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bookdevouringmisfit's review against another edition
5.0
This book is so fucking beautiful it hurts. I've already reread my favorite parts countless times ever since I finished it last night and I still can't get enough.
renuked's review against another edition
4.0
A 5-star book in some places, and a 3-star in others, I compromised on 4. I loved that none of the characters were 1-dimensional, and even mean-girl characters had depth. But at the same time, the author tended to drop characters I found interesting. Tipene? Ritchie? So much more could have been done with both, but they were just used to make a point and then forgotten.
Also, this book could have been a lot shorter, there was a lot of repetition in behavior between our two protagonists, which got pretty frustrating eventually, but a fun journey nevertheless. It was very Jellicoe Road-esque (not just because it's Aussie, but I think the rivalries?) but I doubt any book will ever truly capture the feeling that book does.
However, still enjoyed it a lot.
Also, this book could have been a lot shorter, there was a lot of repetition in behavior between our two protagonists, which got pretty frustrating eventually, but a fun journey nevertheless. It was very Jellicoe Road-esque (not just because it's Aussie, but I think the rivalries?) but I doubt any book will ever truly capture the feeling that book does.
However, still enjoyed it a lot.
elisabeth_julia's review against another edition
5.0
This was so exciting!
“Summer Skin” is a contemporary romance set at a Queensland university. It captures that hot and humid Australian summer atmosphere perfectly.
The captions of each chapter are popular song titles from the last few years that also fit the theme of the chapters. It made me wish books had a soundtrack playing automatically when flicking through the pages. Besides being a beautiful and charming element of the story, the music also helped to bring the Australian summer feeling to life.
"Summer Skin" also triggered an episode of extreme university nostalgia for me. If you are still a student, go and enjoy it. I’m not saying that uni was the best time of my life, but it was an important and interesting and intense time. But let's get back to the book:
If you are in the mood for an exciting and fun summer and beach read,” Summer Skin” is the perfect book for you.
“Summer Skin” was sexy, funny and most of all, it was real.
Meet Jess, the main character: She is smart, honest, direct, funny, smokes and drinks (too much) and has a “pyro-thing”. You’ll love her immediately.
Jess and her girlfriends, besides being witty and clever and hilarious, are feminists, without ever defining themselves as being feminists. They question what’s accepted as social norm and offer a refreshingly different perspective without preaching. “Summer skin” deals with not only one but several feminist perspectives: There is Leanne, who can probably be described as an “extremist feminist” and Jess, who is more like a “humanist” and Farren, who takes a more social-constructivist take on feminism and doesn’t want her gender to be a defining element of anything she does.
Nevertheless, “feminist” isn’t the defining personality trait of any of the girls. They are first and foremost just young women trying to figure out their lives and that isn’t an easy task. There are mistakes to be made and lessons to be learned.
That is probably what I appreciated most about "Summer Skin": It shows how relevant feminism is in our everyday lives and how sexism and misogyny has a constant influence on young women growing up. Feminism isn't something that only belongs in the political debate.
While “Summer Skin” deals with feminism, it is never preachy and dry. In contrary: “Summer Skin” is an incredibly fast paced read. In fact it’s so fast-paced it’s hard to keep up with it as a reader.
“Summer Skin” doesn’t feature heroes and villains, only complex, flawed and very likable kick-ass main - and side characters.
Their struggles are real. In romances, I often find that obstacles (and romances always need an obstacle, otherwise they could all be told in two pages) feel artificial and constructed. Often there are misunderstandings, hot-and-cold game-playing or a lack of communication between the main characters that just makes me furious! None of that is the case in “Summer Skin”. Jess has a straight forward and super brave “let’s talk and sort this out” attitude I found admirable and refreshing. All that is part of what makes this romance surprising and unpredictable.
I don’t want to tell you anything about Jess’ male love interest. The less you know about him going into the book, the better. Trust me!
While this book is mainly a romance, it is more than that too. It is a witty novel on everyday-life issues concerning people, women in particular, between 18 and 25.
The untypical romance, the complex characters and the contemporary everyday-life setting make “Summer Skin” feel incredibly close and real.
Overall, “Summer Skin” is an empowering book, every young woman should read this summer, no matter if you like reading romances or not, and no matter if you care about feminism or not. Actually, ESPECIALLY if you don’t like reading romances and ESPECIALLY if you think feminism doesn't really concern you.
“Summer Skin” is a contemporary romance set at a Queensland university. It captures that hot and humid Australian summer atmosphere perfectly.
The captions of each chapter are popular song titles from the last few years that also fit the theme of the chapters. It made me wish books had a soundtrack playing automatically when flicking through the pages. Besides being a beautiful and charming element of the story, the music also helped to bring the Australian summer feeling to life.
"Summer Skin" also triggered an episode of extreme university nostalgia for me. If you are still a student, go and enjoy it. I’m not saying that uni was the best time of my life, but it was an important and interesting and intense time. But let's get back to the book:
If you are in the mood for an exciting and fun summer and beach read,” Summer Skin” is the perfect book for you.
“Summer Skin” was sexy, funny and most of all, it was real.
