All Summer Long - (Eagle Rock) by Hope Larson (Hardcover)

About the Book

Thirteen-year-old Bina faces her first summer without her best friend, Austin, who has left for soccer camp.

Book Synopsis

*A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018!*

All Summer Long, a coming-of-age middle-grade graphic novel about summer and friendships, written and illustrated by the Eisner Award-winning and New York Times-bestselling Hope Larson.

Thirteen-year-old Bina has a long summer ahead of her. She and her best friend, Austin, usually do everything together, but he's off to soccer camp for a month, and he's been acting kind of weird lately anyway. So it's up to Bina to see how much fun she can have on her own. At first it's a lot of guitar playing, boredom, and bad TV, but things look up when she finds an unlikely companion in Austin's older sister, who enjoys music just as much as Bina. But then Austin comes home from camp, and he's acting even weirder than when he left. How Bina and Austin rise above their growing pains and reestablish their friendship and respect for their differences makes for a touching and funny coming-of-age story.

Review Quotes

*A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2018!*
*A 2019 YALSA Great Graphic Novel Reading List Selection*
*A 2019 Little Maverick Graphic Novel Reading List Selection*
*An Eisner Award Nominee!*

"Whereas in early childhood friendships take shape by reason of proximity, later they alter as interests diverge and new bonds form, and Larson's story tracks this painful, exhilarating process." --The New York Times Book Review

"Larson's panels are superb at revealing emotional conflict, subtext, and humor within the deceptively simple third-person limited plot, allowing characters to grow and develop emotionally over only a few spreads. A coming-of-age story as tender and sweet as a summer evening breeze." --Kirkus starred review

"Most crucial is the portrait that Larson (Mercury) draws of Bina as a guitarist and songwriter, a musician whose deepest fulfillment comes from within herself. Larson's graphic novel zeroes in on conversational encounters, with dialogue that's fresh and funny ("You're a stone-cold psycho and I kinda admire that," Charlie tells Bina when they begin to hang out), and her close-up drawings of expressive faces add intimacy to the interchanges she captures." --Publishers Weekly

"With much of this tight-knit family's backstory delivered visually or through brief exchanges of dialogue, characters' diversity of race, lifestyle, and sexual orientation emerge organically through the tidily framed black, white, and gold artwork. Use this with Brosgol's Be Prepared (BCCB 4/18) and Jamieson's Roller Girl (BCCB 4/15) and All's Faire in Middle School (BCCB 10/17) for an easygoing graphic novel take on how to spend summer vacation." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"This sensitive, relatable graphic novel explores many familiar touchstones of adolescence as Bina seeks her place in the world... A limited palette keeps the focus on the story and character development, and Larson's expressive drawings add to the emotional resonance of the teen's journey to self-discovery...Fans of Raina Telgemeier's Smile and Shannon Hale's Real Friends will eagerly embrace this work. A charming addition to any graphic novel collection.--School Library Journal

About the Author

Hope Larson adapted and illustrated A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel, which spent forty-four weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and for which she won an Eisner Award. She is also the author and illustrator of Salamander Dream, Gray Horses, Chiggers, and Mercury, and the author of Compass South and Knife's Edge, both illustrated by Rebecca Mock. She lives in Los Angeles.