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tierrajp's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.75
izphi's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
aveneg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Rape
hmcconnell12's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
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
I don't have enough words to express the emotions this evoked. To think this is her debut novel!!! It was raw, beautiful, heartbreaking, and everything in-between. She did such a phenomenal job showing how two worlds collide in a way where both can be true, both can be incredible, and both can have significant flaws. Her passion for all the characters in the story shines through, I really feel there were no stones unturned, no lose ends that leave me wondering about story or message.
It is not an easy read with all the heart-clenching, fist-curling ups and downs, but I feel like I have also made it through a storm at the end or this book.
Wow. Wow. Wow!!!!
It is not an easy read with all the heart-clenching, fist-curling ups and downs, but I feel like I have also made it through a storm at the end or this book.
Wow. Wow. Wow!!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Classism
lovereadingxo's review
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.
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
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, and Rape
sydney_arcuri's review
3.0
3/5 stars
CW: Sexual Assault / Rape, physical and verbal abuse, colorism
I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it brought important issues to light, but the conclusions to these issues were glossed over or not resolved with any real depth. I guess I assumed based on the description that this book would deal with heavy topics but also be cathartic in a way but we didn't get a lot (if any) of that- especially in the end of the story.
With all that said I still think the cover is absolutely stunning.
CW: Sexual Assault / Rape, physical and verbal abuse, colorism
I have mixed feelings about this book. I think it brought important issues to light, but the conclusions to these issues were glossed over or not resolved with any real depth. I guess I assumed based on the description that this book would deal with heavy topics but also be cathartic in a way but we didn't get a lot (if any) of that- especially in the end of the story.
With all that said I still think the cover is absolutely stunning.
mmotleyu's review
3.0
There was so much going on in this book that its scope felt a bit too large for me, but maybe that's the point-- when you are a teenager you feel everything all at once often because you don't know how to process all the new things and feelings that are happening. I listened to this book and hearing all the characters' dialect was quite beautiful, and along with the vivid descriptions of Jamaica, made me feel like I was there. I was most surprised by the lingering effects of colonialism and the patriarchical society that placed so little value on females. The topic of a teen exploring her sexuality along with her family's view of it and society's view, wasn't something I ever thought much about. Having teen daughters myself, this will be something we will be dealing with. I appreciate what this book was trying to do. I look forward to the author's next book with some tighter editing.
jooniethemoonie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
slow-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
4.5
It's quite long but hard hitting. Brings you on the journey of a girl learning to stand for herself, in a country that runs through her bones but does not welcome her.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Rape
Moderate: Physical abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Death, and Blood
Minor: Cursing and Injury/Injury detail