality and depiction that growing up is hard. Going away to college and becoming an adult and moving away from all of these things you've known for so long, is hard. It's not going to be picture perfect, there's going to be ups and downs but it'll be okay.
These characters and these messages that I personally took from this novel made it so much more realistic and real. While I may have been annoyed with these characters sometimes, they're flawed and realistic and they screw up and I always appreciate that so much in stories.
I loved all of these characters in someway or another and saw myself a little in each of them, but Aubrey I think was definitely my favorite character through out the entirety of the novel. I felt connected to, and she was the character I related to the most. My heart broke for all the crazy things that happened to her in this novel. I totally understand her panic for the future and things to come, excessive planning, and wanting everything to be perfect. As I read everything kind of falling apart about the trip and it not being what they expected I just felt for her.
Clara is another one of my favorite characters in this novel for sure! She was funny and quirky and I loved reading her interactions throughout this novel. I could really relate to her as well in similar ways as I did with Aubrey.
I really enjoyed the formatting of this book and the two POVs of Aubrey and Rae. I think reading from both of their eyes made this story so much better and we really get to know and understand both of them, especially when things start falling apart. We get to really understand where they both went right and wrong in their relationships. Though I do have to say that sometimes the transitions for one chapter to another or scene from another could get confusing, even with the date stamps at the top of the chapter. Sometimes it took me a little to figure out where and when we were, especially when certain characters were apart. Though that was a very minor thing and could totally be just me.
I think the ending of The Summer of Us was almost perfect for this novel and really fit the rest of the story. I loved it, and definitely got a little teary eyed. Things were far from perfect for these characters and their relationships but they were there, together and I just think that was beautiful. I do definitely agree that I would have loved to see an epilogue or just a little section after where they've all gone away to college and just seeing there life and where they were at, how ever long after the novel. Other than that though I think it was perfect!
So overall I think this was such a special book and I very much enjoyed it! I would totally recommend this novel if you're a big fan of contemporaries about traveling and friendship.
Okay, first of all can I just point out how freaking gorgeous this cover is? It's so pretty and some of my favorite colors and I just love it. Okay, now on to the actual contents of this book, haha! I thoroughly enjoyed this book, even more than I expected! I practically flew through it, despite working most of yesterday. It was cute, and sweet and heartbreaking all at the same time. Any good contemporary I feel like can make me laugh, smile and cry all in the span of a few hundred pages.
I very much appreciated and enjoyed the messages woven through out this novel, whether intentional or not. The message that no matter how much you plan, or worry or imagine certain things, they aren't always going to turn out the way you picture them. Sometimes in the worst way possible. And while the way it turns can be hard and heartbreaking and just plain crappy, in the end, it's going to be okay. Some way or another it'll be okay. Also just the clear reality and depiction that growing up is hard. Going away to college and becoming an adult and moving away from all of these things you've known for so long, is hard. It's not going to be picture perfect, there's going to be ups and downs but it'll be okay.
These characters and these messages that I personally took from this novel made it so much more realistic and real. While I may have been annoyed with these characters sometimes, they're flawed and realistic and they screw up and I always appreciate that so much in stories.
I loved all of these characters in someway or another and saw myself a little in each of them, but Aubrey I think was definitely my favorite character through out the entirety of the novel. I felt connected to, and she was the character I related to the most. My heart broke for all the crazy things that happened to her in this novel. I totally understand her panic for the future and things to come, excessive planning, and wanting everything to be perfect. As I read everything kind of falling apart about the trip and it not being what they expected I just felt for her.
Clara is another one of my favorite characters in this novel for sure! She was funny and quirky and I loved reading her interactions throughout this novel. I could really relate to her as well in similar ways as I did with Aubrey.
I really enjoyed the formatting of this book and the two POVs of Aubrey and Rae. I think reading from both of their eyes made this story so much better and we really get to know and understand both of them, especially when things start falling apart. We get to really understand where they both went right and wrong in their relationships. Though I do have to say that sometimes the transitions for one chapter to another or scene from another could get confusing, even with the date stamps at the top of the chapter. Sometimes it took me a little to figure out where and when we were, especially when certain characters were apart. Though that was a very minor thing and could totally be just me.
I think the ending of The Summer of Us was almost perfect for this novel and really fit the rest of the story. I loved it, and definitely got a little teary eyed. Things were far from perfect for these characters and their relationships but they were there, together and I just think that was beautiful. I do definitely agree that I would have loved to see an epilogue or just a little section after where they've all gone away to college and just seeing there life and where they were at, how ever long after the novel. Other than that though I think it was perfect!
So overall I think this was such a special book and I very much enjoyed it! I would totally recommend this novel if you're a big fan of contemporaries about traveling and friendship.
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