Cool for the Summer by Dahlia Adler
**We won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway!
This book is the literal coolest. Lara is forced to spend the summer away from NYC, while her mom’s boss is on vacation. Lara thinks this will be a lazy summer at the beach, but after meeting the boss’ daughter, it becomes anything but. Jasmine befriends Lara, taking her to parties, shopping, the perfect summer - especially when their friendship becomes something more. But summers end and so does the fragile relationship between Lara and Jasmine as they head back to their respective hometowns.
Lara returns to high school a changed young woman and finally catches the eye of her long-time crush, Chase. Lara’s excitement at Chase’s attention is only dampened when Jasmine walks in the door of her high school. Jasmine pretends not to notice Lara and it sends her into a year-long tailspin.
This book is brilliant in the way we cut between the summer and the school year in ways that built story, tension, and romance. You find yourself choosing #TeamChase or #TeamJasmine and flip-flopping back and forth. You root for Lara to figure herself out and just find happiness already.
Cool for the Summer is a very high school romance with very high school experiences, drama, and characters. A great escape. -Ford
———————————————-
I wish this book existed when I was 17.
Dahlia Adler wrote a story so similar to my life, I kept looking over my shoulder. Not only did she nail the feeling of absolute rightness when you are with the person you want to be with, but also the societal (high school) need for labels and DTFs. How did she know about my summer haircut from a long braid to a wavy bob, peach-scented glitter lotion, or reading all the time? She even got my Russian mother right.
This precious gem made me nostalgic for my own first girlfriend, for the way it felt to bask in the joy of being seen, for the high school friends that stood with me through the thick and thin, and for my mother's hugs as she patted my hair when I was upset.
To every teen out there who needs to be seen, held, protected, reassured that they are enough, that their feelings are valid. This is the book. It is a hug, a mirror of the things to come. You will be loved. Dahlia Adler will show you a way. - Sky
