Summary
Summary
Twelve romantic summer stories by twelve bestselling young adult authors, edited by Stephanie Perkins Maybe it's the long, lazy days, or maybe it's the heat making everyone a little bit crazy. Whatever the reason, summer is the perfect time for love to bloom. Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories, written by twelve bestselling young adult writers and edited by the international bestselling Stephanie Perkins, will have you dreaming of sunset strolls by the lake. So set out your beach chair and grab your sunglasses. You have twelve reasons this summer to soak up the sun and fall in love.
Author Notes
Stephanie Perkins was born in South Carolina. Before becoming a full-time novelist, she was a bookseller and a librarian. Her novels include Anna and the French Kiss, Lola and the Boy Next Door, and Isla and the Happily Ever After.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Love is often portrayed as light and fluffy, but reality tells us otherwise. In this collection of 12 tales by such well-known authors as Libba Bray, Nina LaCour, Veronica Roth, and Tim Federle, listeners are treated to an amazing range of lovers, situations, and emotions, all well conveyed by a talented cast of narrators (Jessica Almasy, Michael Bakkensen, Cherise Boothe, Christopher Gebauer, Erin Moon, and Stina Nielsen). Listeners will be reminded that teenage love is often joined at the hip to other strong emotions: grief, loss, anger, fear, and jealousy. There isn't a weak selection in the lot, and choosing a favorite will be hard. Gay and lesbian teens are well represented, as are those in fantastic situations that include a surprise choice for one couple at the end and a pair of demons for another. The piece about a boy with Asperger's is particularly touching and insightful. VERDICT This is a good audiobook to consider for public and school libraries where teen patrons like stories that are strongly emotional. It will also appeal to many adults as well. ["This title is a sizzling must-have that will be too hot to keep on the shelves": SLJ 4/16 starred review of the St. Martin's Griffin book.]-John R. Clark, Hartland Public Library, ME © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Readers will be enticed by more than steamy romance in this volume of contemporary love stories from 12 popular authors, a summery companion to My True Love Gave to Me. The selections, ranging in tone from heartfelt to spooky to downright outlandish, find passion springing from some very unexpected places. Lev Grossman's protagonists, Mark and Margaret, are drawn together in a Boston suburb where time stands still. Cassandra Clare's Lulu Darke unexpectedly finds a kindred spirit at her father's dark carnival: "You know the drill. Evil clowns lurching out of the shadows, blood on their puffy white gloves." Even stories with more conventional settings-like Jennifer E. Smith's tale recounting the growing affection between a day-camp counselor and a withdrawn, disabled young man-offer unexpected twists and turns. In all cases, the authors captivatingly render the vulnerabilities of teenagers tentatively navigating the confusing maze of first love. Offering a sampling of many different genres, bright and distinct narrative voices, and a generous portion of tender moments, this book has something for everyone who has loved or longs for it. Ages 13-up. Agent: Kate Schafer Testerman, KT Literary. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Similar to My True Love Gave to Me, Perkins has gathered twelve engrossing short stories all centered on a main theme: this time it's summer love. In science- and realistic fiction by YA authors including Libba Bray, Jennifer E. Smith, and Tim Federle, teens face the beginning, rekindling, or ending of relationships. The stories' diverse casts and subject matter ensure this collection's broad appeal. (c) Copyright 2017. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Summer meets love in both fantasy and reality in this anthology featuring renowned writers of both teen and adult fiction. Punk-romance regret reigns in Francesca Lia Block's rich-yet-minimalist "Sick Pleasures," while the pressure of making life-changing choices underlies Libba Bray's hilarious zombie horror "Last Stand at the Cinegore," Veronica Roth's "Inertia," and editor Perkins' heart-smart "In Ninety Minutes, Turn North." In this summer companion to Perkins' previous winter holiday romance anthology, My True Love Gave to Me (2014), characters are universally deftly drawn, and the language is typically distinct and compelling. Repeated themes include struggling with well-being, witnessing separation or divorce, or being left by one or more parents, as well as the impacts of those experiences on building trust and new relationships. While the collection holds variety in setting and genre, as well as in sexual orientation, the racial and ethnic diversity of characters isn't as broad as one might hope. Yet this is a star-studded lineup that doesn't disappoint, wisely capped by Lev Grossman's brilliant "The Map of Tiny Perfect Things," in which the protagonists experience time repeating in an endless loopuntil it doesn't. An intelligent beach read with heart, soul, and sizzle. (Short stories. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* As she did with My True Love Gave to Me (2014), Perkins once again collects 12 romances from a bevy of best-selling YA authors. This time, though, she switches seasons. Cozy fireplace tales begone: these stories are all about summer loving. The shared theme might seem limiting, but this is a far cry from formulaic, as the stories range widely in genre and tone, often with surprising depth. From the truly fantastical (Leigh Bardugo's Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail) to sci-fi (Veronica Roth's Inertia) to the requisite summer-camp story (Jennifer E. Smith's A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong), love in its many forms straight and gay, beginning, rekindled, and ending is examined here. Other notables include Libba Bray's Last Stand at the Cinegore, where, on the closing night of a movie theater where Kevin works with his crush, a horror movie becomes startlingly real; Tim Federle's Souvenirs, where two boys who met working at an amusement park for the summer approach their previously designated breakup day; and Jon Skovron's contemporary Regency spoof, Love Is the Last Resort, where workers at an upscale resort meddle in their patrons' love lives. Really, though, there's not a false note in the whole thing. These big-name authors deliver a collection that scorches as surely as any day in the sun.--Reagan, Maggie Copyright 2016 Booklist
