NOT OUR SUMMER is a cutesy enemies-to-family novel about two cousins being forced to complete various daredevil tasks in order to access the inheritance that their mutual grandfather left them., I thoroughly enjoy reading through Becka and K.J.'s POVs.

Not Our Summer is outside of my preffered genre, but it didn´t seize to amaze me. It´s writing was easy and funny and this book was such a quick read in general. I laughed, cried and learned so much with these imperfect and lovable characters. I loved every single moment with it and will definetely buy it once it´s out.

This was a great contemporary summer read for teens and adults alike. I would absolutely recommend it to people.

2.5 stars.
The cover is so beautiful. I had so much hopes that i`d really like the characters and the story, but i was just not interested or invested, sadly.

trigger warning
<spoiler> mention of agoraphobia, lethal illness, grief </spoiler>

In order to get their inheritence, two cousins have to spend their summer on five trips. The hitch: Since their mothers are locked in a feud, both of them never really met but still have <i>opinions</i> about the other.

These five things they have to do both are things their grandpa, who suffered from agoraphobia, never got to do and serve the purpose of forging a bond between the cousins that might be able to gap the cliff.

The chapters alternate between the pov of both young women, which means we get to see the other from their perspective, which really tells us much about the person whose head we're currently in. Interspersed throughout the narrative are letters the grandpa wrote in his last days, to be given to them at special days.

Again, this was a kind of fun trip to take while locked indoors. Can't wait for better weather when I can go outside, occupy a park bench and read there. I was in the mood for summer stories, for travel, and contemporary YA stuff. The romance takes a backseat and only gets mentioned in passing, because this is all about friendship and family bonds.
I had fun. It distracted me from a bad health day. And I'm sure other people will have a fun roomp as well.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

It was alright, not my most favorite but a quick read and easy to pass the time with.

The characters are likable but I feel the plot is just missing that extra sparkle to make it grand.

Thank you to Perseus Books and Running Press for letting me read an eARC on Net Galley! This story was sweet and wholesome and gave me a little sense of adventure. Especially being stuck in the house with what's going on in the world today it was nice to be able to go along with Becka and KJ as they try and complete their grandfather's bucket list. I loved the dynamic of having both girls perspectives at times but also their grandfathers as well. It really brought the story full circle. I highly recommend picking this up one this up, I know I will be!

Becka and KJ are cousins who can't stand each other. Years ago, their mothers, RaeLynn and Jackie, had a falling out and now family events can be more than just a little complicated. After the death of their grandfather, Elijah Walker, the girls are forced to attend five trips throughout the course of the summer - if they don't, they won't receive any of their inheritance. Elijah had hoped to build a bridge after being unable to do so between his two daughters, but as their excursions continue, KJ and Becka start to wonder if there can ever be peace between their two families.

I really enjoyed how this book focused on familial issues. One event in their past caused a schism between Jackie and RaeLynn, which in turn caused Becka and KJ to grow up on differing sides of a rivalry. Pretty much all they know of the other is bits and pieces of what their mothers say, so of course there is going to be tension and animosity. It can be tough to unlearn a lot of those misconceptions, especially if you're being told it's the truth from your parents or someone you're supposed to trust. I really liked that being highlighted. The depictions of their trips were also really vivid and I could almost imagine myself riding alongside KJ on a mule at the Grand Canyon, hiking with Becka and Johan at Yellowstone National Park, or even watching the sea-life go by while snuba diving in the Florida Keys. I also found the dichotomy between the two girls fascinating - KJ and her mom don't have a lot of money, live on their own in a trailer park, and she doesn't care all that much about her future because no one has ever expected her to be anything great, while Becka and her mom have more than enough to get by, RaeLynn has been remariied twice and had another child, Ricky (who had since passed away at the age of nine prior to the start of this novel), and Becka has the grades and agility to have a sports scholarship lined up after college. Both are envious of each other for vastly different reasons, and not all of it has to do with money.

I enjoyed the alternating perspectives, along with some of Elijah's letters spinkled in between, as we get to see into the minds of both KJ and Becka. Occasionally I did have some issues with the pacing, and was unsure if the girls were still on their trip after a chapter break or if they had since returned home. In personal taste, I felt that the girls went from pure animosity to friendly a bit too quickly, and some of the comments used to attack each others' families were a bit in poor taste, but others may feel differently with their own experiences. And while I am usually all for a sprinkle of romance anywhere I can get, I really didn't find the romantic moments in this novel all that necessary (other than to be a source of conflict between the girls on their trip, at least in Johan's case), but again, only personal opinion and some may think it added another complexity layer to the story - all valid opinions.

Overall I enjoyed following KJ and Becka's story of family and friendship on a sort of road trip. I hope reader's will find their own things to love about the book when it's released in May, **Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, Running Press Kids, for the e-copy, all thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Hello, bookworms, and welcome to my review of Not Our Summer by Casie Bazay! I'd like to thank Running Press Kids and NetGalley for providing me with a digital review copy in exchange for an honest review. This book releases on May 11, 2021, so make sure to pick up a copy then and give it a read! I'm really excited to tell you about this book, so let's get started!

When their grandfather passes away, estranged cousins Becka and K.J. find out that, to their surprise, Grandpa left a good bit of money to them in his will. Unfortunately, the only way for them to receive that money is for them to complete a vacation bucket list together. Becka and K.J. expect these trips to be torturous--after all, they hate each other due to an unresolved family feud. But as they ride mules down into the Grand Canyon and go snuba diving in the Florida Keys, they begin to grow closer and trust each other. But when the truth about Grandpa's bucket list and their family feud is revealed, will Becka and K.J.'s new friendship be shattered into irreparable pieces?

