
Rose hopes she will have boobs by then.This One Summer, a young adult novel by cousins Mariko Tamaki and Jillian Tamaki, is probably the most visually stunning graphic novel I’ve ever read. Rose and Windy say good bye and look forward to next summer. Rose and her mom come to peace with one another. Later that night, Rose learns that her mother suffered a miscarriage while swimming the summer before – and so has not been right since. Rose’s mom rushes to the rescue, diving in to save Jenny from drowning. Rose sees a drunken Jenny sinking in the ocean, and screams for her mom. It is then that Rose discovers Jenny’s friends are looking for her. Meanwhile, Rose, Windy, and their families enjoy their final bonfire together. At the summer cottage, Rose’s father returns, but barely speaks to her mother.Īs the summer draws to a close, Jenny finally confronts Duncan about his responsibilities. Duncan is seen attempting to avoid his responsibilities time and time again, not wanting to go with Jenny to the doctor, disbelieving that she even is pregnant, and gossiping with his friends about the idea that the baby – if there is one – belongs to someone else. Rose and Windy also come to learn about local drama as it unfolds. Rose accuses her mother of never wanting to be happy, of always making others miserable, and that it should be her and not her father who has gone home for a few days. It upsets her, and causes her to argue with her mother. Rose, who knows her parents have been distant for about a year, is stunned to see that her parents not only actively argue, but that her father leaves to go home for a few days. This causes Rose and Windy to reflect on how they might turn out one day. Rose and Windy spend more and more time at Brewster’s, during which time they hear local teenagers cursing, using words like “slut”, and talking about sexual things such as blow jobs. As time passes, Rose’s crush on Duncan grows. As the girls begin to rent horror movies from Brewster’s, the lake town’s sole business, Rose quickly develops a crush on Duncan, a teenager who works there.īut not everything is so gentle. They talk about their summers, about how they both want to grow boobs, and about their adventures from past summers. They swim, cook out, go for walks, explore, collect pebbles, shells, glass, and other small items. Rose and Windy fall right into their normal summer routines with their families. The two girls are inseparable, doing everything together from swimming to exploring to watching horror movies. There, she has a best summer friend, Windy, who is a year and-a-half younger than Rose. Rose has spent summers at Lake Awago for as long as she can remember. “This One Summer” is a young adult graphic novel by Jillian Tamaki and Mariko Tamaki that follows young Rose Wallace as she navigates family difficulties, friendship, and local drama while on summer vacation at Lake Awago.
