The Summer I Found You
Author: Jolene Perry
Source: ARC From Netgalley
Expected Publication: March 1, 2014
Publisher: Albert Whitman Teen
Buy/Pre-order: Amazon Kindle Edition
My Rating:
All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction.
Kate's dream boyfriend has just broken up with her and she's still reeling from her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Aidan planned on being a lifer in the army and went to Afghanistan straight out of high school. Now he's a disabled young veteran struggling to embrace his new life. When Kate and Aidan find each other neither one wants to get attached. But could they be right for each other after all?
About Jolene
I wear juvenile T-shirts, worn-out chucks, and eat too much chocolate. I write. A lot. I make up words, drink Shirley Temples, and suffocate a little without my iPod.
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I really liked this book, it was unique among the books I've read. I thought this was going to be a light read from the cover, but it was not. It was hard to read at times for me because I'm sensitive and feel for other people, fictional or not. I had a connection with Aidan, I understood him and I wanted him to come out of the pages and be a real person so that I can help him heal. He was my favorite character. This story is all about healing and dealing with what life has thrown at you and surviving it. Aidan lost his right arm in Afghanistan while doing a routine perimeter check with his best friend and Sergeant, it was a moment that he would take back in an instant just so his friend could survive it. So now he's dealing with PTSD, regret, and depression. He can't even face his friend's wife for the fear of the emotions being too much that it would split his heart in half.
This story is way too close for comfort for me, my husband is in the military so Aidan's story was not very comforting for me, it could actually happen and that's scary. Aidan is now 19, has an impending list of things to do, doesn't know how to get started because of all the emotions he's dealing with, and all that on top of loosing a limb. Having to overcome all that and still come out on top is admirable and deserves respect in my opinion. It's a lot to deal with and the journey was not a pleasant one.
Kate's story was different; she was diagnosed with diabetes a year earlier and still hadn't had a handle on it. She was awkward, and blunt. I didn't really like her because she said the stupidest things to Aidan when they met. I thought some of the things were rude and hurtful, she didn't mean them to be she was just curious about his arm, but I would have been offended. She didn't have a filter and it made her look younger than 17. She also would forget to deal with her disease, she wouldn't take her shots, which inevitably ended up with her in the hospital. I thought that was really stupid, it wasn't fair to her parents, how they were scared out of their minds because they could loose their daughter. But Kate didn't care, she thought ignoring the fact that she had a disease would miraculously make it go away. I thought she was selfish and uncaring for her parents feelings. She could have died and she didn't care. Not until Aidan yelled at her in the hospital did she snap out of it. He cared for her and wanted what was best for her but couldn't deal with her lies and mistrust.
Kate and Aidan were dealing with a lot of emotional baggage for their age and somehow came out on top. I enjoyed this story, although not what I expected I still enjoyed getting to read this one.
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