Book: This One Summer
Author: Mariko Tamaki
llustrator: Jillian Tamaki
Publisher: First Second
Publication date: 2014
Supports Diverse Protagonist
Graphic Novel
Written in the last 4 years
Engage middle school readers
Lexile Score: GN300L
Target Audience: ages 13 & up
Brief Summary
Every summer, Rose goes with her mom and dad to Awago Beach. Her best friend Windy is there too and Rose is so excited to see her again. They spend so much time together whether it is going to the beach and swimming or stopping at the local convenience store and picking up a scary movie. Although Windy believes they go to the store because Rose has a crush on Dunc, the guy who works there. This book has a lot of different things that happen such as parents fighting about a miscarriage, crushes, jealousy, and even teen pregnancies. A lot of growing up is done in this book but the ending is not as great as I thought it would be.
Evaluation: 27/32
Illustration - 4
Storyline - 4
Appropriateness - 2
Problems/Resolutions - 3
Stereotyping - 3
Relatability -3
Readability/Cohesiveness - 3
Critical Thinking - 4
I enjoyed reading this book but I don't think I would use it in a classroom. The age range listed for this book on Amazon is 12 years old and up but I think students would have to be a little more mature and understanding to read this book with care. It is not a book that is appropriate for school but if students would want to read it outside of school on their own time, it has a lot of great lessons they can take away from it.
Literary Elements
1. Onomatopoeia - Because this book is graphic novel, it uses a lot of onomatopoeias to represent the sounds of things such as the waves crashing on the shore or the sound of leaves crunching on the ground. If I were to create a lesson on onomatopoeias, I would use this book and other books as well to use as examples of great uses of them. Graphic novels are wonderful at representing sounds through words and students could use these examples to create their own graphic short novels with the use of an onomatopoeia so represent the sounds heard throughout the story.
2. Tragedy - This book contains the topic of a few tragedies such as the loss of a baby through miscarriage. It is pretty detailed in the book and readers could see how awful it can be.
3. External Conflict - Rose deals with an external conflict such as her dad leaving the house for a few days because her parents are arguing. That leads to Rose arguing with her mother and they don't speak for a day or so. That is a conflict that Rose must face and deal with.
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