Summer Skin in Aussie Book Club

Feb 01, 2016 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: love-oz-ya, new-adult, review-copy

This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Actual rating: 4.5

If there's anything that I wished I had at university, it is Summer Skin. Finally, there's a book that tells you that having sex is okay without being called a slut, that it's okay to stand up for yourself in an abusive relationship, that it's okay to tell off misogynist men while still maintaining your values. This isn't a usual love story, and it isn't the usual story about feminism. It's about two individ This review appears on Happy Indulgence. Check it out for more reviews!

Actual rating: 4.5

If there's anything that I wished I had at university, it is Summer Skin. Finally, there's a book that tells you that having sex is okay without being called a slut, that it's okay to stand up for yourself in an abusive relationship, that it's okay to tell off misogynist men while still maintaining your values. This isn't a usual love story, and it isn't the usual story about feminism. It's about two individuals, learning about each other, while mutually breaking down their misconceptions about each other.

Jess is the self respecting young woman who we all want to be, but we're too scared of being because of societal attitudes against women. I love how she surrounds herself with friends who respect each other, who are there for each other and have fun but aren't incredible BFFs like the many YA portrayals of friendship lead us to believe. She's even friends with a male who isn't a love interest. I love how she admits she enjoys sex and foreplay, without being embarrassed about it or needing to hide behind excuses. Despite the steamy amount of sex in this book, I love how the act of slut shaming was discussed but it was owned and embraced - why should we feel ashamed about demeaning labels that others place on us? Because the moment you own it, no one can use that to hurt you.

You know all those NA love interests who are complete dickheads? Summer Skin actually features a romance between a misogynist pig and a modern feminist, but it throws a curve ball in the works - Mitch isn't what he appears on the surface. While Jess schools him on his rude ways, you find out that he's actually not as bad as he seems at the start. Yes he does say some pretty rude things to her, but then you find out that all his life he's hidden his true thoughts and feelings behind some choicely placed words. This to me, felt a lot more realistic than the super perfect chivalrous guy who we see so often in romance. Mitch felt like an everyday person we could encounter today.

The thing about Jess, is that she's not the perfect heroine that we often see in these books. While she has a healthy attitude about sex and feminism, she still shows her vulnerability in still wanting a relationship with a guy that treats her with respect. That's okay as well - I'm not the only one who's sick of seeing the brazen feminist heroine who doesn't need a man. The truth is, you can be in a happy healthy relationship, while being feminist as well.

Summer Skin is set in Brisbane, which felt really relatable to me being my hometown. While this setting wasn't crucial to the storyline, it was still fun knowing about the landmarks and seeing the personality of the city captured in the novel. Seeing a unique book with healthy attitudes in the university setting is also important - I'm always up for more NA that isn't just about steamy sex and romance (although there's plenty of that here, there's so much more too). The only thing I had difficulty relating to, is all the talk about the Unity girls and the Knights studs, which are fraternities and sororities. I had no idea we had them in Australia.

You've probably picked up by now, that Summer Skin breaks down a lot of misconceptions we have about society, misogyny, friendship and romance. I love how it addresses not only societal values about women, but about men as well and how there may be more to a person than rude jokes and ogling. It's a book you could pick up and get something from every time you read it, and I think these stories are more important than ever for women today. I loved every minute of it, and hoping it'd set a trend for more books like this.
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Jan 09, 2016 Kelly (Diva Booknerd) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: allen-unwin, loveozya, bookgasm

Oh Kirsty Eagar, how I love thee.

As a reader, don't you tire of the same protagonists? The sleek, blonde and usually perfect young women who seem to have it all on a platter? Yeah, me too kids. Me too. You clearly haven't met Jess. Jess Gordon is a strong, no nonsense girl that could be the voice of the young feminism movement. Jess attends a not so prestigious collage with campus boarding, where females band together against the onslaught against the Knights, an all male boarding house who teac ...more

31 likes · Like · see review

Jan 15, 2016 Rachael rated it it was amazing

So, I started Summer Skin this morning and finished it at 1.15am and probably would have finished earlier if I hadn't been required to fulfill domestic chores and what not. Kirsty Eager, you wily minx. I am throwing handfuls of stars right at your gorgeous face. I loved Jess and Mitch. They made me laugh and cry. They broke my heart and put it back together. This was unflinching, honest, confronting, uncomfortable and triumphant. It's awfully late and I'm such a nana and I am going to pay horrib ...more

22 likes · Like · see review

Jan 11, 2016 Shelleyrae at Book'd Out rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aussie-author, provided-by-publisher, arc-are

Summer Skin offers a 'girl meets boy' story, a typical trope in YA/NA fiction, but author Kirsty Eagar has stripped back the common artifice of the construct to present a love story that honest, unique and relevant.

I found Jess to be a particular refreshing character for the YA/NA genre, though a mess of contradictions, she reflects a realistic young woman still figuring out that life and its challenges are rarely black and white.

