Skip to Main Content

.Virtual Book Club

Resource guides to enhance your Virtual Book Club reading experience.

About the Book

This One Summer

by Mariko Tamaki (author) and Jillian Tamaki (illustrator)

 
This One Summer is VBC's first graphic novel selection!

 

From the illustrator's website:

Rose and Windy are summer friends whose families have visited Awago Beach for as long as they can remember. But this year is different, and they soon find themselves tangled in teen love and family crisis. From the creators of Skim comes an investigation into the mysterious world of adults.

Sure, Rose’s dad is still making cheesy and embarrassing jokes, but her mother is acting like she doesn’t even want to be there. Plus, being at the cottage isn’t just about going to the beach anymore. Now Rose and Windy are spend a lot of their time renting scary movies and spying on the teenagers who work at the corner store, as well as learning stuff about sex no one mentioned in health class.

Pretty soon everything is messed up. Rose’s father leaves the cottage and returns to the city, and her mother becomes more and more withdrawn. While her family is falling to pieces, Rose focuses her attention on Dunc, a teenager working at the local corner store. When Jenny, Dunc’s girlfriend, claims to be pregnant, the girls realize that the teenagers are keeping just as many secrets as the adults in their lives.

About Graphic Novels

Explore more with USF Libraries

USF Libraries has an impressive number of graphic novels in our collection. Search the USF Libraries Catalog for "graphic novels" to find many available for circulation. Below is a list of other graphic novels in our collections from the authors of This One Summer.

Previous Discussion Questions

*** WARNING! SPOILERS AHEAD! ***

Each week, VBC discusses sections of the book together. Below is a collection of weekly discussion questions posed by VBC leadership and members. Be aware that these likely include spoilers, so please do not scroll further if you have not read the book.

 

Week 1: Orientation meeting

  • Q&A about graphic novels

 

Week 2: Pages 1-181

  • Awago is the site of many of Rose's summer memories. Do you have an "Awago"? Where is that, and what does it mean to you?
  • Windy and Rose are best friends with their own complex personalities. How are they similar and different? How do these aspects combine to build a solid friendship?
  • Rose’s mom, Alice, refuses to engage, participate, and generally interact with her friends and family. What would you do if one of your family members behaved this way, how would you interact with them?

 

Week 3: Pages 182-319

  • This One Summer has been frequently challenged since its publication. Now that we've finished it, why do you think there is so much controversy surrounding this book?
  • How do you think Rose will be different when she returns to Awago next summer? Do you think the events of this summer change her, and if so how?
  • Discuss the Tamakis’ use of nature as a metaphor. For example:
    • pp. 32-34: the depiction of milkweed pods as both magic and toxic
    • the role the lake’s depth play throughout the story
    • Rose’s collection of stones, mentioned and discussed throughout the book
  • Share your favorite page/artwork/scene from the book and why it made an impression on you.