No Boy Summer

by Amy Spalding Narrated by Cassandra Morris

Overview

This summer we're going to hit reset, and that means no boys.
Lydia and her younger sister Penny have had it with boy drama. Penny, the driven, organized sibling, makes a plan for them to stay with their Aunt Grace in Los Angeles while their parents are off on a European cruise. There, Penny follows her
future-business-school dreams with an office internship, and Lydia gets a parttime job at her aunt's neighborhood coffee shop.
Before long, Lydia finds herself drawn to a new group of friends, as well as an intriguing customer, Fran, who's an aspiring filmmaker and, while not the first girl Lydia has fallen for, is the first girl who likes her back. Even though Lydia knows
she's bending the rules of her pledge with Penny, she hasn't had a connection with anyone as strong as the one she has with Fran.
With everything else in her life finally starting to make sense-friends, feelings, and the future-she thinks it can't be wrong to follow her heart. And Penny won't mind, as long as she's happy ... Right?

Editorial Reviews

No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Scatter Rainbow Rowell

"Buoyant and genuinely funny. A love letter to summer friends, summer girls, and the city of Los Angeles."

award-winning author of Indestructible Object Mary McCoy

No Boy Summer is the perfect summer hangout book—warm, witty, and heartfelt. Watching Lydia turn into a person who's more than the sum of her romantic relationships is an empowering, relatable journey.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"...this is a smart, earnest, and insightful novel about relationships of all kinds that deserves a spot in every YA collection."

author of Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel Sara Farizan

I want to spend every summer with Amy Spalding's characters. Thoughtful, funny, and a great escape from whatever ails you.

From the Publisher

"Buoyant and genuinely funny. A love letter to summer friends, summer girls, and the city of Los Angeles."—Rainbow Rowell, No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Scattered Showers


“No Boy Summer is the perfect summer hangout book—warm, witty, and heartfelt. Watching Lydia turn into a person who's more than the sum of her romantic relationships is an empowering, relatable journey.”—Mary McCoy, award-winning author of Indestructible Object


“I want to spend every summer with Amy Spalding's characters. Thoughtful, funny, and a great escape from whatever ails you.”—Sara Farizan, author of Tell Me Again How a Crush Should Feel

“Lydia’s relationship validates the bisexual experience through an enjoyable romance. This body- and sex-positive story will hold readers’ interest until it eventually reaches its satisfying conclusion. A cute, queer romance plus a sweet exploration of the special bond between sisters.”—Kirkus Reviews

"...this is a smart, earnest, and insightful novel about relationships of all kinds that deserves a spot in every YA collection."—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

School Library Journal

04/01/2023

Gr 10 Up—Spalding's newest novel is the story of Lydia and Penny's "no boy summer," a pact the sisters made after boys became a negative distraction in their lives. Lydia is excited to work at her aunt's coffee shop, while Lydia works at the office of that aunt's boyfriend. Lydia is jealous because Penny knows exactly what she wants to do with her life, while Lydia's interests have been deemed unsatisfactory. As Lydia meets new friends at the coffee shop, she learns that she can follow her dreams, and that sometimes life leads to unexpected places. While Lydia's story is, on the surface, about a summer with no boys, it is about her finding herself in many ways. She learns what it is to truly have friends, what it's like to build a real relationship with her sister, and she can be authentically out as bisexual. This also shows the importance of different relationships, not just romantic ones, and how to maintain them. VERDICT A great summer read, this will be a solid choice for teens who are trying to find themselves. The spunky main character and her friends will appeal to readers looking for a character-driven story.—Tegan Beese

Kirkus Reviews

2023-01-25
Lydia is a whole 13 months older than Penny, but she’s never felt like the big sister.

According to Lydia, Penny is perfect—she has a detailed plan for the future and the grades to back it up. Lydia feels like she’s constantly in her sister’s shadow. She also doesn’t have any close friendships and is a serial monogamist with a tendency to let boy drama control her life. After a boy-crazy high school year with disastrous repercussions, the sisters make a pact: They’ll have a summer free of boys, one spent living with their cool aunt and uncle in Los Angeles. After Lydia falls for Fran, a cute girl she meets while working as a barista, readers learn that Lydia has known she’s bisexual for quite some time but is not out to her family yet. Since Fran isn’t a boy, Lydia pursues the relationship in secret, deciding she’s not breaking the pact. Lydia’s relationship validates the bisexual experience through an enjoyable romance. While the disjointed and sometimes repetitive first-person narration can make the plot difficult to follow at times, Lydia successfully navigates her growing feelings for Fran, a new group of friends, and her sometimes strained relationship with Penny. This body- and sex-positive story will hold readers’ interest until it eventually reaches its satisfying conclusion. Lydia and Penny are White; Fran is cued as Latine.

A cute, queer romance plus a sweet exploration of the special bond between sisters. (Fiction. 13-18)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178287590
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	04/18/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos