Review: The Summer I Wasn't Me by Jessica Verdi

Title: The Summer I Wasn't Me
Author: Jessica Verdi
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release date: April 1st 2014
Pages: 342
Genre: Young Adult contemporary
Source: Bought
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Lexi has a secret.
She never meant for her mom to find out. And now she’s afraid that what’s left of her family is going to fall apart for good.
Lexi knows she can fix everything. She can change. She can learn to like boys. New Horizons summer camp has promised to transform her life, and there’s nothing she wants more than to start over.
But sometimes love has its own path…

My rating: 3 out of 5 stars

I loved Jessica Verdi's debut, My Life After Now, so I was super excited to read her sophomore novel. And while I didn't love The Summer I Wasn't Me quite as much as My Life After Now because some of the storylines didn't work for me, I still absolutely love Jessica Verdi's writing.

I love that Jessica Verdi decided to write about a camp like this. I wasn't as shocked and angry at the concept as most people whose reviews I've read because most of this wasn't really new information for me, but it was fascinating to get an account of what really happens at a camp like this, and especially how the mindset of someone undergoing these kinds of procedures works. The novel definitely sends a strong message, which I really liked, and it does it without condemning religion. The whole concept is fascinating and something more people should read about.

I also loved the characters. Lexi is a great main characters, and I really enjoyed being insider her head. Like I said, it was fascinating to read about her mindset, how she actually wants the "therapy" to work, which seems unfathomable to me but actually makes sense, considering her family situation. Her family background is explored really well, and I loved how that played into the story. The secondary characters are good, too, and present a wide variety of attitudes; I especially loved Matthew.

Carolyn is a great character, too; her reasons to coming to this camp and her background are really interesting to read about. But even though I like Lexi and Carolyn individually, I wasn't a huge fan of the romance. It's a bit instalove-y, but they have chemistry at first, so I didn't mind it that much. But later on, I just found Carolyn and their relationship to be a bit too perfect, and Carolyn's decisions didn't really make sense to me. It also bothered me how much of the novel revolved around the romance; I would have preferred for Lexi to find acceptance of herself independently, rather than basing so much of it off of her relationship with Carolyn. Especially the ending was a bit too optimistic for me, and I felt like it kind of oversimplified their issues.

And then there's one storyline that just did not work, in my opinion. This is kind of a big revelation, so I can't talk about it that much without spoiling anything, but there is one issue that is just completely oversimplified. Lexi and Matthew's decisions regarding this issue didn't really make much sense to me. My main problem with the storyline is that this is a really important issue, but it was mainly just used as a plot device to drive along the romance, which I think oversimplifies and kind of disrespects this issue. It's a really good idea, but the complexities of it would have had to be explored a lot more, especially at the end, in order to really do it justice.

Even though the novel oversimplifies some storylines and the ending is a bit too optimistic to be realistic, I really enjoyed The Summer I Wasn't Me. It's a great concept with lovable and complex characters. Just like My Life After Now, The Summer I Wasn't Me is an important story that needs to be heard, and I'm looking forward to reading more by Jessica Verdi.

Review: My Life After Now by Jessica Verdi

Title: My Life After Now
Author: Jessica Verdi
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Release date: April 1st 2013
Pages: 287
Genre: Young Adult contemporary
Source: BEA - I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!
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Lucy just had the worst week ever. Seriously, mega bad. And suddenly, it’s all too much—she wants out. Out of her house, out of her head, out of her life. She wants to be a whole new Lucy. So she does something the old Lucy would never dream of.
And now her life will never be the same. Now, how will she be able to have a boyfriend? What will she tell her friends? How will she face her family? Now, every moment is a precious gift. She never thought being positive could be so negative. But now, everything’s different…because now she’s living with HIV.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars 

I loved this book so much - every part of it was perfect for me. I'm so glad there's finally a YA book out about this issue, and I love the way it's handled in My Life After Now. Lucy's story is an important one, and I'm so glad I got to read it.

The whole idea of this novel is fascinating. Like the tagline of the novel says, you never think it will happen to you, so I hadn't given it too much thought what it would be like to live with HIV, to be honest. My Life After Now really opened my eyes to the struggles related with this disease; how it affects not only your health but also your relationships and the way people see you. I oftentimes found myself wondering how I would have dealt in Lucy's case - whom to tell, for example, is such a hard question. The portrayal of Lucy's life with HIV is very open and honest; I thought I knew the most important things about the disease, but this book still taught me quite a bit with it's educational but not preachy approach.

Lucy is a girl living with HIV, but that is by far not all she is; I loved reading about all the other aspects of her life as well. For example, the family storyline is great. I don't want to give anything away, but her family is different, and I had very strong emotions towards her family members. Then there's Lucy's friends, whom I loved. (Except for the fact that the whole two-girls-and-one-gay-guy-as-best-friends thing is kind of overdone. That made me think about how there's so many gay guys as friends in YA, but never any gay girls. Can we get a lesbian as more than a stereotype in YA soon, please?) Anyways, Courtney and Max are a great support system for Lucy, and I liked seeing their relationship evolve over the course of the novel. Then there's the romance, which is an important part of the novel but never really takes center stage, which I appreciated - it's just kind of there, a part of Lucy's life, and it's integrated into the story in a casual kind of way that I loved. My favorite character is probably Roxy - I loved reading about the support group! I also love how it all centers around drama club and acting, since that added a lot to the story as well.

I'm glad someone finally tackled this issue in YA, and I'm happy it was Jessica Verdi. Her writing is captivating and made My Life After Now a great read. It's eye-opening as well as entertaining, and I loved it. I can't wait to read more from this author!