All Last Summer: A Kayla Hicks Book Review
What is it about?
Sometimes life doesn’t go according to plan.
My summer was planned from packing lists to trip itineraries. Or so I’d thought.
It’s the night before my trip abroad, and my boyfriend Matt showed up at a party with another girl. The boyfriend I’m supposed to spend seven weeks with in Brazil.
No way can I board that plane.
With my trip tickets ripped up and the money down the drain, I owe my parents big-time. The only job hiring is Teed Off!, the driving range that just-so-happens to employ Matt’s trio of best friends.
Matt’s friends don’t like my presence on their artificial turf, so pranking me becomes their second part-time job. They definitely don’t want me winning the bonus money our boss is offering for an idea to improve the business.
By chance on a summer night, Matt’s head crony best friend Aidan is there for me when no one else is around. Turns out, he and Matt haven’t been close for a while. Aidan begins to see through to the real me—the me I’d kept from Matt to be the person I’ve always longed to be—popular with a boyfriend, all according to plan.
As the summer unfolds, our secrets unravel.
All Last Summer is a young adult summer job romance and the first book in the Love on Summer Break series.
My Review:
Lila has finally crafted a persona that allows her friends, popularity, and everything she's always wanted. Yet, before she knows it, it all comes crashing down around her when her boyfriend cheats on her and reveals it at a party in front of everyone, she cancels her summer plans and lands in hot water with her parents, and she discovers her new persona keeps her former interests far from reach.
Now this summer, she needs to get a job to pay her parents back for the lost summer plans and discover who she wants to be.
This was a great story for a Young Adult audience in terms of showing that we all hide things about ourselves. We all feel insecure and lost sometimes.
Lila was relatable and I sympathized with her situation.
I loved how unexpected characters rose to fill the voids in Lila's life and made a solid piece for the story.
I give this book a 5-star rating.