If you love queer YA contemporary with a core of sisterhood and figuring out pieces of ourselves, then you’ll have to add No Boy Summer to your TBR. Full of heart, Lydia’s story is heartfelt and perfect for Summer! Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
Lydia Jones and her younger sister Penny have had it with boy drama. Last year was marred by relationship disasters for both of them, threatening Lydia’s standing with her school’s theater tech club and Penny’s perfect GPA. Penny has, naturally, diagnosed the problem and prescribed a drastic solution: a summer off from boys.
Lydia and Penny decide to stay with their Aunt Grace and her boyfriend Oscar in Los Angeles while their parents are off on a European cruise. Penny follows her future-business-school dreams with an internship at Oscar’s office, and Lydia gets a part-time job at Grace’s neighborhood coffeeshop, Grounds Control.
Even when they spent hours, days, weeks dissecting their various boy drama, Lydia’s never felt this connected to her sister before, and it makes her wonder what else in her life could be different. She finds herself drawn to a group of friends she meets through her Grounds Control coworker, Margaret, as well as an intriguing customer, Fran, an aspiring filmmaker and—while not the first girl Lydia finds herself attracted to—the first girl who has mutual feelings for her. But she’s not breaking her pledge to Penny, right? That was just about boys. Even though in her heart Lydia knows she’s bending the rules, she hasn’t had a connection with anyone as strong as her connection with Fran, so she thinks it can’t be wrong. And Penny won’t mind as long as she’s happy . . . Right?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
No Boy Summer always got me. Lydia’s relationship with her sister, Penny, is emotional and precious. Always united by their boy drama, Penny decides the No Boy Summer should be born. The idea that they will be able to spend the summer focused on themselves and also their sister relationship. So when Lydia falls for her coffee regular Fran, Lydia ends up falling into a romance and lying to Penny. Their sister relationship is everything.
Lydia feels like the disaster child. The one who doesn’t have it together like perfect Penny. But them figuring out their relationship and how they really learn to talk to each other is my favorite element. A close second is the ways in which Lydia learns about herself. Not only in the questioning representation, but also as Lydia figures out what it’s like to make friends. To try new things, and to look ahead to the future.
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If you love stories with queer romances, challenging the ones around us, and trying to focus on who we are, then you have to read No Boy Summer. Especially if you have loved stories from authors like Jenn Dugan, Dhalia Adler and more! No Boy Summer is a perfect summer YA read especially if you’ve ever felt like the less put together sibling. Find No Boy Summer on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, & Blackwells.