Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.83 AVERAGE
3.83 AVERAGE
Sometimes, what you really need is a sweet, cute, fun book. This is 100% that book. While it doesn't shy away from serious topics, overall it is full of light and happiness. A great read for summer, or any time of year.
The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) is the book I've been waiting for since I knew how to read. It's fun and humorous and from the beginning, I knew Abby was absolutely too relatable. As a fat, queer person who grew up being the one helping other people, I'm used to not feeling like the hero in the story of my life. On top of that, seeing Abby's monologuing and daydreaming actually affect her life, as seen when she misses parts of conversations because of it, adds another layer to the normal YA exposition that made the story and Abby even more charming.
Alongside Abby, the other characters in this story are also a delight to read, even at their most frustrating moments. Jordi, the love interest, presents a cool and artistic mystique, and I swear I was falling in love with her right as Abby was. Jax, the rich jock turned unsuspecting best friend is full of surprising bro-ish wisdom, and his friendship with Abby is not one I expected but it's one I really appreciate. Abby’s relationships with her best friends, Maliah, Brooke, and Zoe also add a bit more dynamic to the story without feeling like they’re cluttering the scene.
I'm not saying this book is the absolute best book of all time with no flaws in it's writing, but I didn't come to this book expecting that. If you're looking for a sweet and fun book that's heartwarming while managing to still feel realistic, then I definitely recommend giving this book a shot.
Alongside Abby, the other characters in this story are also a delight to read, even at their most frustrating moments. Jordi, the love interest, presents a cool and artistic mystique, and I swear I was falling in love with her right as Abby was. Jax, the rich jock turned unsuspecting best friend is full of surprising bro-ish wisdom, and his friendship with Abby is not one I expected but it's one I really appreciate. Abby’s relationships with her best friends, Maliah, Brooke, and Zoe also add a bit more dynamic to the story without feeling like they’re cluttering the scene.
I'm not saying this book is the absolute best book of all time with no flaws in it's writing, but I didn't come to this book expecting that. If you're looking for a sweet and fun book that's heartwarming while managing to still feel realistic, then I definitely recommend giving this book a shot.
Predictable but decent. Good messages for youth readers. Listened to the audio book but probably would have liked it better as a hard copy.
“Fashion can be art. And art doesn’t have to be big. It can be just for you.”
I have mixed feeling about this. While I LOVED the friendships in the story (Jax and Abby were amazing), the diverse rep with a plus sizes lesbian MC in Abby, a Latina love interest in Jordi, and a black woman in Maliah (Abby’s best friend) and the showcase of fashion and creativity, I kinda lost the spark I had for the relationship after the big conflict point. The Summer of Jordi Perez follows Abby, a plus sized fashion blogger, and Jordi, a photographer, who are both interning at a local boutique and immediately have some fantastic chemistry that pulled me in. They spend time with each other, encourage each other, and are all around adorable. But the conflict in the story that temporarily drives them apart really made me not like Jordi anymore, and I thought Abby deserved better. The ending felt a little rushed and underwhelming and the book ended on a lower note. I did really appreciate seeing Abby as a proud fat girl who loves who she is and wants other fat girls and guys to love themselves too. And while she is a little flakey and absent minded, she is so charming and relatable. While I liked the end of the book less than I expected, I still had a really fun time with this overall.
I received a copy of the book from Sky Pint Press via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
maybe...the best burger... was the friendships we made along the way.........
Spalding, Amy. The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles). Sky Pony Press, 2018.
Abby runs her own plus-sized fashion blog, so she is beyond excited when she is given an internship at a local boutique. Much to her surprise, though, there are going to be TWO interns this summer. Abby doesn't know Jordi very well, but as her fellow intern they spend a lot of time together over the summer. Abby realizes she likes Jordi as more than simply a coworker, and the two begin navigating the tangled world of dating in high school. Can Abby handle being the star of her show instead of simply someone's sidekick?
What I Liked: Lots of diversity, including intersectional diversity. Abby is a well-rounded main character with plenty of flaws, but her friends eventually call her out on those. Abby's friendship with Jax is wonderful and I love it in spite of my initial misgivings over Jax being a dudebro.
