The Edge of Summer

April 15, 2022
Romance and grief mingle over the course of a summer. Coriander Cabot and her best friend, Ella Ridgewood, were always passionate about saving whales. In the wake of Ella's tragic drowning, Cor is left to finish what the two of them started, and the first step is a summer marine biology internship on Cape Cod. It isn't long before Cor meets Mannix Reilly, the sexy local lifeguard who leaves her head spinning and her heart thumping. Cor struggles to balance this new relationship against honoring the unfinished business of her old friendship and working toward her future ambitions. Tides turn, Cor gets flustered, and readers will struggle to engage with a narrative that has all the right pieces of the machinery but never quite aligns them properly to get things moving. Characters revolve around one another, but the narrative urgency never kicks in, and the cast members are not sufficiently developed to be compelling. Readers will yearn to empathize with Cor, but she doesn't express herself in ways that will foster that deeper connection. Mannix is handsome, kind, and thoughtful but similarly underdeveloped; the pair never fully click, and instead they are just pushed together as the plot dictates. The teens are White. A picturesque setting and intriguing premise that don't quite coalesce. (Fiction. 12-16)

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June 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Coriander "Cor" Cabot (white) and her best friend Ella (race not stated) have always been fascinated with whales and had planned to attend a marine biologist internship together before college. However, Ella's tragic death in the sea the summer before has left Cor to complete their shared bucket list on her own. Cor spends her summer internship on Cape Cod with the hope of saving the humpback whales as a promise to Ella. However, her priorities are put into question when she meets handsome local lifeguard, Mannix (white), who unexpectedly sweeps her off her feet. Over the course of the summer, Cor must come to terms with her grief and regret and decide if she's willing to embrace the opportunity for first love along with other possibilities. George's personal passion for whales and other marine life is evident in this coming-of-age story that sheds light on how these creatures suffer at the hands of humans. The author brings awareness to a younger audience by intertwining it with the realistic transitional period between high school and college that young adults typically experience. Also, through the creation of some diverse and compassionate characters, she produces a heartfelt story that demonstrates the power kindness and acceptance can have on a person. VERDICT This is a great beachy YA romance that is perfect for fans of Sarah Dessen and Jenny Han.-Lacey Webster

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June 27, 2022
Eighteen-year-old New Jersey native Coriander Cabot and her late best friend Ella have dreamed of saving the whales since elementary school. To keep Ella’s memory alive, Cor pursues their shared goals—among them, getting tattoos, seeing a Harry Styles concert, and spending the summer before senior year interning at the Cape Cod Marine Research and Conservation Alliance. Cor, who’s staying with her uncle and his boyfriend, is both excited for the opportunity and grief-stricken about doing it without Ella. Then she meets lifeguard and aspiring chef Mannix. The teens fall hard and fast for each other, crossing getting “real boyfriends” off Cor’s list. But when two crises converge, she must confront new allegiances and shifting loyalties between her and Ella’s beloved whales and her blossoming love for Mannix. Mannix’s interpersonal familial conflicts and Cor’s emotional turmoil add intensity and tension to the otherwise frothy story. While the teens’ developing relationship follows a familiar formula, the narrative’s strong ecological message and George’s (Words Composed of Sea and Sky) expertly drawn seaside setting make for a pensive summer romance. Characters cue as white. Ages 14–up. Agent: Liza Fleissig, Liza Royce Agency.