A review by softghoul_jpeg
Dogs of Summer by Andrea Abreu

emotional fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

was lukewarm as a i finished this novel. the ending felt underwhelming to me.
there was not enough impact in isora’s death. i thought, “is that it?” is this the life-changing event that the narrator’s going to have, but we can’t physically see/feel it with her? it’s told through hushed voices and confusing sentiments?
seemed awfully strange, as this whole story is centered on isora isora isora. a girl who lives and breathes isora. 

i didn't really find any of the characters likable. but enjoyed the writing style in its rawness and naïveté. very girlhood-stream-of-consciousness. although, the language on body felt uncomfortable. it was gross innocence on the narrator’s part. and kids can be curious like this. but it felt too much at times, and i had to put the book down and take a second. 

i love stories about queerness, girlhood, and coming-of-age, as i also tend to focus on these themes in my own writing. but it was hard to root for anyone in this story. isora’s selfishness and the narrator’s lack of identity was infuriating. but i think that might be the point? an ugly observance of what infatuation and obsession can look like. the desperation to be seen and loved by isora. it was palpable, especially in the second half of the story. to eat isora; that chapter was intense. the narrator tripping over her own thoughts, feelings, growing desires— to engulf isora. she dealt with extreme sapphic thoughts of her, but didn't possess the knowledge or tools to understand her own queerness. and to boot: she lacked a sense of self, agency, autonomy. but then again, she's only a child and latching onto someone who she feels gives her life, a sense of direction, will, the only thing she can understand. and when her sa happened, these feelings began to warp. and they festered into something the narrator couldn’t put a name to. it was saddening to see her unable to metabolize what happened to her, to not fully understand, to see her lash out in ways unlike herself because that’s the only way her body is able to make sense of what happened. 

overall, it was a decent story. 
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