I'm pretty sure that I have read several other teen books about a "good" girl trying to change a "bad" boy and then they fall madly in love.

Summer Skin has been generating buzz online, and now that I’ve read it, it’s easy to see why. This book is a refreshingly realistic YA contemporary novel that incorporates an exploration of sexual politics into a rather wonderful romance.

The book opens with Jess Gordon and her friends plotting to take revenge on the guys from a dorm at her Australian university. At the beginning of the previous year, some of the guys from Knights (the name of the dorm, ironically enough) held a contest to see who could be the first to sleep with a girl from Jess’s dorm, and Jess’s best friend Farren was the one who got used. Now Jess and her friends are holding their own contest; the winner will be whoever lures one of the Knights back to their dorm and gets a picture of him tied up and humiliated.

So, at this point I was kind of expecting a story about sex and gender roles, but then the book veers off in another direction, because Jess’s chosen victim, Mitch, isn’t exactly what she expected. He’s kind of arrogant and mouths some sexist crap, but he also has a vulnerability to him that makes Jess hesitate. And, yes, eventually he goads her into following through on her plans, but that’s only the beginning for the two of them.

A lot of YA novels describe romances that are idealized to some extent, but that’s not the case here. The story takes place on a college campus where hookups are the norm and dating seems almost quaint. Lots of people are having sex, but it seems to have little to do with actual feelings. It’s against that backdrop that Mitch and Jess come together, and it’s part of what complicates the development of their relationship. Mitch has sex; he doesn’t date. Jess isn’t a fan of hook ups. But Jess is attracted to Mitch, and Mitch is fascinated by Jess to the point that he takes full-on sex off the table. That decision that really sets the stage for them to fall in love, but it’s not smooth sailing at all. As Jess says at the end of the book, she has to kick open Mitch’s heart, and watching her do it is kind of great.

Jess and Mitch seemed like very real people to me. Mitch is all kinds of imperfect—not completely PC when it comes to sex and the treatment of women and sometimes mean to Jess, wounding her by things he says and does. But when he forgets to be a tough guy, he can be surprisingly sensitive. He’s also hurting due to the death on his best friend in a car accident, and the baggage he’s carrying around from that gets in the way of his feelings for Jess. Meanwhile, Jess can be impulsive, and she isn’t always able to give Mitch the support he needs to deal with his pain. But she’s got a big heart, which makes her the perfect match for Mitch, who hides from his emotions until Jess makes that impossible.

I wound up really loving this book, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA contemporaries and is looking for something out of the ordinary.

A copy of this book was provided through NetGalley for review; all opinions expressed are my own.

Rating 3.5 Stars

While out for revenge, Jess may have met her match, and her unwanted attraction to him was a cause for alarm. She struggled throughout the book with many questions, among them: Can you fall for someone, who represents everything you detest? Can people really change?

• Pro: Jess was such a work in progress. Slightly damaged from a previous relationship, she was trying to avoid repeating that mistake. I really appreciated the inner battle she fought with respect to being true to her friends, her values, her needs, her wants, and herself.

• Pro: Poor Mitch was dealing with a LOT of guilt and grief, but he was trying to become a better version of himself. His process was painfully slow and often frustrating to watch, but I sort of like that Eagar kept it honest in that way.

• Con: The story was told in 3rd person from Jess' point of view, and though I loved her tons, I was really curious about what was rattling about in Mitch's head.

• Pro: This book was very feminist and sex positive. There was a lot of exploration of sexual politics as well as gender inequality in this story, which was attacked from many different angles.

• Pro: The banter in this book was so clever and witty. I loved every second of it.

• Pro: Summer Skin was set in an Australian University, which was new for me, and I found it very interesting.

• Pro: The last 25% of the book was where my patience paid off, and I was totally in love with what Eagar did with the ending. It was nice, but also answered a significant question that loomed over Jess during the course of this story.

