Summer Days and Summer Nights, Edited By: Stephanie Perkins (Part Two)

Inertia
​By: Veronica Roth

       "Inertia" (87%) is the story of Matthew's former best friend, Claire. She has gotten news that Matt has been in an accident, and in the future world where they live, when someone has very low survival odds in the hospital, they get a Last Visitation, where the victim can choose people to relive their memories of each other together. Matt chooses Claire to have a visitation with, and this story follows them through their memories together.
       I really enjoyed this story, as it was perfect for Roth's writing style. She writes futuristic societies in a certain way that makes them plausible, and something I could see happening. Claire and Matt's story was also very unique in the fact that they had been best friends for a long time, and it was interesting to see that relationship as it formed throughout the memories.

       "Love is the Last Resort" (86%) is, in its own words, not a love story. It's about two people who insisted that love was only for fools. Lena had worked summers at the Hotel de Arte Spa and Resort almost every summer she could remember. She knew every guest there, and was happy with that. Arlo, on the other hand, was accustomed to change. He had been to a new school every year for the last three years, moving around with mom and each of her new boyfriends. Neither were looking for love, but did have a little fun trying to set up some of the other guests.
       Before I start, I will let you in on something. I L-O-V-E Jon Skovron's writing style. The way he lays the words on the page is unlike anything I have read up until this point. It's hard to explain without reading it, and I definitely recommend it. My favorite part, though, is in the end, he had a little surprise that blew my mind. 

Love is the Last Resort
​By: Jon Skovron

Good Luck and Farewell
By: Brandy Colbert

       "Good Luck and Farewell" (68%) is the story of Rashida and her cousin, Audrey. Audrey had always been the motherly figure in Rashida's life after her mother passed away. When Rashida finds out Audrey is moving to San Francisco with her girlfriend, Gillian, Rashida is devastated. She doesn't like Gillian at all, and when she meets Gillian's brother, Pierre, she despises them both. That is, until Gillian drinks too much at the going away party, and Rashida has to stay with both siblings at Audrey's apartment.
       This story was just okay for me. I wasn't a big fan of the whole, "We just met and hated each other, but now we're in love," thing that Rashida and Pierre have. I also feel like this story just didn't have a way of connecting to me. Rashida's big issue is that she lost her mother, but since I haven't lost a close family member, I couldn't relate to her feelings.

       "Brand New Attraction" (88%) is a classic Cassie Clare story. Lulu Darke lives with a traveling dark carnival that her father owns. She has never really had a normal life, and that is fine with her. Until, one day, her father goes missing, and her uncle and his stepson, Lucas, come to help out. Lulu and Lucas befriend each other when they are suspicious of her uncle and his plans for her carnival.
       This story is one that I had been looking forward to as I read the other stories, and it had everything that I had hoped for. There was magic, demons, mysterious happenings, love, and even classic Clare humor.

Brand New Attraction
​By: Cassandra Clare

A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong
By: Jennifer E. Smith

       "A Thousand Ways This Could All Go Wrong" (80%) is a cutesy romance story that just screams it's written by Smith. Annie is a counselor at a day camp for kids, and loves her job. She also loves the fact that she sat behind Griffin in Spanish class. When she goes up to talk to Griffin in the grocery store, she asks him on a date, which he agrees to. They settle on going after she was done at camp, but, she was responsible for looking out for an autistic boy named Noah, who's mom is really late to pick him up. Instead of going to grab a bite to eat, Griffin becomes the first person to get through to Noah.
       I really liked this story. It was summer-y, cute, and fun. It wasn't anything totally new and exciting, but the ideas that Smith presents and the challenges that the characters have to overcome, especially Griffin, are new and unique ones, and definitely need to be explored more often.

       "The Map of Tiny Perfect Things" (92%) is the story of August 4th. Over. And over. And over again. Mark has found that every morning, he wakes to find that it is August 4th all over again. Everything resets, and it's like the previous August 4th never happened. Everyone does exactly the same thing, every day, and nobody seems to notice, except Mark. He doesn't mind the routine, though. After a few weeks of it being August 4th, he meets Margaret, the only other person he knows that is aware that it has been August 4th for weeks. They start hanging out, and come up with an idea to map all the tiny perfect things that they find. From eagles swooping to catch a fish, to skateboarder nailing a perfect trick, they find things that are perfect in their own right.
       I absolutely loved this story. Mark and Margaret are the perfect people to put in this scenario, too. They both have their own troubles to deal with, but they choose to always look for positive thing to make life worthwhile. Grossman did an amazing job writing this story, and I couldn't have asked for more.

The Map of Tiny Perfect Things
By: Lev Grossman

       What are your thoughts on the second half of this anthology? Leave your comments below!

​From her summer dreams,
Ashton

It's the imperfections that make things beautiful" 
— Jenny Han, The Summer I Turned Pretty