Sunday, June 22, 2014

Review: SUMMER OF YESTERDAY by Gaby Triana

Title: Summer of Yesterday
Author: Gaby Triana
Publication date: June 17, 2014
Publisher: Simon Pulse

Back to the Future meets Fast Times at Ridgemont High when Haley’s summer vacation takes a turn for the retro in this totally rad romantic fantasy.

Summer officially sucks. Thanks to a stupid seizure she had a few months earlier, Haley’s stuck going on vacation with her dad and his new family to Disney’s Fort Wilderness instead of enjoying the last session of summer camp back home with her friends. Fort Wilderness holds lots of childhood memories for her father, but surely nothing for Haley. But then a new seizure triggers something she’s never before experienced—time travel—and she ends up in River Country, the campground’s long-abandoned water park, during its heyday.

The year? 1982.

And there—with its amusing fashion, “oldies” music, and primitive technology—she runs into familiar faces: teenage Dad and Mom before they’d even met. Somehow, Haley must find her way back to the twenty-first century before her present-day parents anguish over her disappearance, a difficult feat now that she’s met Jason, one of the park’s summer residents and employees, who takes the strangely dressed stowaway under his wing.

Seizures aside, Haley’s used to controlling her life, and she has no idea how to deal with this dilemma. How can she be falling for a boy whose future she can’t share?


So. Much. Potential. 

Actually, its potential wasn't fully wasted because I liked this book for the most part. I stayed up reading it until way after midnight and thought about it for an extra 30 minutes or so. So where did it go wrong? 

Well, first, I'll tell you where it was right. Gaby Triana's writing style and voice connected with me. Again, I had a problem nearing the end, but in all, Haley's narration sucked me in. She made quips and didn't bore me. I felt like I could picture the setting, both in the past and future. I knew from the beginning that I'd pick up another Triana book right away because her writing captivated me in a fun way. 

Another plus was the first half of the plot, which kept me reading. I was interested to see the past and meet Haley's teenage parents and explore the surprise with her. I loved reading about how Haley was trying to deal with it all and I begged for more. 

Unfortunately, that's where it ends. It might not seem like it, but those plusses weighed a lot in my mind so I don't consider this a bad book, perse. I just expected something different. 


The plot for me
THE PLOT. Oh, what great things it could have done. In the synopsis, it introduces cute Jason, a boy Haley meets in her parents' era. In the beginning of the book, it introduces the idea that Haley feels out of place with her dad and his stepfamily and whatnot. So when I kept reading, I figured there would be romance, but that Haley would actually resolve familial issues along the way...or AT LEAST at the end. Unless I misunderstood, I thought that if the author implies trouble in an area and busts open a door for a conflict for the MC to overcome and satisfyingly resolve, the MC would, you know, do so. Instead, We saw her parents a couple of times (not even a handful, I think), focusing on this unbreakable, meant-to-be mumbo jumbo love between Haley and Jason, the boy who is her PARENTS' age. 



Let's get this straight real quick. Jason and Haley meet and she's in his era for a grand total of, I think, three days. In that already limited time, they're only together for about 50-75% of that because she's napping or on the run or he's at work. So they might share some "deep" information, but I personally believe it's still superficial in the grand scheme of things. Then Haley considers STAYING with Jason and this is where I'd like to remind you all once again that he is the same age as her parents. Same. Age. Yes, she only knows him as a teenager, but it's just...wrong. Her wanting to grow up with her parents is wrong. It's all wrong. 

It continues to be wrong when THINGS happen at the end. Things that I can't talk about because it's spoilery. Basically, it made me very, very peeved. One of the non-spoilery things at the end that made me angry was the fact that familial issues were not resolved. I think the author made an attempt for resolution, but I wasn't fooled. More superficial things happened, but none of Haley's complaints and problems were actually addressed. Do you know what that makes me? Dissatisfied. 

Verdict: Some people may love the direction it took, but I would have liked it a whole lot more if it was less romance and more family and exploration.

12 comments:

  1. Yay for an awesome writing :) *reads more* OOOOHKAY. I mea, wth. I get why this book could appeal and what it may try to say, but it feels so weird still and the fact that things are not resolved by the end of the book? Just. UGHHH. I'm so frustrated already. I'm so sorry this wasn't your cup of tea, Summer :(

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    1. EXACTLY. Thanks, Siiri. It's just...frustrating. Could've been GREAT.

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  2. I don't think I'd have a problem with the romance when they were both teenagers at the time, but I'd definitely be worried about how this could all possibly work out when reality came crashing back, when she's back in the present and he's much older. This plot doesn't appeal to me, but I'm sorry it was a disappointment for you. I can see why with the unresolved family issues on top of an seemingly impossible romance. Great review, Summer! :)

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    1. I loved the IDEA of time travel and how it all works, but it felt very insta-lovey and it grew annoying with the ending. Thanks, Rachel!

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  3. I had not heard of this and as I started reading your review I was intrigued. And now I'm really really curious about the spoilery things that have you peeved, because there are a couple of ways this story could go that would annoy me too. But that is a promising premise. Sad if it's wasted.

    That gif is perfect for describing that feeling and so cute.

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    1. Well, read it and then we can talk about the spoilery things. PLEASE. Because that would make me feel so much better.

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  4. I literally just read a book like this (the review is probably up by the end of today). A good book, but not enough info on the familial resolution... I totally agree with you. Great review!
    (PS love that gif <3)

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    1. Isn't it the most annoying thing? Ugh, POTENTIAL.
      I couldn't stop watching it.

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  5. Hmm. This sounds like a very tricky, potentially icky, situation. It kinda reminds me of Incarnate and how it took me a long time to "accept" the weirdness of the romance. That was a series, though, and I totally believed that Ana and Sam fell in love (despite the weird age gap), but this plot is just three days??? That's definitely a problem. Thanks for your review and raising your concerns - I'll definitely be thinking about whether or not I want to pick this one up. :)

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    1. Incarnate is actually a series I keep meaning to read someday! So thanks, now I'm prepared when I DO read it. THREE. DAYS.

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  6. This did sound like it had a lot of potential. Boo. And OMG, I love that first GIF so much. SO MUCH.

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  7. This does sound so full of potential... but also potential to go wrong, and it's too bad that it took the latter route. I think I could deal with the age thing, given the time travel element, but the three days? Ugh. It definitely seems like the book would have been better had it focused more on family. I think I'll pass this one up - it was never screaming "this is a total Emily book" in the first place, and after your review it doesn't really sound appealing.

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