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OLDER FICTION
Onomé, Louisa

The Melancholy of Summer

320 pp. | Feiwel | May, 2023 | Trade ISBN 9781250823564 $19.99 | Ebook ISBN 9781250823571 $11.99
(2) YA In this absorbing novel, a Nigerian Canadian girl navigating tumultuous circumstances learns to trust friends and family. Suspected of fraud, her parents have become fugitives; Summer first lives on her own and then at the homes of friends, looking forward to the legal "true freedom" that will come with her approaching eighteenth birthday. Her outward aloofness and attitude that she can handle being abandoned and betrayed belie her longing for a stable home. When a social worker discovers her situation, Summer is sent to live with a cousin, Olu, whom she barely knows. Olu is only two years older than Summer; a popular singer in Japan, she now resides in Toronto. The relationship between the cousins is fraught with tension as Summer continues to rebuff Olu's attempts to support her, and she learns that Olu has consequential problems of her own and plans to return to Japan. A traumatic incident with a family member precipitates a period of reflection that leads Summer to make a life-changing decision and to realize what matters most. Onomé's skill at conveying the complexity of teenage emotions is notable. Her sympathetic portrayal of Summer as a teen who, because of past experiences, is guarded in her relationships with adults and sometimes with peers is both authentic and believable in a resonant coming-of-age story.
Reviewer: Pauletta Brown Bracy | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2023

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