Review: The Summer of No Regrets by Katherine Grace Bond - Farah

Title: The Summer of No Regrets

Author: Katherine Grace Bond

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Publication Date: May 1st, 2012

Genre(s): Young Adult (Contemporary)

Challenges: A-Z title, Contemp

Source: Publisher
Format: Digital ARC

Pages: 290

Add to Goodreads 

The day Brigitta accidentally flings herself into the lap of a guy she's never met, her friend Natalie is convinced he's Trent Yves, egotistical heartthrob-in-hiding. When the boy, who calls himself Luke, is nearly eaten by a cougar, Brigitta finds herself saving his life, being swept into his spectacular embrace and wondering if she wants Natalie's fantasy to be true.

As the two spend the summer together raising orphaned cougar cubs, Brigitta still can't be sure of his true identity. But then again, since her grandparents' death, her father's sudden urge to give away all their possessions and become a shaman, and her own awkward transition from girlhood into a young woman, she isn't sure of anything. What is the truth? More importantly, can she accept it?

Since summer started, I was looking for a fun, summery book with beach, sun, and awesome girly friends and all. The Summer of No Regrets was nothing like I expected it to be. Unfortunately, there was no beach or sun or friends. At some points, I even forgot it was a summer book. The main protagonist, Brigitta, is just a normal girl with no religion. Her dad, who suddenly chooses to be a Shaman, does some awkward stuff that embarrass her at some points. She has a sister, and a mother as well. They live in this place, that I still don't get what it is. Basically a house that's all eco-friendly, all part of her father's shaman rituals I guess. Brigitta has a Jewish friend, Natalie, who really cracked me up sometimes. As well, she has a guy friend, Devon, who she had a little thing for. Apart from that, Brigitta's life was pretty normal until she met Luke. 

As soon as the girls bump into Luke at the library, Natalie insists that he's a look-alike of superstar Trent Yves. While Brigitta denies it, she still does think that he's a look-alike. One day, Brigitta sits in her tree house, and see's Luke in the forest sitting on a rock. She also see's a cougar a little further away from him, that's making it's way towards Luke. She shouts a warning at Luke, and the rest is history. They try attacking the cougar until it runs away. You're probably wondering why I'm saying this, but because of that cougar, the next day when her parents find out, this "animal wildlife" place shoots it. I liked that it felt realistic, because even though it's really sad, that's what they'll do to a wild animal that might hurt humans. The next day, Brigitta takes a walk in the forest with Luke, and they find two baby cougars. That's when they both decide to take care of them in return for their mother's death. It was so cute to read about something new. I also liked how their relationship developed because of something more important they're working towards. 

Even though it was a cute idea, I still felt that something was missing. I didn't have that feeling where I just wanted to turn from page to page. It was hard finishing the book, because there just wasn't something exciting to make me want to read more. I also wish the author didn't concentrate on Brigitta's father, or his weird rituals that I didn't understand at all, that much either. I didn't really care what religion he was or what he wanted to be, but I just felt like it was concentrated on it way more that it should have been. I also hoped that it would have that awesome jealousy between Devon and Luke like most contemporary books, but Devon just disappeared throughout the whole book, except the very end. 

Overall, I guess it just wasn't the book for me. It was a good contemporary book, but I just felt like it was too... blunt. I wanted more excitement, more fun, just more. It felt like it needed more spicing up. Though, like I always say, that's just my personal opinion so don't just assume that you'll feel the same way. While The Summer of No Regrets wasn't that great for me, you might love it. Give it a try, and happy reading!

2.5 musical notes