This book is immersive, nostalgic, and just the right amount of gut-wrenching. It almost made me cry. Three times. It's rare for fiction to do that. This book isn't bittersweet, but rather, just the right amount of bitter and just the right amount of sweet. Rose and Windy have a great friendship. They pick up where they leave off each summer when Rose's family goes to Awago Beach, where the smell of leaves could be anyone's favorite, where the water holds dark secrets. The artwork is absolutely beautiful. It makes me feel like I'm right there watching the whole story unfold. But then, things change. Rose's parents are having problems, and she projects her anger onto another girl in the town who she has never met before. It gets really intense and Rose doesn't know how to handle it all - proving that knowing isn't half the battle.

i love reading graphic novels so why is this only my second one ??? the art in this one is SO BEAUTIFUL! i especially love how jillian tamaki draws bodies and movements. the atmosphere of a lazy summer was also captured perfectly which makes this novel a beautiful summer/holiday/beach-read. every frame transports emotion and the story shows me how a quiet book can still be painful. there are all these nuances to growing up and being a young girl and they can be experienced in this small book. i don't know how to feel about the fact that the jenny-story was left with such an open ending, though. it could have provided closure for rose's character development, i guess. other than that, i absolutely enjoyed it. there should be a sequel about windy and rose when they're a few years older as i'd love to read more about them. :')