A review by gfalkenb
Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.5

While the novel starts with a found body, the book is less of a mystery and more of a community drama. There a few characters that have the potential to be likable in the story, but if they are potentially likable you hardly get any character development. The main characters are terrible, self-absorbed, conceited, unfaithful, entitled, vapid people that spend every summer together despite hating each other. Just when you think they can’t get worse, they do. The book changes viewpoints each chapter, which I generally like, but there were so many characters (all with basic names) it was hard to keep them all straight. While the characters were terrible, I hoped they would “get what was coming to them,” but it seemed there were no consequences to their horrible actions. The end probably raised this a half star as I was ultimately surprised by some of the twists and turns in the final quarter of the book.