​I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book! I especially liked the travel aspect of it; I've always loved books involving traveling, and it was fun to explore new places with K.J. and Becka. I now really want to visit Yellowstone and the Florida Keys someday! I do wish that there had been more descriptions of the locations they traveled to; I would have liked to feel more immersed their experiences. It was interesting to watch Becka and K.J.'s interactions with each other grow more friendly and less bitter. I liked how they had such different personalities, so it was easy to tell whose perspective I was reading from in case I missed the name at the chapter heading. Their bickering was a little annoying at times, but I suppose it was unavoidable since they hated each other so much at the beginning. I was also completely shocked and delighted by the twist at the end--I never saw it coming! That being said, it fit really well into the plot line and didn't seem out of place at all. I liked this book had plenty of action but also lots of personal growth in the characters. The ending was satisfying and sweet, and I had a wonderful time following Becka and K.J.'s story.

That's a wrap on my review of Not Our Summer! I'd recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick read about travel and family feuds. I gave this book 3.5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨.

Not Our Summer is a solid debut novel! I thought that the story flowed nicely, the writing was descriptive, and the two main characters, cousins Becka and K.J. had some really nice character growth and I loved watching their friendship grow and change as the story went on. I loved reading about their bucket list adventure that their grandfather planned for them, as well as the letters he left behind that explained why he had planned all of this for them. I'll be honest, I didn't actually see the twist coming but once it was revealed it made complete sense as to why they were estranged from each other for so long. I thought that the ending was satisfactory and ended on a hopeful and realistic note, which I enjoyed.

Though I had wished that there was more diversity within the cast. While we had diversity in social class between Becka and K.J., there was not any racial or sexuality diversity. Not to say that I want characters of color or LGBTQ+ characters just thrown into stories and either used as token characters or stereotypes, but some diversity would've been nice.

It was easy to stay focused and engaged in the story, I read it in mostly one sitting. I'll definitely be checking out Casie Bazay's work in the future.

This is the best book I’ve read in months! I loved the story, I loved the characters and I loved the progression of the story.
Without giving to much away, the characters were flawed but believable. I liked their relationships with their friends and I liked how they were allowed to be emotional throughout the story.
One last thought, I liked how the story isn’t wrapped up in a perfect ribbon. Maybe we will get a sequel!
Enjoy!
* be careful. I couldn’t put this book down and read it in a day. It’s that good.

This was a fun family driven Contemporary with some twist I really enjoyed the back and forth between these two cousins They both had their own voices They were realistic and Heart warming
i usually don't like road trip books but I would Definitely recommend this!

This is a fun, quick summer read about two cousins carrying out tasks from a bucket list set by their late grandfather. The two girls absolutely despise each other because their mothers have a long-standing feud.

This book did a lot of things right. The trips are fun to read about, and it is great American travel-porn. The book is extremely readable. However, it falls short in its depth. There are several moments where it feels like it wants to touch on some deeper subjects--there is some very questionable parenting going on here (especially for poor KJ), one of the girls has lost a younger sibling, there are drastic class differences between the two girls--but the book always takes the "safe" choice and skims over them quickly. This book had the opportunity to be more, but it is still an enjoyable beach read with some good emotion and fun settings.

*e𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘷𝘪𝘢 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸

I feel like this book suffered from too much happening but not enough happening at the same time. The characters and plot felt pretty predictable. It was an enjoyable enough read, but didn't keep me hooked and eagerly flipping pages. This was a quick and easy to get through story, so I would recommend picking this up if you're looking for a quicker read or something a bit more light.

I read so much fantasy that these light-hearted books are such a relief. Now I know this deal with death and family disputes but no one kills each other. Right? I devoured this book in two days because I just couldn't get enough of K.J. and Becka. They are such good characters, and I had a good time with them.

At the start of the book, KJ was definitely my favorite, but I slowly started to warm up to Becka. I eventually understood why she was the way she was, and how much they hated each other. This book blew me away 5/5 stars, I highly recommend everyone to read this.

I don't think I was entirely the right audience for this book, I believe it would be better suited to a younger reader. I like the concept but the story and characters wasn't really for me. Becka was the best of the bunch, but I cringed every time there was a letter from the Grandpa. Decent book for the right reader.

A roadtrip story with a twist, Not Our Summer is just what it says on the tin. Two cousins with a history of hating each other fulfill a bucket list for their grandfather. You won’t be surprised by anything that happens but you also won’t be too disappointed by the big reveal.

My only complaints are that the “solution” came a little too easy and it often felt like the author was reciting a guidebook to each location rather than telling a story that involved those places.

Not Our Summer is the story of two cousins that fulfill the bucket list of their late grandfather. Initially, the girls don't get along and must learn to come together through visiting places their grandfather had once hoped to take them. A secret is revealed in the book that explains the rift in the family and changes relationship of the characters. The author allows us to see the natural progression of the cousins as they come to terms with the past actions of their family. The story is a sweet tale that highlights family and healing. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

Not Our Summer was a pretty good book actually! Casie's way of showing a grandparent's love for their grandchildren and their passion for mending their broken family while also being terminally ill is impeccable. This book was a great read and I would recommend it to anyone!

Not Our Summer is a really NICE book about two girls and a summer bucket list. I love reading books like this especially when the characters are completing said bucket list for someone who no longer can so its safe to say I was TOTALLY interested in the content. I also think the author did a nice job describing the scene and allowing her readers to feel a part of the story. My only complaint is that there isn't enough development within the girls. For the type of story this is, I think the characters need to grow a little bit more.