Hope Larson’s triumphant return to cartooning has arrived just in time for the start of summer with All Summer Long.
At the start of All Summer Long, our protagonist Bina finds herself feeling emotionally unprepared for all of the changes that are coming her way. Her childhood best friend Austin is trading their summer break rituals for an elite soccer camp. Then while he’s away at camp he stops responding to her texts. Does that mean he doesn’t want to be her friend anymore? They get a chance to figure things out when he’s home again, close to the end of the summer.
In the meantime Bina is just going to wait around and binge-watch bad TV. Until her parents force her to go outside again by changing their Wi-Fi password. This is where she befriends Austin’s big sister Charlie and the main plot points start to pick up.
Even though the main characters are thirteen years old this is a book I would recommend to all ages.
Hope Larson successfully encapsulates the early inner struggles faced by creative types who don’t see the point of “fitting in.”
Music is another prominent theme, in case you couldn’t tell that from the cover art!
All Summer Long is a graphic novel that will be much appreciated by those who are at all musically inclined. Elements of this production aspect reminded me of Begin Again or Baby Driver, the best musically influenced modern movies.
A critical summer of important realizations and substantial personal growth result in an awesome, more self confident girl who goes to school on the first day of eighth grade eager to start a band. This is a nice way to setup the next two installments without leaving things in need of resolution.
My only complaint is a minor one.
Sometimes Bina’s voice comes across too young or naive for an average thirteen year old. There were a couple parts where I felt as if our age gap was much bigger than ten years. This feature is highlighted by the way she doesn’t try to be anyone but herself. But Bina’s brightly shining star is a refreshing constant, not at all the source of my puny gripe.
All of the other characters are actualized and well fleshed out. They’re endearing without being unrelatable or unrealistic. I urge you to try All Summer Long. It’s one of the best Original Graphic Novels out there, and I can easily assure you that any reader would take something worthwhile away from it.
Have you read All Summer Long? What did you think? What other graphic novels are you reading right now?
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Sumney Sigler
Sumney is a freelance geek journalist. Her hobbies include photography, hiking, reading, and writing. Her favorite Starbucks treat is a salted caramel mocha frappuccino, made with almond milk. It’s as worth it as it is a mouthful. Sumney believes that there’s a comic book out there for everyone.
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