This One Summer

Never want summer to end.

Not ready for school? Still dying for some beach reads to help cling onto the summer? I have a book for you! This One Summer is a graphic novel written by Mariko Tamaki and illustrated by Jillian Tamaki.

I had never read a graphic novel before, but the whimsy of the title and the cover art drew me in.

Graphic novels are the happy medium between books and movies. The authors and artists have the challenging job of getting across all of the normal descriptions of emotions that are in a book with the action of a movie.

Artists must hone in on the tiniest of details to make you feel immersed in the story. Being able to replicate facial expression crucial. The story writer must be able to convey a big message with minimal dialogue, or words.

This One Summer did these things exceptionally well. Never once was I confused about the action.

The book was a really quick read. I finished it in one afternoon. I felt like I had lived through the week with the main character, Rose, and her best friend Windy at Awago Beach, a small, sleepy coastal town.

I'm so glad I read this book because I feel like it opened me up to another genre of literature and I will definitely be reading more graphic novels in the future.