Review: The Season of You & Me by Robin Constantine

The Season of You & Me by Robin Constantine 

From Robin Constantine, author of The Promise of Amazing and The Secrets of Attraction, comes a funny and heartfelt summer romance set in New Jersey. Perfect for fans of Sarah Mlynowski, Jenny Han, and Morgan Matson.
Cassidy Emmerich is reeling from a sudden, humiliating breakup. The last thing she wants to do is stick around and be reminded of her ex everywhere she goes. On impulse, she decides to spend the summer with her father and his family at their Jersey Shore bed-and-breakfast. A different scene and a new job working as a camp counselor seem like the perfect recipe for forgetting Gavin as quickly as possible—not to mention for avoiding him until he leaves for college.
Bryan Lakewood is sick of nevers. You’ll never walk. You’ll never surf. You’ll never slow dance with a girl and have her put her head on your shoulder. Last year he made one false move—now he’s paralyzed and needs to use a wheelchair. But this summer, he’s back at his camp job and is determined to reclaim his independence—and his confidence.
Cass is expecting two months of healing her broken heart.
Bryan is expecting a summer of tough adjustments.
Neither is expecting to fall in love.

Add it on goodreads! 

Publishes in US: May 10th 2016 by Balzer + Bray
Genre: ya contemp
Source: earc from Harperteen via Edelweiss
Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC (advanced review copy). I am not paid for this review, and my opinions in this review are mine, and are not effected by the book being free.
Series? no
my reviews of Robin's other book:
The Promise of Amazing 

Buy it: IndieBound - Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Books-A-Million - iTunes

Author stalk away: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Blog | Tumblr

 

    I wanted to read the season of you and me because I like the sound of a summery read but with maybe a little bit more serious edge to it. It starts off before Cassidy leaves for the summer and she is trying to get over her break up with her ex-boyfriend Gavin. Before she leaves we get to see through her eyes some of her relationship with her and Gavin and honestly I couldn't help but like I'm just a little bit even though I knew he was going to break her heart. That changed pretty quickly because I saw how he hurt her how he lied to her and covered things up and ultimately she found a picture of him with another girl and that was where things kind of ended.

     I know that the Summer had a lot of promise for her she was going to be working at a summer camp and from the sentences we know that she meet a new guy there and even though she's not looking for anything she finds a friendship and relationship with someone else. bryan is a new guy and he is just now adjusting to life in a wheelchair and he is determined to figure out how to come to terms with that and how to build a life for himself while he knows that he is facing a whole set of new challenges that is going to be a part of his life forever.

   Also liked the family dynamics with her and her man who lives with her. they're looking after her and trying to make sure she's distracted and that she's doing okay and that just shows of love and care and respect that I really appreciate and that a lot of young adult contemporary those are missing.

     The season of you and me is told in dual narrative and the theme of family and support also seems to be intact with Bryan's point of view. I realize that it's been a year since his accident and that he used to be a surfer but now he seems to really like swimming. he gets a good upper body workout from that it's a place where he feels at home. He swims at the Rec Center and his godfather work there and I enjoyed that I got to experience some their first conversations and they were authentic. he was really able to be a sort of cheerleader for Bryan and encourage him to push the limits and really believed that he could improve and that he had the strength to get through it.

   They both made some choices near the ending that showed that they still were flawed (in the relatable way) but then they realized what they were doing was wrong and was able to turn it around and ask for forgiveness. This demonstrates how much they both grew over the summer and in their new relationships and friendships, and trying to move on from being hurt and the issues in their lives. Bryan learned to accept help and things that his friends were offering whereas he had been avoiding surfing or things that would require the help of others. It was a great moment when he realized that he had a good group of support and friends and encouragement.

   I knew that going in the summer had to end and I wasn't quite sure how I wanted it to play out. I loved it in the moment but there was the knowing that the book was going to end and that made me sad. I really loved this story, the writing, the characters, the setting, everything. But I did like how she managed to give them hope for the future, but also being realistic.


Bottom Line: This is the book that I read for. Emotional, romantic, well written, strong characters including a diverse one and the family involvement.

My question to you, my lovely readers:
Ever surfed? Or have a desire to try?