I particularly enjoy her use of intonation. She cleverly captures the tone and vocabulary of different groups of people. The reader must infer developments from the discussion and actions of the characters. Although Rose is the narrator of the story, there is little direct narration. The characters and their relationships with one another are believable and intriguing. At the end, the two plots tie together when Rose’s mother rescues Jenny from drowning. Rose’s mother miscarried an early pregnancy last summer when they were at the beach this summer, Rose is fascinated by the unplanned pregnancy of Jenny, a local teen. Twin plots about pregnancy run through the novel. 305), and they share their somewhat spotty knowledge about sex: Windy thinks it is “so GROSS!”, but Rose knows that “you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to” (p. The girls joke about growing “giganormous boobs” (p. Themes of bodies and sex run through the novel. The novel is a meditative portrait of their lives over this one summer. Rose says, “Windy has been my summer cottage friend since I was five” (p. Windy is a younger girl who is staying down the road from Rose’s family. Rose’s parents are struggling in their relationship, and Rose is beginning to negotiate early adolescence. The story is about two girls on their annual summer holiday in a small beachside Canadian town. The cousins’ second graphic novel together features their hallmark beautiful illustrations and lively dialogue. Mariko and Jillian Tamaki have once again produced a gorgeous and engrossing book in This One Summer. Obviously my family is not going to be building any more rock walls. Three years ago I collected two hundred rocks on the beach. Illustrated by Jillian Tamaki.ģ20 pp., trade pbk.

This one summer