A review by craftshley
Hurricane Summer by Asha Bromfield

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

 
Tilla is going to Jamaica, her family’s homeland, for the first time. She has no idea what to expect but she does know her father yearns for that land. That he hates living anywhere else and that he loves Jamaica more than he loves her and her sister, for all that he always goes running back to the place. She’s hoping that going to Jamaica will bring them closer and that he’ll love her like he used to. 

She is oh so wrong. 

Her father has to go back to town after only a couple days so Tilla is left to stay in the country, with people she doesn’t know. As time passes, it becomes clear that she’s so different from everyone. In Canada, her mom can barely afford to buy her and her sister, Mia, clothes from Walmart. Yet here, in Jamaica, the fact that she has maybe ten pairs of shoes makes her seem rich. 

She soon discovers that the hatred of foreign runs deep and that all her relatives are against her. Every time she gets her hopes up about fitting in, something happens to beat her down. Agan and again. 

This book. Wow. The depth of feeling in this book. The beautiful descriptions of the land, alongside the hateful things Tilla experiences, is such a juxtaposition. It makes all her experiences all the worse for there being such beauty in the world. It’s the way of things, of course. 

I felt so betrayed by what happened, though I could tell from the beginning that going to Jamaica wasn’t going to be all sunshine and rainbows. I was absolutely outraged on Tilla’s behalf, for everything she went through and how everyone talked about her. I hate how this book made me feel but that’s probably a mark of just how good it is. It was so immersive into the culture of Jamaica, I assume anyway. I’ve never been there nor do I know anyone from there. 

The issues of how women are perceived and how men can do whatever they want and not face consequences, are at the forefront of this novel. Alongside the horrible sexism is colorism. The way the family talks about Andre and how they treat him as less than makes me so angry. He’s the best of them all and I will be taking no criticism on this front. He was the only one who took TIlla seriously and who believed her side of the story (other than her own sister). Even Tilla’s father falls for what her cousin, Diana, says about Tilla. Calling her a slut, and a whore. It made me so outraged. 

I don’t like how quickly Tilla fell for not one, but two guys. How quickly she gives herself over to a man after being betrayed by the key man in her life over and over again. I would have rather she had been more cautious. But, again, this makes her more human. I also wish there had been more time dedicated to Tilla and her father. They barely get to see each other, as he abandons her to the country and her family there. Perhaps it’s just a marker of the fact that he will never be on her side, that she will never be enough for him, not over his life in Jamaica. Her many issues with her father are buried under everything else that happens to Tilla in Jamaica, though everything is connected. 

This book is dark and deep. It was not a fun read, not like that. It was enjoyable for the sake of reading, but I will never read it again. It has certainly left a lasting impression, however, and I’m sure it will resonate with many readers, especially those who are looking for a deep emotional connection. Just be aware that there are several trigger warnings associated with this book, not least of which is a scene of sexual assault. Gaslighting, infidelity, slut shaming, language, racism, colorism, and more. 

It will take me a long time to recover from Hurricane Summer. 

 
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