Cool for the Summer

by Dahlia Adler

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

This fresh and fun queer romance takes the classic love triangle trope and flips it on its head. Lara is torn between the newfound attention from her longtime crush, Chase, and the summer fling she had with Jasmine, who just unexpectedly transferred to her school. Cool for the Summer is a sweet coming-of-age story perfect for fans of Becky Albertalli.

"Witty, wise, and disarmingly tender. I am hopelessly devoted to this summer dream of a book." —Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

The guy of her dreams... or the girl in her heart?

Lara's had eyes for exactly one person throughout her three years of high school: Chase Harding. He's tall, strong, sweet, a football star, and frankly, stupid hot. Oh, and he's talking to her now. On purpose and everything. Maybe...flirting, even? No, wait, he's definitely flirting, which is pretty much the sum of everything Lara's wanted out of life.

Except she’s haunted by a memory. A memory of a confusing, romantic, strangely perfect summer spent with a girl named Jasmine. A memory that becomes a confusing, disorienting present when Jasmine herself walks through the front doors of the school to see Lara and Chase chatting it up in front of the lockers.

Lara has everything she ever wanted: a tight-knit group of friends, a job that borders on cool, and Chase, the boy of her literal dreams. But if she's finally got the guy, why can't she stop thinking about the girl?

Dahlia Adler's Cool for the Summer is a story of self-discovery and new love. It’s about the things we want and the things we need. And it’s about the people who will let us be who we are.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250765826
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/11/2021
Pages:	272
Sales rank:	108,885
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

DAHLIA ADLER is an editor of mathematics by day, the overlord of LGBTQ Reads by night, and a Young Adult author at every spare moment in between. She is the editor of the anthologies His Hideous Heart (a Junior Library Guild selection) and That Way Madness Lies, and the author of many novels, including Cool for the Summer. She lives in New York with her family and an obscene number of books.

Editorial Reviews

03/01/2021

Gr 9 Up—This is at first glance a light teenage romance, but readers will find more depth within its pages. Lara has always blended into her group of friends and been hyper-focused on her crush on Chase, a football star in her school. Then she and her mother spend the summer away from New York on the Outer Banks of North Carolina and Lara becomes friends with Jasmine. That friendship becomes a summer romance. Things get complicated when Jasmine shows up in New York in the fall to attend Lara's school and becomes part of her friend group. Chase, who Lara has swooned over for years, starts to notice her at the same time Jasmine appears, leading to a love triangle. The strength of this novel is Lara's discovery of herself and her sexuality. The relationship drama becomes the backdrop to Lara figuring out how to better understand who she wants to be, as opposed to simply copying the template of a cool friend. While some characters do echo typical teenage stereotypes, eclectic Jasmine is powerful and unique, and her relationship as a foil to Lara is refreshing. Lara is white and Jewish and Jasmine Syrian, Irish, and Jewish. VERDICT Readers who enjoy romance will be delightfully surprised with this book that will take them a bit deeper on the road of self-discovery through high school crushes.—April Sanders, Texas A&M Commerce, TX

School Library Journal

2021-03-13
A high schooler tries to keep her summer fling—and questions about her sexuality—a secret.

After spending her summer in the Outer Banks thanks to her mom's job, petite, blond-haired Lara is back in New York and ready to take on her senior year with a fresh haircut and newfound confidence. She’s finally caught the eye of her longtime unrequited crush, Chase, and as they start dating, she knows she should feel that her dreams have come true. But Lara’s secret summer fling, Jasmine, has moved to town, and as Jasmine infiltrates Lara’s friend group, Lara feels increasingly unmoored. Lara had only ever been attracted to boys before, but now she can’t stop thinking about Jasmine and wondering what that means. If she's always dreamed about dating Chase, who would she be without that dream? And was she just “cool for the summer,” or are her feelings about Jasmine something more? While some readers will be frustrated that the plot hinges on simple miscommunication and a love triangle, the thoughtful representation of a questioning teen's struggle to understand herself—and avoid labels for the time being—is sorely needed. Lara is a Jewish second-generation Russian American; Jasmine is a Jewish Syrian American, and supporting characters have a range of racial, ethnic, and sexual identities.

A welcome addition to the small but growing canon of questioning queer fiction. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

* Winner of the Alma for Best Jewish YA of the Year *
* May/June 2021 Kids' Indie Next Pick *
*2021 Booklist Editors' Choice *
*A 2022 Rainbow List Pick *

"Un-bi-lievably good." - Buzzfeed

"With its summery vibes and rollercoaster of queer confusion, Cool for the Summer is the sexy, sweet and steamy beach read of the year!" - The Nerd Daily

"As bright and sweet as its cover and poignantly explores queer identity and self-discovery." - Buzzfeed

"This book is a gamechanger for queer Jewish teens." - Alma

"[S]trung through with humor, warmth, and sensuality, this romance will speak to any reader who has ever struggled to know their own heart." - Booklist (starred review)

"Dahlia Adler’s latest has me longing for the summer. This story of a bi girl discovering who she is and who holds her heart sounds like the perfect summer 2021 read." - Bookish

"...echoes of Demi Lovato's 2015 bop resound throughout these sweet and sultry pages, but Adler's novel offers a wonderfully queer spin on another August-becomes-September anthem: Grease's 'Summer Nights.'" - Oprahmag.com

"Writ­ten in a clear, acces­si­ble style, this book tells the com­pelling and sweet sto­ry of one girl’s jour­ney of self-discovery." - Jewish Book Council

"The thoughtful representation of a questioning teen's struggle to understand herself...is sorely needed. A welcome addition to the small but growing canon of questioning queer fiction." - Kirkus

"Witty, wise, and disarmingly tender. I am hopelessly devoted to this summer dream of a book." - Becky Albertalli, New York Times bestselling author of Kate in Waiting and Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda

“Adler captures the radiance and joy of summer love and perfectly mixes it with all of the longing and wonder that comes after. Filled with nuance and charm, and queer girls you can’t help but root for, Cool for the Summer will leave readers grinning long after they finish.” - Jennifer Dugan, author of Some Girls Do

"A little bit sexy and a little bit sweet - Dahlia Adler has written the perfect summer romance, filled with humor, joy, and self-discovery. Cool for the Summer is a delight and an anthem to self-love all at once.” - Aminah Mae Safi, author of Tell Me How You Really Feel

"Filled with summer vibes and swoon-worthy moments, Cool for the Summer is a book I wish I’d had as a teen. I related to Lara’s story so much, from dealing with divorced parents and the struggle of finding your own voice, to the rollercoaster ride of figuring out your sexuality. Dahlia perfectly captures what it’s like to feel torn between what we think we should want and what our hearts actually desire." - Jen Wilde, author of Going Off Script

From the Publisher