YA Review: The Summer of Jordi Perez
The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles)
And right at this very moment, for maybe the first time ever, I feel like I’m in my own story.
When Kate over at Kate Olson Reads tells me multiple times to read a book, I read it. She’s never steered me wrong. When she suggested The Summer of Jordi Perez
Abby Ives is 17, gay, plus-sized, and obsessed with fashion. Her parents are less than supportive. But when she meets fellow fashion intern Jordi Perez over the summer (and fully falls for her), Abby has to balance romance with competition, and who she wants to be going forward.
Let me say this first: I want to be friends with Abby. There’s no wordsmithy way to put it: she’s a damn cool girl, and I wish I knew her in real life! Now. This is a very cute, contemporary YA romance that is a really fun book to read. I don’t have a lot of experience reading LGBTQ YA, but thanks to the Diverse Books Club and Kate Olson, I’ve found some good ones. (There’s also just not a ton out there, and definitely not many in the mainstream lit world. Lesbian romance seems even harder to find than male romance.) This one is fantastic. So, so good. I rooted for Abby and Jordi the whole time, and I love that the author doesn’t make a big deal out of the actual gay romance-it’s just romance and normal teen angst. This is how YA lit should always be written. Because it is normal.
The only thing I wanted more of was Abby’s friendships. We’re kind of dropped into the middle of Abby and Maliah’s (her best friend) friendship, and I would have loved to see more of their story because the characters were so good! She also befriends a boy named Jax who seemed to have some family issues of his own, but was only hinted at. I love background stories on side characters!
If you’re looking for a good YA book, or a fun romance, and also want to diversify your reading a bit, I highly recommend The Summer of Jordi Perez
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️