Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Hurricane Summer: A Novel

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Hurricane Summer: A Novel by Asha Bromfield

12 reviews

lovereadingxo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

3.0

In this own voices, coming-of-age novel, we meet Tilla - an 18-year-old who has spent most of her life yearning for the love of a father who keeps leaving their family for his homeland, Jamaica. And as the story begins, that's where Tilla and her little sister Mia are headed for the summer.

Her time there will prove to be life-changing, and the novel gets real dark, real quick. It touches on many heavy topics – colourism, slut shaming, s*xual assault, death – but it isn’t done with enough finesse to make the reader feel like there’s a balance to the time Tilla spends in Jamaica.

So many things go wrong, and there’s the constant looming threat of the hurricane, so it’s hard to really see the beauty in the novel, the country.

“This place… this land… it’s been paradise. But it’s also been poison.”

I love how much Patois is used, and while the author provides a ‘word bank’, I didn’t need it – the context usually made it clear. Maybe that’s why it frustrated me so much that Tilla – whose father supposedly spoke Patois all the time – constantly kept asking “what does that mean?”

But that’s only one of many things that made her character hard to connect with.

Granted, Tilla has lived a mostly sheltered life, but you're telling me that nothing has toughened her up, even a little bit? She can’t bring herself to say ‘no’, even when she really should.

The only times Tilla truly stands up for herself is to her father and aunt, and those circumstances felt... over the top. Like the author was trying to make up for what a pushover she’d been.

Tilla also seems much younger than 18. If she was 15, I would have found ‘Hurricane Summer’ more believable and enjoyable.

Other issues: The big plot twist towards the end felt completely gratuitous, no one suffers consequences for their actions and the author tends to overwrite, especially towards the end.

What I liked: The setting and its vibrancy, Tilla and Andre’s friendship, and how authentic it all felt.

There were touching moments and I found the novel interesting, but I really wanted to love it and I just didn’t.

Content Warnings

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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unfxckwhittable's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Characters: 4.0

Plot: 5.0

Theme: 4.0

Cover: 5.0

This was an emotional roller coaster of a coming of age story in paradise. Bromfield captured my attention in the very first chapter and kept it until the end. She forced me to reflect on how my westernized perspective received all of the characters. How ironic that I read this book during summer when I visited my family in the rural parts of the Philippines, so I could literally see the Jamaican natives reality and it added another layer for me to connect with the book. I hated sooo many characters that were so central to Tilla’s growth. All I can say is Go Tilla! She frustrated me throughout most of the book but when she finally burst into a vocal young woman I was so proud. I loved this book, although faced with so much and trauma, it was a beautiful story of self discovery.

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readingwithtrey's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Book Review || ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

“Everyone has that one summer. The summer that changes your life. It passes through you like a hurricane, leaving as quickly as it came. But once it has torn through you, nothing can ever be the same. You are changed.”

It is so hard to find the words to adequately express how I feel about this book. And it’s so hard to talk about any of it without giving anything away. I will say that it was completely heartbreaking. I also have never felt so much rage toward fictional characters in my life 😅.

I just have no words. This left me completely wrecked and devastated. While I highly recommend it, you’ll want to be in a good emotional/mental space and check the content warnings beforehand.

Content Warnings

hannahslit's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield is a brilliant, blistering debut.
Seventeen year old Canadian teen Tilla and her nine year old sister Mia have been sent to stay with their father in the countryside of Jamaica for the summer. Tilla expects she may have to confront how she feels about the father that is largely absent from herself, her mother and her sister’s lives, but she isn’t prepared for what awaits her in country: people that view her as a privileged foreigner and a multitude of secrets that her presence threatens to expose.
First love, friendship and exploring the land (Bromfield gives readers gorgeous descriptions of Manchester, Jamaica) are amongst the more tender parts of this novel, however it is a story that reckons with a lot of trauma.
Described as a coming of age story that examines the transition from girlhood to a young woman and the complicated relationship between a young woman and her absent father, Hurricane Summer also tackles colourism, sexism, misogyny, infidelity, domestic abuse, incest, abortion, sexual assault, immigration, abandonment, grief, poverty, class, privilege and more.
Not all of the issues are adequately covered, however I admire the authors attempt to raise awareness to these serious issues to a young adult audience.
The patois is accurate and Bromfield captures the easy humour of Jamaicans very well. Tilla’s story is quite an extreme depiction of reactions to people ‘from foreign’, though I do feel Bromfield shows what it feels like to be the butt of a joke everyone appears to be in on.

Andres death was unfortunate as he was the only consistently kind character and didn’t get to experience a different kind of life away from the hostility he was exposed to. There could have been a different way to show readers Tilla’s growth without killing him.

An unexpected standout for me was a moment between Tilla and her father where she confronts him about him abandoning their family in Canada. It was a sad yet necessary conversation that was more melancholy for its lack of resolution.
I wanted Tilla to stand up for herself earlier than she did, but I can appreciate that she’s a teenager in a new surrounding without much allies. Toward the end, the book becomes more dramatic and poetic in terms of language which is quite a departure from the tone of the rest of the book, which I don’t think totally works.
Much like a hurricane, this story is powerful and sweeps readers along for an emotional ride.
Hurricane Summer is a coming of age story that I will be thinking about for a long time. I am glad to have read it.

