Review of "All Summer Long" by Hope Larson

Age Group: Ten years and older

Summary: 

The main character, Bina, has to spend most of the summer without her best friend Austin who is going away for summer camp. This has totally thrown her summer off since she can’t remember a summer that they haven’t spent doing fun things. The summer starts slow for her, but it picks up when she locks herself out and has to get the spare key from Austin via his big sister Charlie. They start to spend time together, but it quickly seems that Charlie is in charge and Bina is losing control of her summer. Finally, Austin comes home and when Bina thinks things are going to get better, Austin doesn’t seem to want to have anything to do with her. Eventually, they talk things out and are back to being friends.

Mama Alerts:

1. Bina’s brother has a husband, and they are adopting a baby. Not a lot of time is spent on it, but if you are completely against it, probably not the book for you. 

Theme, generally:

This is a coming-of-age story where the character learns to cope with change.

Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down?:

Talking Points:

1. What would you do if your best friend stopped talking to you?

2. Do you have a friend that doesn’t have the same interests as you? If so, what brought you together?

3. How long does it take you to get bored in the summer?

In My Opinion:

I really enjoyed this book. I had to get used to the graphic novel format and pay attention to the pictures, but once I got there, it was a really good read. As far as the male/male couple goes, there are no pictures that are objectionable, in fact they act like any other family with a new baby. That family shouldn’t scare you away. If you find it wrong, it’s a good place to start that discussion with your child about your belief system. Did it need to be in the story? Probably not. I don’t think it would change it either way. But consider it a safe place to start that conversation with your child, if you are ready to have it. That’s why this Substack exists, to let you know what questions may arise if your child reads something, so you are prepared.