Review: The Summer I Found You by Jolene Perry

Title: The Summer I Found You
Author: Jolene Perry
Genre: Contemporary, YA
Publisher: Albert Whitman Teen 
Publication date: March 1st 2014
Pages: 256







All they have in common is that they're less than perfect. And all they're looking for is the perfect distraction.

Kate's dream boyfriend has just broken up with her and she's still reeling from her diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Aidan planned on being a lifer in the army and went to Afghanistan straight out of high school. Now he's a disabled young veteran struggling to embrace his new life. When Kate and Aidan find each other neither one wants to get attached. But could they be right for each other after all? 

- Goodreads -

I had many great things about Jolene Perry, but I had never read a book by her before. So when I had the chance to read The Summer I Found You I was super excited.  And I can safely say that Perry fulfilled all the expectations I had.

Kate might seem like a normal teenage girl but she’s not. Ever since she got diagnosed with diabetes everyone is overprotective and her lifestyle has changed completely. And then her longtime boyfriend dumps her out of the blue.  Aidan just like Kate is marked for the rest of his life. His dream job was being a soldier but that dream is shattered at the age of nineteen.  He’s a war veteran with only one arm left. So hiding isn’t an option for him. They are each other’s complete opposite but now they might be each other’s salvation.

Kate was rather immature about her disease, she knew the risks but still she only took her shots when she was already starting to feel unwell. Her friends and family wanted to help them but she pushed them away. I get it that she didn’t want to be treated differently than other girls her age but with a disease like this you got to be careful. But I still liked her a lot, she was a sweet girl with a lot of humor and she was a lovely friend. And most of all I loved that she treated Aidan as a normal guy and wasn’t afraid to ask questions about his life with one arm and even make lame jokes about it.
Aidan was an amazing character. He has a lot of issues but he tries to work through them. He crosses things of from his list and some things are harder than the others. So a girl complicating a life is the last thing he needs. Aidan was a very mature for his age, probably because he went through a lot during his life. I really loved him, he tried to open up to Kate about his life and past even if it brought up old demons.  He might not be a soldier anymore but he will always be a fighter.

Then ending of this book was perfect. There were no lose threads and everything just clicked into place. The ending gave us hope without looking into the future too much. I really enjoyed this book and I’m definitely going to read other books by this author.