ARC REVIEW | When Summer Ends by Jessica Pennington

Title: WHEN SUMMER ENDS

Author: JESSICA PENNINGTON

Released: 9TH APRIL 2019 by TOR TEEN

Genre: TEENS + YA/COMING OF AGE/CONTEMPORARY

I really loved this story. I’ve been following Jessica’s journey as an author ever since I heard about Love Songs & Other Lies, which I haven’t gotten to read yet, but will be adding it to my TBR for next month now that I’ve gotten to read this.

Olivia and Aiden trade narrating throughout. I generally love this style of writing, so I was able to immerse myself in it all the more. The perks of this style are that you get two PoV’s and so more details regarding various scenes, but this can be a serious downside if one of the characters is boring. Luckily, Jessica writes amazing characters, so I was happy to read both PoV’s throughout the novel. The pacing of the story was also really great. It was quick enough that I was able to read it fairly quickly, but still detailed enough that I felt I could nearly step into their story. 10 points for storytelling!

Olivia learns early in the story that her aunt, whom she lives with, has taken a new position in a different state – taking Olivia away from her hometown right before her senior year of high school unless she can find an alternative. She asks her boyfriend, Zander, if they can talk to his parents about her living with them. Said conversation doesn’t go to plan. Aiden is the varsity pitcher of the baseball team, and also Zander’s teammate. Aiden, it turns out, is having some issues with his pitching, so quits the team and takes a job with his family’s business – River Depot. Where Olivia ends up getting a summer job!

I think the bit I struggled with most was her mother re-entering the scene. I have had a tense (non-existentent) relationship with my own mother for more than a few years now. Obviously, it wasn’t the same situation, but I don’t believe I would have been able to forgive mine so quickly or easily as Olivia did in the novel.

I really enjoyed the setting of River Depot because it’s exactly the kind of place I would have loved to work at during the when I was in high school! It is quintessential summer on the river. This was a cute summer story with some heavy topics explored throughout. I felt some of it deep in my soul… There are a few themes I’ve struggled with in my own life, such as abandonment by a parent as well as the vision issues, so that was a bit hard for me. Made me relate to Olivia and Aiden, and I think it made me love it even more. Pennington explored those topics very well and I can’t wait to see what she writes next!

Had to be a FIVE STAR read for me.

Two teenagers discover how an unexpected turn of fate can bring new love to heal old wounds in Jessica Pennington’s stunning, romantic YA novel When Summer Ends.

Aiden Emerson is an all-star pitcher and the all-around golden boy of Riverton. Or at least he was, before he quit the team the last day of junior year without any explanation. How could he tell people he’s losing his vision at seventeen?

Straight-laced Olivia thought she had life all figured out. But when her dream internship falls apart, her estranged mother comes back into her life, and her long-time boyfriend ghosts her right before summer break, she’s starting to think fate has a weird sense of humor.

Each struggling to find a new direction, Aiden and Olivia decide to live summer by chance. Every fleeting adventure and stolen kiss is as fragile as a coin flip in this heartfelt journey to love and self-discovery from the author of Love Songs & Other Lies.

Thank you so much to Jessica Pennington and Tor Teen via Netgalley for the ARC.