**I received an ARC from Netgalley. These are my honest opinions, and I was in no way compensated for this review.**
Summer Skin by Kirsty Eagar
Release Date: May 29, 2018
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Summary: From Kirsty Eagar, Summer Skin is a young adult novel about a modern-day riot grrl and an alpha male jock who explore love, trust, and double standards against the backdrop of today's hookup culture.
Jess Gordon is out for revenge. Last year the jocks from Knights College tried to shame her best friend. This year she and a hand-picked college girl gang are going to get even.
The lesson: Don't mess with Unity College girls.
The target: Blondie, a typical Knights stud, arrogant, cold . . . and smart enough to keep up with Jess.
A neo-riot grrl with a penchant for fanning the flames meets a rugby-playing sexist pig--sworn enemies or two people who happen to find each other when they're at their most vulnerable?
It's all Girl meets Boy, Girl steals from Boy, seduces Boy, ties Boy to a chair, and burns Boy's stuff. Just your typical love story.
Kirsty Eagar expertly handles a searingly honest and achingly funny story about love and sex amid the college hookup culture.
I've been dying to read this book since it was first published in Australia; I'd heard about it from some international internet friends, but I was disappointed to learn that I could only read it by ordering it from Australia, and that wasn't really an option for me. Imagine my surprise and delight when I learned that Summer Skin was being published in the US! And those two years of buildup and suspense did not disappoint: I love Summer Skin.
First off, this is definitely a New Adult book. I don't want to get into a whole genre debate, but this features characters IN COLLEGE, which is usually shelved in new adult; there are also some fairly explicit scenes that usually aren't seen in YA.
Anyways, I just love how this book starts; it just throws you into Jess Gordon's world and almost immediately into her relationship with "Blondie" (because theirs is a no-name relationship, ofc). All of the characters are so fleshed out in such a good way. For example, we learn all of these nonsensical things about Jess throughout the book that don't really have to do with the plot, but it really helps to characterize her and present her as a real person.
And honestly, that's what this book does so well: Summer Skin portrays relationships and friendships in a hook-up culture world so real. Never would I have related so much to a 19-year-old girl, attending an Australian university and studying economics. But I do, and that's because of how well written this book is. I don't even think my review's justifying it, like, you're probably reading this and thinking, what?? If so, the only thing I can do further is to tell you just to read the book. I don't think you'll regret it.
I did have a couple of issues with things that were handled. First, I wouldn't necessarily call this the feminist book because it really only deals with the surface of feminism. There's a lot more to actual inter-sectional feminism than what's dealt with in this novel.
I didn't much care for Blondie's disappearances. He and Jess would fight, and then all of a sudden it's a month later and he's ghosted her. Maybe I'd be fine with it in the beginning of their relationship, but I feel as they got to know each other, Jess should have been bothered with it more. Because really, this happened at least three times and after the second, I was fairly angry.
Also, I think Allie's character just could have been handled better in general. She talks about feeling insecure constantly, and then when she feels really bad, she posts to her extremely popular Instagram page. Honestly, I get this, but I feel like this was just mentioned in passing, and Jess could have talked to her more about this. It just seemed a little flippant to her problems to me.
Summer Skin is a, for lack of a better word, hot read. Jess's relationship with Blondie is so . . . honestly the only word that I could use to be accurate is hot. There's just so many levels to this book and how it handles relationships in a hook-up culture. I also loved the female friendships. Summer Skin should definitely be high up on your tbr list for the summer, especially if you want a hot, steamy read (ugh I hate that I just used such a cliche sentence but it fits okay!!)!
First off, this is definitely a New Adult book. I don't want to get into a whole genre debate, but this features characters IN COLLEGE, which is usually shelved in new adult; there are also some fairly explicit scenes that usually aren't seen in YA.
Anyways, I just love how this book starts; it just throws you into Jess Gordon's world and almost immediately into her relationship with "Blondie" (because theirs is a no-name relationship, ofc). All of the characters are so fleshed out in such a good way. For example, we learn all of these nonsensical things about Jess throughout the book that don't really have to do with the plot, but it really helps to characterize her and present her as a real person.
And honestly, that's what this book does so well: Summer Skin portrays relationships and friendships in a hook-up culture world so real. Never would I have related so much to a 19-year-old girl, attending an Australian university and studying economics. But I do, and that's because of how well written this book is. I don't even think my review's justifying it, like, you're probably reading this and thinking, what?? If so, the only thing I can do further is to tell you just to read the book. I don't think you'll regret it.
I did have a couple of issues with things that were handled. First, I wouldn't necessarily call this the feminist book because it really only deals with the surface of feminism. There's a lot more to actual inter-sectional feminism than what's dealt with in this novel.
I didn't much care for Blondie's disappearances. He and Jess would fight, and then all of a sudden it's a month later and he's ghosted her. Maybe I'd be fine with it in the beginning of their relationship, but I feel as they got to know each other, Jess should have been bothered with it more. Because really, this happened at least three times and after the second, I was fairly angry.
Also, I think Allie's character just could have been handled better in general. She talks about feeling insecure constantly, and then when she feels really bad, she posts to her extremely popular Instagram page. Honestly, I get this, but I feel like this was just mentioned in passing, and Jess could have talked to her more about this. It just seemed a little flippant to her problems to me.
Summer Skin is a, for lack of a better word, hot read. Jess's relationship with Blondie is so . . . honestly the only word that I could use to be accurate is hot. There's just so many levels to this book and how it handles relationships in a hook-up culture. I also loved the female friendships. Summer Skin should definitely be high up on your tbr list for the summer, especially if you want a hot, steamy read (ugh I hate that I just used such a cliche sentence but it fits okay!!)!
About the Author: Kirsty Eagar grew up on a central Queensland cattle property and spent her school holidays at the beach. After studying economics, she worked on trading desks in Sydney and London before changing careers, wanting a life where she could surf every day. She travelled around Australia for a couple of years, worked a variety of jobs and began writing fiction. Her debut novel, Raw Blue, was published by Penguin in 2009, and won the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award for Young Adult fiction. Saltwater Vampires, her second novel, was shortlisted for the 2011 New South Wales Premier’s Literary Awards. Kirsty lives with her husband and two daughters on Sydney’s northern beaches.
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