Content Warnings

michellebuch's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield is a debut contemporary YA novel that held my heart captive while I read it. In it, we meet Tilla and her sister who are traveling from their home in Canada to their dad’s home in Jamaica. During their annual trip to visit their father, we see Tilla grappling with their strenuous relationship while finding her way with family and friends in Jamaica. In the background, the island is preparing for a hurricane and the potential destruction it will bring.

Coming-of-age stories are one of my favorite types of YA fiction and this story delivered depth and heart. It directly confronts colorism, classism, sexism, and generational stories of a family with vulnerability. The biggest thing I take away from this book is how I felt while reading it. I was attached to Tilla and there were times that my heart was broken, and others when I was frustrated and protective, but also times where I deeply felt her joy and self-discovery. It’s such a well-rounded look at the complex emotions of young adults.

The author did a wonderful job allowing the reader to be uncomfortable with how Tilla was treated while giving space for her family and their stories, too. It’s a hard balance to strike and she did it very well. I also really enjoyed that the Patois language in the book and the glossary of terms included, it added so much.

If you enjoy coming-of-age YA then I strongly recommend you read this book – and do it when you feel ready for an emotional pummeling. I loved meeting Tilla and if there was a sequel that takes place in her adulthood, I’d sprint to the bookstore for it.

Content warnings: Abandonment, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Colorism, Classism, Sexism, Infidelity

Content Warnings

piperlee's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This was a really beautifully written story of self-discovery, courage, and learning to derive purpose from oneself & not others. The growth of the mc was powerful & her narration full of raw emotion.

And it was extremely heavy. I think too heavy for me. It felt like 90% struggle and despair with only 10% of joy and redemption. So much trauma was fit into one storyline, & mixed with the mc’s own internal dialogue of self-doubt and depression…it was hard for me to get through.

**do not read this if sexual assault is a triggering topic for you** there was graphic on-page description & emotional abuse and gaslighting afterward from basically everyone about the incident. It never was resolved & the truth about what happened was never shared which created a snowball effect of shaming and lies. I felt it was handled poorly & was very disturbing to read.

Trauma felt like a device for growth & I take issue with that. And when there is so much trauma fit into one story, it felt like a lot was glossed over & not properly dealt with. The ending especially felt over the top & incredibly distressing simply for the point of the mc’s development.

Further, I didn’t like any of the characters. There were obvious antagonists that we’re not supposed to like, but even the mc…she wasn’t likable. The only character I felt drawn to was Andre.

So I’m giving this a low rating because I had a hard time enjoying it. But it was very well written & the theme of redemption and freedom in the end is important. I listened to the audiobook read by the author & that was also very well done & added to the intensity and emotion of it all.

Content Warnings

thelovelylibrarylady's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Bromfield, an author of Afro-Jamaican descent, wrote this beautiful story set in Jamaica. While it is not the main focus, I learned a lot about the island and Jamaican culture by reading this novel. Hurricane Summer is a bit of a slow starter. I found the early chapters to be a little boring, but once the plot picks up, it doesn't stop. Many heavy topics are addressed in this novel including (but not limited to) colorism, sexual assault, the sexualization of girls of color, and classism. I would recommend this book to others, but also make sure that they were ready to tackle such an emotionally taxing story before they started this one.
(PUB DATE: AVAILABLE NOW)
(I received a digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed above are my own.)

Content Warnings

courtneyfalling's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This was definitely a powerful premise and sometimes stunning story and character portrayal, but I honestly felt uncomfortable and on edge through most of my time reading because of how little Tilla challenged what was happening to her... like wow I had a lot of secondhand hate for characters around her, but without relating to Tilla as much, it felt consuming! (I do think this might be impacted by how much this book activated my own teenage experiences, fears, and traumas, so like, definitely check the CWs on this!)

A few main frustrations:

Tilla does not read as 18, she reads as like 15 :/. I couldn't get over how much younger her perspective felt than what we were supposed to believe throughout basically every chapter. And to a lesser extent, Mia doesn't read as 9, she reads as 11-12 with some of the comments she makes. She's not really believable, just a device for Tilla.
This book shows a pretty graphic sexual assault on page then refuses to openly name it as sexual assault in Tilla's thought process, let alone out loud to other characters, and given the victim-blaming and internalized slut-shaming that follows, I really think this book needed to address it as sexual assault. It feels incomplete and potentially really damaging, especially given this is YA with what is supposed to be a clear-cut moral and main character we relate to/like.
I hated Andre's death being used as Tilla's final moment of self-understanding. It's shitty to use the darkest-skinned character's death as merely a plot device and moment of redemption for other characters after spending the whole rest of the book challenging the colorism that exact character faces.
I didn't feel like Tilla should "forgive" her father. I just didn't. She hadn't processed enough yet, her father hadn't taken any accountability, so much will still happen when Tilla returns to Canada and talks to her mother, and honestly, her father doesn't deserve any forgiveness. Tilla can absolutely live her life and live it well without ever forgiving her father and I don't like how this book simplifies surviving an estranged parent-kid relationship into all this burden, still, onto Tilla. Like her father can rot for all I care and she can never speak to him again? And I didn’t understand her not forgiving Hessan in comparison OR telling him he should be with Diana because he can still go on to date neither girl and discover other relationships he's fully invested in instead? Maybe the bigger issue is that I didn’t like how uncritically pro-Christian this book ended up. It was way too trite and undeserved for the characters. And trauma isn't something that just "makes you stronger" and that constant messaging is wildly irresponsible.

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