All Summer Long Published by Farrar Straus Giroux on May 2018
Genres: Graphic Novel
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
A coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel about summer and friendships, written and illustrated by the Eisner Award–winning and New York Times–bestselling Hope Larson.
Thirteen-year-old Bina has a long summer ahead of her. She and her best friend, Austin, usually do everything together, but he's off to soccer camp for a month, and he's been acting kind of weird lately anyway. So it's up to Bina to see how much fun she can have on her own. At first it's a lot of guitar playing, boredom, and bad TV, but things look up when she finds an unlikely companion in Austin's older sister, who enjoys music just as much as Bina. But then Austin comes home from camp, and he's acting even weirder than when he left. How Bina and Austin rise above their growing pains and reestablish their friendship and respect for their differences makes for a touching and funny coming-of-age story.
A coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel about summer and friendships, written and illustrated by the Eisner Award–winning and New York Times–bestselling Hope Larson.
Thirteen-year-old Bina has a long summer ahead of her. She and her best friend, Austin, usually do everything together, but he's off to soccer camp for a month, and he's been acting kind of weird lately anyway. So it's up to Bina to see how much fun she can have on her own. At first it's a lot of guitar playing, boredom, and bad TV, but things look up when she finds an unlikely companion in Austin's older sister, who enjoys music just as much as Bina. But then Austin comes home from camp, and he's acting even weirder than when he left. How Bina and Austin rise above their growing pains and reestablish their friendship and respect for their differences makes for a touching and funny coming-of-age story.
Review:
All Summer Long captures the awkward and coming of age summer we’ve all had as our friends grow and sometimes grow apart. Not really comfortable in our own skin yet, the book centers around a strong friendship between Austin and Bina who are separated for one month while Austin goes to soccer camp. During that time, Bina must figure out who she really is without Austin. Especially because when he comes back, he seems to be avoiding her.
I really liked the tone of the book. Larson does a fantastic job of capturing that awkward age of thirteen. I like how Bina, a music lover and musician, really begins to find her own interests and grow as a single person, and not defined by her relationship with Austin or her activities with him. Over the summer, Bina goes through some growing pains that are completely organic.
I did like the story and of Bina and Austin’s growth, but I didn’t really connect with her. (Maybe because I’m so far away from 13 now? 😉 ) But the story just the right mix of bittersweet and original. I think a lot of pre-teen graphic novel fans will enjoy this story and feel like Bina is one of them.
Kimberly majored in Songwriting and currently works full time in the music industry. When she's not listening to music, knitting or writing, you can find her outside reading her favorite genres: Young Adult, Adult Fiction, Mystery, and Romance.
