I read this book in one sitting. Granted, I read it in the backseat of a car heading 4 hours back home from PLA in Indianapolis...there wasn't anywhere else for me to go. But! This made the time go by much faster, and pretty enjoyably minus a brief bout of car queasiness.
The Summer I Wasn't Me is a YA novel by Jessica Verdi. Lexi's father has recently passed away, her mother isn't coping well, and she's just found out Lexi likes girls. To rescue her unraveling family, Lexi agrees to go to New Horizons-a camp that promises to transform her; to make her like boys. She wants to do this, she wants to start over. However, her summer at New Horizons brings surprises, both good and bad.
I love the movie But I'm a Cheerleader. I think it was the first LGBTQ movie I saw that was, while satirical, poignant enough to leave a lasting impression. Actually, I still have the song Glass Vase, Cello Case in my iTunes "Favorites" playlist. This book was similar- but so much more gut-wrenching, heart-breaking. I think I connected with the characters more. Lexi is pretty awesome, and The Great Gatsby is one of her favorite books. The symbolism in the books comes into play quite a bit throughout The Summer I Wasn't Me.
What's kind of a kicker, too, is Lexi's perspective is one who has grown up in the church. At one point she brings up the sermons and how it was "getting harder and harder to listen to everyone talking about me like God didn't love me quite as much as he did them. They didn't know they were talking about me, of course, but that didn't make it hurt any less."
It's so...crazy, but then you realize that there are camps like this. I tried to find a memoir from someone who had been through a similar experience, but to no avail.
This book brings up tough issues like religion, family, choices in general, abuse, but specifically from the perspective of LGBTQ teens. Definitely a conversation-starter on many levels.
Bonus! Author Jessica Verdi will be guest posting in a couple of weeks- stay tuned!
The Summer I Wasn't Me is published by Sourcebooks Fire. Review Copy graciously provided by the publisher.
Released: 04.01.2014
I remember my first encounter with Francesca Lia Block. I was in 4th grade, and was wandering around the Calais Free Library in Calais, Maine. I saw a short, pink book, and the title was so fun to say: Weetzie Bat. Unfortunately (or, I guess maybe fortunately), my parents were still monitoring my reading materials at that point (not as much two years later when I picked up Insomnia), and I wasn't allowed to check it out because of language.
Well, I did indeed end up checking it out at a later time, along with the rest of the Dangerous Angels, and then found one of my favorites of Block's: Girl Goddess #9. I don't know why that book is so comforting to me, but at least once a year I check it out from the library, and sink into it like a familiar hug. I should probably just buy it :-) Actually, I can't seem to read any of her books just once- I've returned to them all at one point or another.
Ms. Block was at ALA this year, and I was fortunate to receive an ARC of this novel. I also got to meet her, and have her sign it.
Love in the Time of Global Warming is a story about Penelope. After a major earthquake, she is on an Odyssey-like quest to search for her family. Like Odysseus, she must make a journey. Faced with monsters and madmen, banding together with an unlikely group, she recognizes her own strengths and holds on to hope.
This story is told with Block's distinct, magical, almost-dreamlike style. I feel like I'm watching a live painting when I read her (does that make any sense? Each sentence is like a written brushstroke). Dark and ethereal, Pen's journey is absolutely captivating. She and her three companions encounter giants and other obstacles, and we are swept away into their experiences.
I particularly loved all the mythological references, and Pen's guide to this new world being a copy of Homer's The Odyssey. I had fun making the connections to the epic tale- I did the same thing with O Brother, Where Art Thou?
So, I really liked this book. Beautiful, sensual and haunting, and like her other books- one I will keep returning to.
I would recommend this to those who like or are interested in Block's other books, mythology, LGBTQ protagonists, and post-apocalyptic stories.
Love in the Time of Global Warming is published by Henry Holt & Co (a divsion of Macmillan). ARC copy graciously provided by Macmillan.
Release Date: 08.27.13