Meet Jess, the main character: She is smart, honest, direct, funny, smokes and drinks (too much) and has a “pyro-thing”. You’ll love her immediately.
Jess and her girlfriends, besides being witty and clever and hilarious, are feminists, without ever defining themselves as being feminists. They question what’s accepted as social norm and offer a refreshingly different perspective without preaching. “Summer skin” deals with not only one but several feminist perspectives: There is Leanne, who can probably be described as an “extremist feminist” and Jess, who is more like a “humanist” and Farren, who takes a more social-constructivist take on feminism and doesn’t want her gender to be a defining element of anything she does.
Nevertheless, “feminist” isn’t the defining personality trait of any of the girls. They are first and foremost just young women trying to figure out their lives and that isn’t an easy task. There are mistakes to be made and lessons to be learned.
That is probably what I appreciated most about "Summer Skin": It shows how relevant feminism is in our everyday lives and how sexism and misogyny has a constant influence on young women growing up. Feminism isn't something that only belongs in the political debate.
While “Summer Skin” deals with feminism, it is never preachy and dry. In contrary: “Summer Skin” is an incredibly fast paced read. In fact it’s so fast-paced it’s hard to keep up with it as a reader.
“Summer Skin” doesn’t feature heroes and villains, only complex, flawed and very likable kick-ass main - and side characters.
Their struggles are real. In romances, I often find that obstacles (and romances always need an obstacle, otherwise they could all be told in two pages) feel artificial and constructed. Often there are misunderstandings, hot-and-cold game-playing or a lack of communication between the main characters that just makes me furious! None of that is the case in “Summer Skin”. Jess has a straight forward and super brave “let’s talk and sort this out” attitude I found admirable and refreshing. All that is part of what makes this romance surprising and unpredictable.
I don’t want to tell you anything about Jess’ male love interest. The less you know about him going into the book, the better. Trust me!
While this book is mainly a romance, it is more than that too. It is a witty novel on everyday-life issues concerning people, women in particular, between 18 and 25.
The untypical romance, the complex characters and the contemporary everyday-life setting make “Summer Skin” feel incredibly close and real.
Overall, “Summer Skin” is an empowering book, every young woman should read this summer, no matter if you like reading romances or not, and no matter if you care about feminism or not. Actually, ESPECIALLY if you don’t like reading romances and ESPECIALLY if you think feminism doesn't really concern you.
mariamistry's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
I love how feminist this book was and it gets bonus points for being set in Australia. The hero really did a full 180 and it wasn't up to the heroine to force him! Will definitely be rereading. I am scared, however, that this book has made my standards impossibly high...
I love how feminist this book was and it gets bonus points for being set in Australia. The hero really did a full 180 and it wasn't up to the heroine to force him! Will definitely be rereading. I am scared, however, that this book has made my standards impossibly high...
sarahecamus's review against another edition
4.0
Summer skin is a fun, sexy, easy to read summer novel. The writing at times was difficult to follow, however, I enjoyed the light reading. I was searching for a romance novel, as I was craving a love story, and this did the job. 4⭐
morgandemming's review against another edition
3.0
Almost didn't finish this. The first three quarters were awesome, then the last bits of the book seemed to drag on forever. This was overall an ehh read for me
afretts's review against another edition
5.0
Read an excerpt from the book here: Summer Skin by Kirsty Eager
I may have a new favorite book. Only time and multiple re-reads will tell if Swimming To Tokyo has truly been ousted, but Summer Skin is phenomenal.
I highlighted the crap out of this book. I never highlight anything, but this is so phenomenal that I just kept doing it. I have never felt so close to any other book characters. The women in this book could be me or my friends. They think the way I think and act the way I act. They're strong and self-assured, but so incredibly nuanced. They're REAL. They're feminists, but they don't have it all figured out. They don't own that word by definition, they take what applies to them and live their lives on their own terms.
Parts of this were hard to read because the book is Australian. I didn't understand some of the references and had to re-read passages several times to figure out what was happening, but it didn't take away from my experience.
The book is super sex-positive, super feminist, and just all-around awesome. The women are written incredibly.
Jess is amazing and loyal and strong-willed. I loved how true to herself she was. I loved how much she loved her friends. I loved how she stood up for herself.
Mitch was such a pig, but you felt for him. You could tell he had issues he was trying to overcome. The author somehow took this horrible, chauvinist character and humanized him. You wanted him to learn better. You wanted him to do right by Jess.
I loved everything about this book. It was incredible. I'm going to put some of my favorite quotes from it here, behind spoiler tags, in a minutes, but I really encourage you guys to read this. It's available through book depository and iBooks (no kindle, unfortunately). It's amazing. It's the girl power romance novel we all have been dreaming of.
