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jessicabeckett's review
3.0
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Much like many before me, I learned of this novel through the movie adaption (something that is very rare for me) and had an odd mindset of what I presumed this novel to be. One of the biggest things both the novel and the movie had in common, for me, was that they left me craving more of the story. But not, technically, in a good way.
Generally, I did grow to like and appreciate the story and though it had its flaws it was enjoyable and kept my attention. Is it something I would read again and again? Perhaps, not, but it certainly wasn't a waste of my time. Give it a chance, readers. It could surprise you and could very possibly be your cup of tea. (Excuse shortness and typos: this review was written via mobile/iPhone!)
Much like many before me, I learned of this novel through the movie adaption (something that is very rare for me) and had an odd mindset of what I presumed this novel to be. One of the biggest things both the novel and the movie had in common, for me, was that they left me craving more of the story. But not, technically, in a good way.
Generally, I did grow to like and appreciate the story and though it had its flaws it was enjoyable and kept my attention. Is it something I would read again and again? Perhaps, not, but it certainly wasn't a waste of my time. Give it a chance, readers. It could surprise you and could very possibly be your cup of tea. (Excuse shortness and typos: this review was written via mobile/iPhone!)
live_to_read's review
1.0
I did not enjoy this book. I disliked all the characters, I could not sympathize with them and found that I couldn't care less what happened to them. It was a very long drawn out drag and I'm glad that it is finally over. I know this sounds harsh. I respect other readers opinions but personally for me it is a one star book.
stormqueen's review
3.0
You could meet a crazy girl and truly believe her to be your saviour.
My Summer of Love is a bit of a bizarre read, a precursor to decadent novels of bored, awakening teenage girls like Dare Me and bares more than a few passing similarities to the real life crimes of Juliet Hulme (now crime novellist Anne Perry) and Pauline Parker. There's an almost surreal dissonance they exemplify: the obsessive, sexualized friendship between two girls, pushing the boundaries of every relationship, dispersing pseudo witticisms about men and sex in that under-experienced but over-aware teenage way, and the seemingly inevitable slide into violence and criminality.
Mona is a fifteen year old girl living above her father's pub with her stepbrother Porkchop in a small Yorkshire town. She's awkward, immature, ostensibly addicted to alcohol and fruit machine gambling, and vacillates between bold confidence and startling naivete. Though Mona is not particularly likeable, she's easy to fall into as even her internal monologue contains a strong Yorkshire dialect, allowing me to easily hear her voice in my head.
She meets Tamsin Fakenham a posh girl with a dead sister. She's beautiful, condescending, manipulative and controlling. Mona is instantly entranced by her and they become fast, if unsteady, friends. Together, they're explosive. In their absence, Tamsin's parents believe that she has gone to stay with an old aunt while she studies for her exam, but is instead living in a strange fantasy world with Mona where they are awake all night, starve themselves and have sex constantly. But their manic lifestyle is far from idyllic, their friendship unstable and volatile, each trying to gain the upper hand in an undending game of oneupmanship. Mona often comes up short.
Helen Cross's writing works wonderfully in developing atmosphere; you feel a sticky, cloying quality as you read, matching the heatwave that invades the setting. The entire novel takes place over a single month, so this works particularly well to generate the frenzied obsession the girls have with each other and their increasingly daring acts of criminality.
While Mona's chubby, sensitive stepbrother Porkchop is the only remotely likable character in the entire novel, it didn't detract from my enjoyment at all. It may even have enhanced it as the near-mania that overcomes Mona and Tamsin will inevitably end badly and I was at the edge of my seat waiting for it. Ultimately, My Summer of Love is a taut, if sometimes confusing, coming of age story teetering on the knife edge of thriller.
majesdane's review
4.0
Wildly different from the movie adaption, but so much better. (Anyone familiar with the Parker-Hulme case, you'll see shades of it in spades here.)
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