What I Didn't Like: This book could have used another major edit to remove some unnecessary side plots (I'm looking at you, Abby's older sister). Abby's relationship with her mother took a backseat to her mother's healthy eating blog, which isn't necessarily a problem except that Abby and her friends mock the healthy eating movement altogether to the point where Abby doesn't want to admit to having ordered a salad at a restaurant. Other readers have complained of bi-erasure, which is certainly apparent once a reader starts paying attention to it. There wasn't much discussion of fashion or the boutique owner's method of designing outfits or seasonal lines, etc., which didn't bother me much because I'm not into fashion, but since Abby likes it so much I was surprised it wasn't featured more. Abby complains that her friends are rich, but she gets to do an unpaid for fun internship in the summer and her mother's "job" is running a food blog while her father is her mother's assistant, so her family isn't exactly destitute. I absolutely agree with Abby that the $375 skirt she was pining for was too expensive, but I doubt I would have bought it even when she found it on "deep, deep discount" because there's no way it came down enough to be in my price range.
If you read this book as a fun, surface level beach read, it's perfect, but once you look beneath the surface, there are flaws that a solid edit would have remedied. The concept is fantastic, but the execution is definitely lacking.
Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: fat-shaming
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars
Read-Alikes: Dumplin', Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy
Abby runs her own plus-sized fashion blog, so she is beyond excited when she is given an internship at a local boutique. Much to her surprise, though, there are going to be TWO interns this summer. Abby doesn't know Jordi very well, but as her fellow intern they spend a lot of time together over the summer. Abby realizes she likes Jordi as more than simply a coworker, and the two begin navigating the tangled world of dating in high school. Can Abby handle being the star of her show instead of simply someone's sidekick?
What I Liked: Lots of diversity, including intersectional diversity. Abby is a well-rounded main character with plenty of flaws, but her friends eventually call her out on those. Abby's friendship with Jax is wonderful and I love it in spite of my initial misgivings over Jax being a dudebro.
What I Didn't Like: This book could have used another major edit to remove some unnecessary side plots (I'm looking at you, Abby's older sister). Abby's relationship with her mother took a backseat to her mother's healthy eating blog, which isn't necessarily a problem except that Abby and her friends mock the healthy eating movement altogether to the point where Abby doesn't want to admit to having ordered a salad at a restaurant. Other readers have complained of bi-erasure, which is certainly apparent once a reader starts paying attention to it. There wasn't much discussion of fashion or the boutique owner's method of designing outfits or seasonal lines, etc., which didn't bother me much because I'm not into fashion, but since Abby likes it so much I was surprised it wasn't featured more. Abby complains that her friends are rich, but she gets to do an unpaid for fun internship in the summer and her mother's "job" is running a food blog while her father is her mother's assistant, so her family isn't exactly destitute. I absolutely agree with Abby that the $375 skirt she was pining for was too expensive, but I doubt I would have bought it even when she found it on "deep, deep discount" because there's no way it came down enough to be in my price range.
If you read this book as a fun, surface level beach read, it's perfect, but once you look beneath the surface, there are flaws that a solid edit would have remedied. The concept is fantastic, but the execution is definitely lacking.
Recommended for: teens
Red Flags: fat-shaming
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars
Read-Alikes: Dumplin', Putting Makeup on the Fat Boy
I feel like I've exclusively been reading books that fall under the category "I wish this book existed when I was a teen."
This is the perfect August read. Light and fun and summery. A delight.
Genre: Contemporary romances; LGBTQIA romances
Character: LGBTQIA diverse
Pace: Leisurely paced
Tone: Amusing
This is the perfect August read. Light and fun and summery. A delight.
Genre: Contemporary romances; LGBTQIA romances
Character: LGBTQIA diverse
Pace: Leisurely paced
Tone: Amusing
This was very cute and well done. A fat lesbian main character (here for that, we need more of those) and I really liked her and the way she thought and expressed herself. If you're looking for a cute f/f romance this will be a nice read for you.
This was so adorable! Like almost made me puke from how cute it was. It's one of those books you read when you want to feel good, or smile a lot. Haha I found myself smiling a ton. I love the friendship she develops with Jax despite their differences! Everyone needs a friend like Jax. There was just so many things to love about this. And I want all her clothes! Ohmygosh! Just reading about the clothes made me want to go out and buy a parrot dress! I have a lemon one so I guess I'm not out of the running yet!
I recommend it as a feel good read!
I recommend it as a feel good read!