Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories

All things considered, I didn’t enjoy this quite as much as the previous anthology, My True Love Gave to Me. But I did like that Perkins’ story, “In Ninety Minutes, Turn North” was a sequel to her story from the previous anthology. That was unexpected and delightful - and the story itself was one of my favourites.

My other favourites were “Inertia” by Veronica Roth, in which SF technology gives Claire a chance to revisit shared memories with her former ex-friend before he undergoes surgery, and “A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong” by Jennifer E. Smith, about Annie, who is working at a summer day camp for young kids. I haven’t often come across autism included in stories the way it is in the latter, as a factor, a show more part of life, but not as the central focus. Casually yet thoughtfully handled. There should be more stories like that.

And I liked how “The End of Love” by Nina LaCour unfolded, and the way time repeated in “The Map of Tiny Perfect Things” by Lev Grossman. show less

As it says on the tin, a collection of twelve short stories, all YA, all romance. Anthologies of this kind are almost always hit and miss, and this one is no exception. A worthwhile read on the whole, but with its clunkers (and its bright shining winners). I particularly liked "Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail" by Leigh Bardugo, "In Ninety Minutes, Turn North" by Stephanie Perkins, "Souvenirs" by Tim Federle, and "Good Luck and Farewell" by Brandy Colbert. "Brand New Attraction" by Cassandra Clare seemed especially weak (great premise; not really a story), and Veronica Roth's "Inertia" also seemed a bit more good idea than great execution. "A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong" by Jennifer E. Smith was possibly the most frustrating in that show more there was so, so much I loved about it but in the end it didn't quite feel whole. I'm now more than ever convinced that I need to read some of the books by Bardugo I already have on my shelf, finally seek out the Colbert stuff I have on my wishlist, and probably try to remember to check out some longer work by Perkins and Smith. Recommended to YA romance fans and to completeists of any of the authors included. show less

These twelve stories of summer love are (almost) as delightful as the first twelve collected in My True Love Gave to Me (almost, because there is no Rainbow Rowell story in this collection). As with any collection, there are high points and low points: I enjoyed Perkins' follow-up to her winter story, could have done without Francesca Lia Block's tale, I don't think Jon Skovron actually knows any women based on how he writes them, but I loved Lev Grossman's story and found that it ended the collection on just the right note. Fans of YA, of romance, and of short stories will enjoy these seasonal offerings.

Omg. I normally don't care for YA, but these stories were delicious. I'm going to investigate for more by all but one author, and more by the editor. So sweet & fun. I think I liked these more than novels because we didn't spend 200 pp with an angsty teen, but got to the nice part promptly.

Most of the quotable bits are from just one story, *Souvenirs* by [a:Tim Federle|5446689|Tim Federle|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1648756472p2/5446689.jpg].
"But as my mom always says, 'there's a fine line between charming and manipulative.'"
"'Aha,' you might say. 'You are a T-shirt salesman. You make small talk all day.' Not so, I'd counter. I attempt to make 'sales,' a purpose that I can hide behind. Here, I feel as if I have to sell show more myself. (I still don't know the product well enough to really sell it.)
"... maybe the best thing about being in a relationship [is] that you can share the heavy load of being alive."

And I learned from [a:Brandy Colbert|5425858|Brandy Colbert|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1670464011p2/5425858.jpg]'s story that it was [a:Fannie Lou Hamer|4775176|Fannie Lou Hamer|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1420513132p2/4775176.jpg] who said "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired."

But again, all stories were reading, imo. show less

I really love a good anthology. I wish I could find more like this. This was a fun read and I actually liked it better than the first one that came out (Christmas season stories). Of course some stories are better than others but overall it was a very good, enjoyable read. The stories ranged from romantic, dramatic, cute, solemn, scary, and lovely. They showed the full spectrum of young love-the excitement, the sadness, the hopes, the regret and the true. Kudos to the writers.

I read the first collection, "My True Love Gave to Me" and I LOVED IT! I was a little scared that I had set the bar too high on this follow up, but no worries. I loved this one just as much. There is an amazing slew of teen authors who contributed to this: Francesca Lia Block (although her contribution was my least favorite, it's a darker depressing one - so basically her style), Libba Bray, Veronica Roth, Cassandra Clare, Leigh Bardugo, and more. Each story is a summer romance, but other than that they are all unique. There is a sci-fi one, a gay one, a fantasy one, a futuristic one, and more. My favorite one may have been "Last Stand at the Cinegore" because everything about that short story was hilarious and memorable. Overall, a show more wonderful collection that you will want to come back to time and again. I certainly plan on buying it for my personal collection! show less

This is a compilation of short stories all around the central theme of young love in the summertime. It sounds cute, and occasionally, there are few gems in this book that warmed the cockles of my cold, dead heart (Head, Scales, Tongue, Tail by Leigh Bardugo comes to mind). But really, it reads like a sophomoric collection of incomplete and often super boring, unremarkable vignettes. Maybe I’m being a little unfair, after all, summer romances are supposed to be light and fun. But this was a true test of my endurance for YA cliches and after awhile, I was too fatigued to bother, so I demoted it for bathtub skimming.