Mitch challenges Jess in interesting ways, at first glance he is ...more

21 likes · Like · see review

Nov 12, 2015 Emily Mead rated it it was amazing

Shelves: contemporary, na, female-friendship

AHHH. Aussie YA is on point this year. Seriously guys, you're going to want to read this. It's sexy and smart and Jess is a protagonist you'll immediately love.

Absolutely loved it. Review to come!

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Aussie YA this year is ON POINT, guys!

I’ve read some absolutely amazing books – this and My Sister Rosa and Facing Up and the Colours of Madeleine series, for instance.

If NA was more popular in Australia (or anywhere), this would probably be classified as NA. And so would one ...more

15 likes · Like · see review

Feb 19, 2016 Paula Weston rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, australian

This is such a timely and excellent read. Not just because it’s brilliantly written, witty and populated with engaging, three-dimensional characters, but because it explores an aspect of young adult life we don’t discuss as frankly as we should.

Summer Skin deftly picks apart how the all-pervading porn culture impacts intimacy between teenagers (in this case uni students still finding their way as adults with new freedoms), particularly the ‘pressure to perform’.

The issue of connecting on more th ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Nov 12, 2015 Rebecca rated it really liked it

Shelves: aussie-ya, 2016, to-read-2016

Unbelievably good, this showcases just how amazing OzYA is. It's thought-provoking, smart, well-written, sexy and told in a raw, honest way that Aussie writers are known for. I was just saying to a friend that Kirsty Eager always delivers with interesting, flawed, fleshed out characters and Summer Skin is no different. All that and it's laugh out loud funny? Yep, definitely one to pick up! ...more

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Apr 04, 2016 Danielle rated it really liked it

Actual rating: 4.5 stars

This was such a good book! My first ever read set in Australia, and it made the book that much more enjoyable because I knew the slang and the uni life so well!
Jess was such a sassy and fun character and I loved her, and Mitch was beautiful as well.
This is exactly what I needed after finishing Lady Midnight, it was perfect.

Full review on my blog:
https://thechroniclesofdanielle.wordp... ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Nov 12, 2015 Sass rated it it was amazing

Sexy and gorgeous. I was worried that early reviews had oversold it, especially since I liked but didn't love Raw Blue, but Summer Skin was close to perfect. ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Jan 31, 2016 Angel - Angel Reads rated it really liked it

Shelves: love-oz-ya

You can find this and other reviews at Angel Reads
I was sent an arc of Summer Skin my Kirsty Eagar from Allen and Unwin in exchange for an honest review. This has in no way influenced my thoughts and feelings about the book.

Summer Skin is a sexy, funny, female driven OZ YA novel that reminds that things are not always what they seem and even people who seem all and mighty on the outside need a little loving. Summer Skin is also not for people under the age of 17, because there is loads of sexy t ...more

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Jan 30, 2016 Steph Cuthbert rated it it was amazing

Shelves: loveozya, young-adult

Wowza. Summer Skin is smart, funny, sexy and feminist. The characters are amazing, and I'm quite in love with Jess myself. Mitch's character arc is beautiful and the last few lines of this book are possibly my favourite last few lines of any book ever. I wish I read this book when I was 19, but I still bloody loved it at 32. ...more

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Jan 15, 2016 Eugenia (Genie In A Book) rated it really liked it

*This review also appears on my blog Genie In A Book*

Thank you to Allen and Unwin for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Summer Skin represents the perfect balance of fierce, feisty and feminist in a YA novel. A book which seems to fit comfortably in the gap between young-adult and new-adult in the scope of university life, this story is one that is refreshing and dynamic. Taking a fresh look into the 'us versus them' sub-culture between universities and the sexes, t ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Oct 28, 2015 Ella rated it it was amazing

ALL THE STARS. ALL OF THEM.

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 21, 2018 Jessica G rated it it was ok

UGH, I'M SO DISAPPOINTED WITH THIS ONE.
I had so many hopes of 'Summer Skin' and I'm so sad that I didn't get what I wanted.
Basically this book is more of a New Adult book than a YA book which is absolutely fine, and that's actually something that I like most about it, if that's what I had originally wanted. HOWEVER, it was another one of those female-body uprising stories, but this just fell flat for me.
While I understand some of the great feminist undertones of the story and I can totally appr ...more

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Oct 10, 2016 Rachel Torres rated it really liked it

Shelves: my-bookshelf, 2016-releases, 4-stars, signed

Really enjoyed this. A nice, contemporary read that is simultaneously a love letter to summer and Brisbane (and filled with lots of Aussie-isms which made it feel so familiar).

I found Jess sometimes got a bit too feminist ranty; as in sometimes she goes on long tangents that don't seem like realistic dialogue. Also, towards the end the pacing got very jilted and odd, making it hard to differentiate scenes and identify the passage of time. I understand the vibe that this was aiming to achieve, b ...more

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