The neighboring college, Knights, is all boys. Last year, they played a game where they tried to lure girls back to their room to have sex, then film it, and show it to the other guys. Whoever could complete that task was the winner. Here's what Farren (the victim) has to say about why she didn't pursue criminal charges:
"I know everyone thought I should have taken it further. Taken a stand- put myself on the stand, more like it. And that;s my problem with the whole thing. People save their strong opinions for women. Why don't they look at the men? If I have to read another book or see another movie about a woman being courageous, I'll throw up. Where are the books and movies about the men who do this stuff? But no, it's always about the women. They not only have to get through it, they're supposed to stand up, become a symbol, allow their whole lives to become derailed and defined by it. [...] Because he's the thing. As far as I'm concerned, I'm already a hero. You know why? I did the thing nobody thought I would do after that. I ran for president. And you know why that makes me a hero? Not because I was making some big, brave statement, but because it's what I'd always intended to do. I did not allow my life to change. Not even to make other people feel better. People bang on about women having the right to make choices- well they need to realize women have the right to choose in these matters too."
Jess to Mitch after he's been particularly insulting:
"Well, what do you want me to say? You don't even know me, but you hate me anyway. Because I'm a girl. And I can think that you probably hate a lot of things, but that doesn't make me feel better. You have humiliated me by laughing at me when I thought you were going to kiss me, you have insulted my taste in music, and somehow, my taste in shoes. I'm not only unladylike, I don't know who I am, and you've also gone to the trouble of assuring me that none of my male friends respect me either. Basically, you have made me feel the opposite of special in every possible way. But guess what? You're too late. Because somebody's already done that."
Jess after she's called a slut:
"Given that you don't actually know my sexual history- forgetting for a second that it's irrelevant- I can only assume you said it because for a minute there I enjoyed myself. I hate that way of thinking. [...] You could have said anything, anything else. But not that. [...] I want you to revise your attitude. Women, amazingly enough, are allowed to like it. If that's news to you, then you're not doing it right."
I may have a new favorite book. Only time and multiple re-reads will tell if Swimming To Tokyo has truly been ousted, but Summer Skin is phenomenal.
I highlighted the crap out of this book. I never highlight anything, but this is so phenomenal that I just kept doing it. I have never felt so close to any other book characters. The women in this book could be me or my friends. They think the way I think and act the way I act. They're strong and self-assured, but so incredibly nuanced. They're REAL. They're feminists, but they don't have it all figured out. They don't own that word by definition, they take what applies to them and live their lives on their own terms.
Parts of this were hard to read because the book is Australian. I didn't understand some of the references and had to re-read passages several times to figure out what was happening, but it didn't take away from my experience.
The book is super sex-positive, super feminist, and just all-around awesome. The women are written incredibly.
Jess is amazing and loyal and strong-willed. I loved how true to herself she was. I loved how much she loved her friends. I loved how she stood up for herself.
Mitch was such a pig, but you felt for him. You could tell he had issues he was trying to overcome. The author somehow took this horrible, chauvinist character and humanized him. You wanted him to learn better. You wanted him to do right by Jess.
I loved everything about this book. It was incredible. I'm going to put some of my favorite quotes from it here, behind spoiler tags, in a minutes, but I really encourage you guys to read this. It's available through book depository and iBooks (no kindle, unfortunately). It's amazing. It's the girl power romance novel we all have been dreaming of.
Spoiler
The neighboring college, Knights, is all boys. Last year, they played a game where they tried to lure girls back to their room to have sex, then film it, and show it to the other guys. Whoever could complete that task was the winner. Here's what Farren (the victim) has to say about why she didn't pursue criminal charges:
"I know everyone thought I should have taken it further. Taken a stand- put myself on the stand, more like it. And that;s my problem with the whole thing. People save their strong opinions for women. Why don't they look at the men? If I have to read another book or see another movie about a woman being courageous, I'll throw up. Where are the books and movies about the men who do this stuff? But no, it's always about the women. They not only have to get through it, they're supposed to stand up, become a symbol, allow their whole lives to become derailed and defined by it. [...] Because he's the thing. As far as I'm concerned, I'm already a hero. You know why? I did the thing nobody thought I would do after that. I ran for president. And you know why that makes me a hero? Not because I was making some big, brave statement, but because it's what I'd always intended to do. I did not allow my life to change. Not even to make other people feel better. People bang on about women having the right to make choices- well they need to realize women have the right to choose in these matters too."
Jess to Mitch after he's been particularly insulting:
"Well, what do you want me to say? You don't even know me, but you hate me anyway. Because I'm a girl. And I can think that you probably hate a lot of things, but that doesn't make me feel better. You have humiliated me by laughing at me when I thought you were going to kiss me, you have insulted my taste in music, and somehow, my taste in shoes. I'm not only unladylike, I don't know who I am, and you've also gone to the trouble of assuring me that none of my male friends respect me either. Basically, you have made me feel the opposite of special in every possible way. But guess what? You're too late. Because somebody's already done that."
Jess after she's called a slut:
"Given that you don't actually know my sexual history- forgetting for a second that it's irrelevant- I can only assume you said it because for a minute there I enjoyed myself. I hate that way of thinking. [...] You could have said anything, anything else. But not that. [...] I want you to revise your attitude. Women, amazingly enough, are allowed to like it. If that's news to you, then you're not doing it right."
pahinik's review against another edition
5.0
A book that was fiercely, unapologetically feministic. Refreshingly so. You know how every time you read a romance novel and think “Why didn’t the female protag say this or call this behaviour out or refuse to put up with this?” Well, Jess does all of that and more. Brilliant writing.