Hurricane Summer
A Novel
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A powerful coming-of-age story that explores family, identity, and finding your voice amid the destruction of a hurricane.
"This is an excellent examination of the ways wealth, gender, and color can shape and at times create mental and emotional fractures. Verdict: A great title for public and high school libraries looking for books that offer a nuanced look at patriarchy, wealth, and gender dynamics." —School Library Journal (starred review)
"Bromfield may have made a name for herself for her role on Riverdale, but with this debut, about a volatile father-daughter relationship and discovering the ugly truths hidden beneath even the most beautiful facades, she is establishing herself as a promising writer...this is a must." —Booklist (starred review)
In this sweeping debut, Asha Bromfield takes readers to the heart of Jamaica, and into the soul of a girl coming to terms with her family, and herself, set against the backdrop of a hurricane.
Tilla has spent her entire life trying to make her father love her. But every six months, he leaves their family and returns to his true home: the island of Jamaica. When Tilla's mother tells her she'll be spending the summer on the island, Tilla dreads the idea of seeing him again, but longs to discover what life in Jamaica has always held for him.
In an unexpected turn of events, Tilla is forced to face the storm that unravels in her own life as she learns about the dark secrets that lie beyond the veil of paradise—all in the midst of an impending hurricane.
Hurricane Summer is a powerful coming of age story that deals with colorism, classism, young love, the father-daughter dynamic—and what it means to discover your own voice in the center of complete destruction.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In a packed debut novel based in personal experiences, actor Bromfield explores the trials of a Black teen's tumultuous transition to womanhood. Eighteen-year-old Tilla and her sister Mia, nine, travel from Toronto to Jamaica to spend two months with their increasingly absent father. Upon arrival at his family house in the countryside outside Kingston, Tilla begins to realize that there's more to the paradise her father's told them about—while falling in love with Hessan, a sensual young man with whom she explores her sexuality, she also hears accounts of poverty, sexism, and colorism in the community. As the hurricane season approaches, she further realizes the dangers of external storms, including people around her weaponizing her sexuality. Bromfield's story of summer discovery, voiced by Tilla in emotional prose, is packed with immoderate trauma, including sexual assault and incest, whose consequences are glossed over. Though the author's affection for Jamaica comes through, high drama and overlapping characters overwhelm this narrative. A lengthy Patois glossary defines phrases used throughout. Ages 13–up.
Customer Reviews
Amazing.
Just amazing. No words. I did not want it to end.