The Season of You & Me by Robin Constantine

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Cassidy Emmerich is determined to make this summer—the last before her boyfriend heads off to college—unforgettable. What she doesn’t count on is her boyfriend breaking up with her. Now, instead of being poolside with him, Cass is over a hundred miles away, spending the summer with her estranged father and his family at their bed-and-breakfast at the Jersey Shore and working as the newest counselor at Camp Manatee. 

Bryan Lakewood is sick of nevers. You’ll never walk. You’ll never surf. You’ll never slow dance with your date at prom. One miscalculated step and Bryan’s life changed forever—now he’s paralyzed and needs to use a wheelchair. This is the first summer he’s back at his former position at Camp Manatee and ready to reclaim some of his independence, in spite of those who question if he’s up for the job. 

Cass is expecting two months dealing with heartbreak.

Bryan is expecting a summer of tough adjustments.

Neither of them is expecting to fall in love.


Sometimes a broken heart leads to a decision that can take a person on a different course. That's what happens when Cassidy decides to escape for the summer after finding out that her college-bound boyfriend had cheated on her. Some part of her thinks she's running away but she's hoping that a change of scenery will help her forget about her ex and learn to adjust to being on her own. She heads to the Jersey Shore where her father and stepmother run a bed and breakfast. There she can make fresh new memories with her summer job as a camp counselor at Crest Haven and with her dad's family. At camp she meets Bryan who's a paraplegic. He, too, is learning to adjust after a life-changing accident. He has so much to prove to himself and others but his fears of not being as good at something he excelled at prior to his accident are holding him back. He and Cassidy get on well and end up working together often. He looks forward to seeing her because for him, it's nice to be with someone who isn't aware of his past history, and Cassidy enjoys their easygoing friendship. Until they figure out where they're headed, they'll just continue to enjoy each other's company.

"And in that moment, as she held out her hand to let the firefly loose, I realized that I didn't care whether she was in Crest Haven for four minutes, four hours, four days, or four weeks. I wanted to be in Cassidy's life, to know her, and whatever time we had, it would have to be enough."

I've read all three of Constantine's books and I've liked them all. Her coming-of-age stories feature amiable heroines along with other sensitive, sweet characters that I adore. Cassidy and Bryan are no exception. I enjoyed their flirtations and the precious moments where they confided in each other or egged each other on. Seeing how as an outsider, Cassidy started to fit in with a new group of friends who have their own history is something that every single one of us can relate to. Most importantly, family is always at the heart of Constantine's stories. There's always family to turn to; to root them, to guide them and to simply love them. 

"Mom looked dreamily up to the sky again, her face softened. 'Copping out of what? Cassidy, you're spending the summer with your father, you're not running away. You're changing the scenery. There's a difference. You're opening yourself up to new experiences. That's all, nothing wrong with that. This will be good for you.'"

The Season of You & Me, is perfect for you if you're looking for a friends-to-couple or a conquer-your-fears or a I-can-find-my-own-happiness story. It'll give you good vibes all around!

~ Bel


Here's are my reviews of Constantine's other books if you're interested, The Promise of Amazing and The Secrets of Attraction.

Summer On The Short Bus by Bethany Crandell

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Spoiled, Versace-clad Cricket Montgomery has seventeen years of pampering under her belt. So when her father decides to ship her off to a summer camp for disabled teens to help her learn some accountability, Cricket resigns herself to three weeks of handicapped hell.

Her sentence takes a bearable turn as she discovers the humor and likeability of the campers and grows close to fellow counselors. Now, if she can just convince a certain Zac Efron look-alike with amazing blue eyes that she finally realizes there's life after Gucci, this summer could turn out to be the best she's ever had.

Summer on the Short Bus is a very non-P.C., contemporary YA with a lot of attitude, tons of laughs, and a little life lesson along the way.

After she's busted at a party, Cricket’s dad feels that he’s at his wits end with her shenanigans. She doesn’t take him seriously when he threatens to dole out his next punishment. After all, he’s been a pushover all these years so what makes this time different? Well, he means business. She gets shipped off to "Camp I Can" where she is to be a counselor to special needs children. Cricket has absolutely no experience taking care of herself much less anyone else. having grown up self-centered. She's in complete shock to find herself in the middle of nowhere (Michigan without cell phone reception feels like nowhere) and all she can think of is escaping. The only thing that keeps her from having an ugly meltdown is the hottie counselor, Zac Efron doppelganger, Quinn. She resigns herself to situation when her one and only escape plan fails. It doesn’t mean that she embraces camp life. In fact, it’s the opposite – she’s horrified that she has to be there all summer and work with these kids who make her feel so uncomfortable.

It would be incredibly easy to misconstrue Summer On The Short Bus as a vulgar and insensitive view of people with special needs. But as I laughed out loud several times at the sarcastic humor, I realized that it’s really more about the people who interact with them. Cricket doesn’t experience any immediate “aha” moments as she learns to get used to her new environment. Her no filter of a mouth lands her in all sorts of ridiculous scenarios.  Her peers share stories with her that demonstrate that she’s not the only one who has ever felt out of their depth at the camp. The best laughs come from her interactions with the camp kids, specifically the two she's in charge of, Claire and Meredith, who don’t see themselves as anything different. They’re so funny saying whatever comes to mind, instantly glomming on to Cricket like she’s their best friend. She doesn’t know what to make of her little fan club but soon finds herself enjoying their strange company and idiosyncrasies. As it turns out, may be she's the one who's been taken under their wings.

Cricket makes a mess of things due to a giant faux pas. When she realizes that she has hurt someone she truly cares about, she's stunned and helpless. Even she can't defend her own actions. Asking for forgiveness is unfamiliar territory and this new perspective gives her much to think about. 

Crandell says in her notes that she didn’t intend to send some message with this book. Instead she was searching within herself for a way to connect with her own special needs child while simultaneously staying true to her personality. I had seen Crandell at a book signing last year and her sarcastic, dry humor is what drew me to buying her book. I thought a lot of the dialog felt very authentic. And as I finished it, I concluded that it's not so much about changing people's minds but about how you can grow to be a more empathetic person and still be true to who you are.  

~ Bel