The Perfect Summer (Lou! Series #4)

by Julien Neel, Julien Neel (Illustrator)

Overview

Meet the new Lou! She's thirteen years old, so it's time to stop mooning over the guy who used to be the guy next door. Instead she's heading for a dreamy seaside village with her friends Mina, Mary Emily, and Karen. Let the boy hunt begin! But the first cute boy she spots is Tristan, the guy next door himself! It's the perfect opportunity to rekindle their romance. So why is Lou giving Tristan the cold shoulder? And why can't Tristan strike up a conversation that doesn't end with his foot in his mouth? It doesn't help that Mary Emily is making the moves on Tristan herself. And things get really messy when Lou's mom shows up with a surprise: Lou's old pal Paul! But Paul is just a friend, nothing more, right?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780761387800
Publisher:	Graphic Universe
Publication date:	10/28/2012
Series:	Lou! Series , #4
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 10.30(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	GN280L (what's this?)
Age Range:	11 - 15 Years

About the Author

Award-winning author and artist Julien Neel began his career as a host of business seminars. His musical puppet show on developing management skills was unfortunately made obsolete by PowerPoint presentations, forcing him to consider a new career in music. After a tour of Europe, his band split over irreconcilable differences about food. He eventually settled in Aix-en-Provence and has joyfully devoted himself exclusively to comics creation for the past ten years or so. Award-winning author and artist Julien Neel began his career as a host of business seminars. His musical puppet show on developing management skills was unfortunately made obsolete by PowerPoint presentations, forcing him to consider a new career in music. After a tour of Europe, his band split over irreconcilable differences about food. He eventually settled in Aix-en-Provence and has joyfully devoted himself exclusively to comics creation for the past ten years or so.

Editorial Reviews

Lou has turned thirteen so it is time for her to forget about the boy next door and head out and find a real boyfriend. The author doesn't tell the reader if they ever dated or not. Lou's mother and her mother's boyfriend are away on a book signing and Lou has never been on a vacation without her. Nevertheless, Lou and three of her friends head for a seaside village to spend their vacation. Of course the real purpose of the trip is to go boy hunting. First stop is the beach. Unbelievably the cute boy she meets is none other than the boy next door. Even though she isn't interested in him, when her friend makes moves on him, Lou doesn't understand why she feels angry. Then when things start to get interesting, her mother and boyfriend show up and surprise her which could have been a disaster but turned out well. By the end of the book Lou learns some things about herself. I am glad that she and her mother had a talk at the end of the book. I read this book twice trying to like it, but something is missing and the writing is very choppy. Reviewer: Kathie M. Josephs

Children's Literature - Kathie M. Josephs

Gr 5–8—In Down in the Dumps, Lou is depressed because the boy of her dreams has moved away. To make matters worse, her mother, an aspiring author, has a serious love interest that makes her even more scatterbrained than usual. Lou feels quite left out as she heads off to the first day of school, only to discover that she and her best friend are not in the same class. The year that follows brings the typical junior-high trauma of trying to figure out who your friends are, which boy you want to be with, and what to do about your crazy parents. Luckily, Lou is able to expand her horizons and meet some new people, which leads to The Perfect Summer. In this book, she vacations with a friend at an amazing beach house while her mother is on a book tour. The friendship drama has settled into a nice group of girls she enjoys being with. That just leaves the boy situation, which is complicated, since Tristan is back in her life. The stories are entertaining comic and will speak to some middle-school girls, but the art is rather flat and boring. Adequate reads for girls who want contemporary graphic novels with some light romance.—Carol Hirsche, Provo City Library, UT

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