Blog Tour: The Secret Summer Promise by Keah Brown

 

Title: The Secret Summer Promise

Author: Keah Brown

Genre: YA

Publisher: Levine Querido

Release Date:  June 6, 2023

Rating: 💣💣💣💣

About the Book:

THE BSE (Best Summer Ever) LIST!

1. Blueberries

2. Art show in ShoeHorn

3. Lizzo concert

4. Thrift shop pop-up

5. Skinny Dipping at the lake house

6. Amusement Park Day!

7. Drew Barrymarathon

8. Paintball day

Oh, and ….

9. Fall out of love with Hailee

Andrea Williams has got this. The Best Summer Ever. Last summer, she spent all her time in bed, recovering from the latest surgery for her cerebral palsy. She’s waited too long for adventure and thrills to enter her life. Together with her crew of ride-or-die friends, and the best parents anyone could ask for (just don’t tell them that), she’s going to live it up.

There’s just one thing that could ruin it: Her best friend, Hailee, finding out Andrea’s true feelings. So Andrea WILL fall out of love with Hailee–even if it means dating the cute boy George who keeps showing up everywhere with a smile.

Do we want Andrea to succeed? No! Does she? We’re not telling!

My Review:

17 year old Andrea is determined to live it up this summer, since this time last year, she wad to have surgery due to her disability.  She decides to make a list of that is most important to her (as a list girlie, I'm the same way).  The only issue with her list is that she has recently come out bisexual, and has more than just a friend feelings toward her best friend, Haillee.  As teenagers do, there is a lot of feelings and miscommunication, and the friendship circle gets tested and decisions have to be made.

They are teenagers, so they're going to act their age and not adults, which is one thing I really liked about the book.  I had to keep it in the front of my mind of their age, and that we all acted that silly at that age.  I also enjoyed how her disability was presented in a positive light in the story   And one of the best parts was when the ah ha moment came.  That lessons  is one that adults can learn from as well.  This was a cute summer read, and I enjoyed it very much.  

About the Author:

Keah Brown is a journalist, author, and screenwriter. She is the creator of #DisabledAndCute, and her work has appeared in Teen Vogue, Elle, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire UK, and The New York Times, among other publications. Her debut essay collection The Pretty One (Atria Books) published in 2019, and her writing has appeared in the anthologies Disability Visibility edited by Alice Wong and You Are Your Best Thing, edited by Tarana Burke and Brené Brown.

Sharee Miller is the author-illustrator of Princess Hair, Don't Touch My Hair!, and Michelle's Garden (Little Brown for Young Readers). She is also the illustrator of The Shai and Emmie series, written by Quvenzhané Wallis and Nancy Ohlin (Simon and Schuster). Her colorful, happy characters are created using watercolor, colored pencil and pen.  --This text refers to the hardcover edition.