• Pro: Jess had a fabulous set of feisty females, who served as a support system for. Her three floor mates were as different as night and day, but they all were empowered in some way, and I loved how they exerted this throughout the story. In addition to her friends, Jess also had a most wonderful aunt, who was doting, but also pushed Jess in a positive manner.

Overall: An untraditional love story, which is forthright, amusing, sometimes morally gray, but thought provoking and quite satisfying.

I've been dying to read this book since it was first published in Australia; I'd heard about it from some international internet friends, but I was disappointed to learn that I could only read it by ordering it from Australia, and that wasn't really an option for me. Imagine my surprise and delight when I learned that Summer Skin was being published in the US! And those two years of buildup and suspense did not disappoint: I love Summer Skin.

First off, this is definitely a New Adult book. I don't want to get into a whole genre debate, but this features characters IN COLLEGE, which is usually shelved in new adult; there are also some fairly explicit scenes that usually aren't seen in YA.

Anyways, I just love how this book starts; it just throws you into Jess Gordon's world and almost immediately into her relationship with "Blondie" (because theirs is a no-name relationship, ofc). All of the characters are so fleshed out in such a good way. For example, we learn all of these nonsensical things about Jess throughout the book that don't really have to do with the plot, but it really helps to characterize her and present her as a real person.

And honestly, that's what this book does so well: Summer Skin portrays relationships and friendships in a hook-up culture world so real. Never would I have related so much to a 19-year-old girl, attending an Australian university and studying economics. But I do, and that's because of how well written this book is. I don't even think my review's justifying it, like, you're probably reading this and thinking, what?? If so, the only thing I can do further is to tell you just to read the book. I don't think you'll regret it.

I did have a couple of issues with things that were handled. First, I wouldn't necessarily call this the feminist book because it really only deals with the surface of feminism. There's a lot more to actual inter-sectional feminism than what's dealt with in this novel.

I didn't much care for Blondie's disappearances. He and Jess would fight, and then all of a sudden it's a month later and he's ghosted her. Maybe I'd be fine with it in the beginning of their relationship, but I feel as they got to know each other, Jess should have been bothered with it more. Because really, this happened at least three times and after the second, I was fairly angry.

Also, I think Allie's character just could have been handled better in general. She talks about feeling insecure constantly, and then when she feels really bad, she posts to her extremely popular Instagram page. Honestly, I get this, but I feel like this was just mentioned in passing, and Jess could have talked to her more about this. It just seemed a little flippant to her problems to me.

Summer Skin is a, for lack of a better word, hot read. Jess's relationship with Blondie is so . . . honestly the only word that I could use to be accurate is hot. There's just so many levels to this book and how it handles relationships in a hook-up culture. I also loved the female friendships. Summer Skin should definitely be high up on your tbr list for the summer, especially if you want a hot, steamy read (ugh I hate that I just used such a cliche sentence but it fits okay!!)!

I enjoy reading YA because the sexual romance is toned down compared to an adult novel. That is not the case with this book. It was too graphic for me to recommend to students. The last half of the book had more non-sexual dialogue between the male and female character and I did start to hope they could work through some of their issues.

Really well-written, well-rounded characters. I think I'm maybe a bit underwhelmed by the ending, but it's such an intense book that I'm still thinking on it. I will say that the writing, at its best, reminded me of how I felt when I first read a Melina Marchetta book -- but in a way that was a bit more accessible. In any case, I'm glad we're finally getting this published in the U.S., and I'll be looking forward with interest to see what Eagar does next.

Good fun though not without its fair share of angst. Nothing too heavy, but I was surprised by some of the issues discussed. Reminded me of HBO’s Girls without the dark edge that’s present in that show. In a way I was a little disappointed this book didn’t go down darker roads, especially with this story’s girls, who were never as developed as I would have liked. They were clearly just a sounding board for the main character. Summer Skin joins the ranks of a growing list of works about modern women. While it didn’t break new ground in terms of the relationship arc I liked the portrayal of Jess and her friends, despite what I mentioned above. There are superior works that subvert gender norms, but I think the kids will like this!