Uni High Reads

This past fall (not long ago when I’m writing this, but a lifetime ago by May when the book releases), I saw the author of this book, Dahlia Adler, discussing the book on a panel, and I was immediately interested. Bisexuality is kind of a tricky thing to cover in a novel-sized story– yes, every book and their mother has a love triangle, but how do you resolve that without it making it feel like the character is ‘picking’ being straight or gay?

Well, the short answer is you let them have their cake, and eat it too (not necessarily at the same time). In Cool for the Summer, the main character Lara has been pining after football star Chase for years, and the book starts with him asking her on a date! Mission accomplished! Book over! Right? Well, no. In the main timeline of the book, Lara and Chase do date– but the summer before, Lara found summer love, Grease-style, at the beach with Jasmine. The book is basically two romances in one, as both relationships develop in their own timeline.

The complication: after all-but-ghosting Lara, Jasmine shows up at her high school on the first day of the semester as a transfer student. What does she want? For that matter, what does Lara want?

I really loved this book. The plot is engaging, the pacing is tight, the writing is good. but above all, the characters are exceptional. Lara has a great friend group: her best friend Shannon is the HBIC, Gia is a thoughtful friend and a kind, nuanced take on “that girl you know who’s been dating the same guy for all of high school and is hoping to make it work in college”, and Kiki– well, Kiki makes a true crime podcast and is paying more attention than anyone might guess (Kiki is my favorite). Jasmine and Chase are both rich characters too: Chase is a total sweetheart who wears his heart on his sleeve, while Jasmine is complicated and hard for Lara to read in a really realistic way.

My personal favorite detail is some excellent Jewish rep: both Lara and Jasmine are Jewish, but on very different parts of the religiousness spectrum. Lara’s experience of going to Jasmine’s traditional Shabbat (sabbath) dinner really resonated with me. Despite feeling slightly out of place, she feels welcomed nonetheless, and like part of her identity is affirmed. I’ve had similar experiences, of attending more religious Jewish events and feeling that way, and it was really cool to see it portrayed so well in this book.

I do want to mention that the book isn’t shy about sex. On the romance novel spectrum of “chaste fade to black” to “extremely saucy” it’s somewhere in the middle, probably. For older teens this probably won’t be particularly out of line with other things you’re reading, but for our younger readers make sure you’re comfortable with that! If you don’t think you are, that is perfectly fine, and this book will be there for you if and when you want it.

All in all, I would highly recommend bringing this with you on any beach trips– I can’t think of many books that would be better to read on a beach towel! Especially if you happen to be headed to the Outer Banks. Even if you’re inside in the AC trying to stay cool for the summer, though, you should check it out if you like romance, books with multiple timelines, and great, nuanced queer representation.