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From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)

Early adolescence is a fluid and challenging period of awakening and discovery and in-between-ness in this graphic novel that beautifully and keenly captures that time. In this summer of tension and change, Rose and her parents are at the cottage they have gone to for years. Rose is between child and teenager, more mature in some ways than her younger friend, Windy, even as Windy’s innocence helps ground them both. At the store where the girls go to get videos on languid days, Rose is drawn to the local teenage clerk. She picks out horror movies to impress him, and is intrigued by the drama surrounding the boy and his girlfriend who, she learns, is pregnant. Windy is still sure enough of herself to see and state things in a refreshingly straightforward, uncomplicated way, and calls Rose out for her sexism in blaming the pregnant girl. Meanwhile, Rose’s mother is battling depression and something else Rose doesn’t understand. Rose’s parents are tense and often fighting, and Rose thinks her mother can and should just choose not to be sad. Everything feels profoundly connected in this story that illuminates that time of adolescence when young teens are just starting to open their eyes to the world in new ways; when their interests outpace their experience or their understanding; and when their ability to understand can mature at an astonishing rate. (Age 11 and older)

CCBC Choices 2015 © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2015. Used with permission.

From Horn Book

July 1, 2014
Rose's family goes to Awago Beach every summer. This year she's feeling too old for some of the activities she used to love--and even for her more-childish friend Windy. Rose's contemplative observations and flashbacks, along with the book's realistic dialogue, offer insight into her evolving personality, while the dramatic perspective changes and purply-blue ink illustrations capture the graphic novel's raw emotional core.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

From Kirkus

Starred review from May 1, 2014
A summer of family drama, secrets and change in a small beach town.Rose's family has always vacationed in Awago Beach. It's "a place where beer grows on trees and everyone can sleep in until eleven," but this year's getaway is proving less idyllic than those of the past. Rose's parents argue constantly, and she is painfully aware of her mother's unhappiness. Though her friendship with Windy, a younger girl, remains strong, Rose is increasingly curious about the town's older teens, especially Dunc, a clerk at the general store. Jillian and Mariko Tamaki (Skim, 2008) skillfully portray the emotional ups and downs of a girl on the cusp of adolescence in this eloquent graphic novel. Rose waxes nostalgic for past summers even as she rejects some old pursuits as too childlike and mimics the older teens. The realistic dialogue and sensitive first-person narration convey Rose's naivete and confusion, and Windy's comfort in her own skin contrasts with Rose's uncertainty. Both the text and art highlight small but meaningful incidents as readers gradually learn the truth behind the tension in Rose's family. Printed in dark blue ink, Jillian Tamaki's illustrations feature strong, fluid lines, and the detailed backgrounds and stunning two-page spreads throughout the work establish the mood and a compelling sense of place.Keenly observed and gorgeously illustrated-a triumph. (Graphic novel. 13 & up)

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From School Library Journal

Starred review from May 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-Every summer, Rose and her parents vacation at a lakeside cottage. The rest of the world fades away as Rose reunites with her friend Windy and delves into leisurely games of MASH, swimming, and the joy of digging giant holes in the sand-but this summer is different. Rose is on the cusp of adolescence; she's not ready to leave childhood behind but is fascinated by the drama of the local teens who are only a few years older, yet a universe apart in terms of experience. They drink, they smoke, they swear. As Rose and Windy dip their toes into the mysterious waters of teen life by experimenting with new vocabulary ("sluts!") and renting horror movies, her parents struggle with their own tensions that seem incomprehensible to Rose. Layers of story unfurl gradually as the narrative falls into the dreamlike rhythm of summer. Slice-of-life scenes are gracefully juxtaposed with a complex exploration of the fragile family dynamic after loss and Rose's ambivalence toward growing up. The mood throughout is thoughtful, quiet, almost meditative. The muted tones of the monochromatic blue-on-white illustrations are perfectly suited to the contemplative timbre, and the writing and images deserve multiple reads to absorb their subtleties. This captivating graphic novel presents a fully realized picture of a particular time in a young girl's life, an in-between summer filled with yearning and a sense of ephemerality. The story resolves with imperfect hope and will linger in readers' mind through changing seasons.-Allison Tran, Mission Viejo Library, CA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

From Booklist

Starred review from April 15, 2014
Grades 8-11 *Starred Review* Mariko and Jillian Tamaki earned critical acclaim for Skim (2008), and they return here with another coming-of-age tale about the awkward transition from carefree childhood to jaded, self-conscious young adulthood. Rose and her parents spend every summer at their lakeside cabin in Awago, right down the path from Rose's best friend, Windy, and her family. They spend lazy days collecting rocks on the beach, riding bikes, swimming, and having barbecues. But this summer, Rose's parents are constantly fighting, and her mother seems resentful and sad. In that unspoken way kids pick up on their parents' hardships, Rose starts lashing out at Windy and grasping at what she thinks of as adulthoodturning up her nose at silliness (at which Windy excels), watching gory horror movies, reading fashion magazines, and joining in the bullying of a local teenage girl who finds herself in a tough spot. Jillian Tamaki's tender illustrations, all rendered in a deep purpley blue, depict roiling water, midnight skies, Windy's frenetic sugar highs, and Rose's mostly aloof but often poignantly distressed facial expressions with equal aplomb. With a light touch, the Tamakis capture the struggle of growing up in a patchwork of summer moments that lead to a conclusion notably absent of lessons. Wistful, touching, and perfectly bittersweet.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

From Publisher's Weekly

Starred review from March 17, 2014
Rose and Windy, friends for two weeks every summer in nearby Ontario lake cottages, have hit early adolescence. Rose, a bit older, has knowledge and polish that tubby, still-childish Windy lacks, and Windy sometimes bores her. Yet Windy's instincts are often sound, while Rose is led astray by an infatuation with a local convenience store clerk. As Rose's parents' marriage founders and the taunts of local teens wake her to issues of social class, Rose veers between secret grief and fleeting pleasure in the rituals of summer. Jillian Tamaki's exceptionally graceful line is one of the strengths of this work from the cousin duo behind Skim. Printed entirely in somber blue ink, the illustrations powerfully evoke the densely wooded beach town setting and the emotional freight carried by characters at critical moments, including several confronting their womanhood in different and painful ways. Fine characterization and sensitive prose distinguish the story, too-as when Rose remembers the wisdom a swimming teacher shared about holding his breath for minutes at a time: "He told me the secret was he would tell himself that he was actually breathing." Ages 12—up. Agent: Sam Hiyate, the Rights Factory. (May)â—