The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles)

The Summer of Jordi Perez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles)
Author(s)
Genre(s)
Age Range
14+
Release Date
April 03, 2018
ISBN
1510727663
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Seventeen, fashion-obsessed, and gay, Abby Ives has always been content playing the sidekick in other people's lives. While her friends and sister have plunged headfirst into the world of dating and romances, Abby's been happy to focus on her plus-size style blog and her dreams of taking the fashion industry by storm. When she lands a great internship at her favorite boutique, she's thrilled to take the first step toward her dream career. Then she falls for her fellow intern, Jordi Perez. Hard. And now she's competing against the girl she's kissing to win the coveted paid job at the end of the internship.

But really, nothing this summer is going as planned. She's also unwittingly become friends with Jax, a lacrosse-playing bro-type who wants her help finding the best burger in LA; she's struggling to prove to her mother--the city's celebrity health nut--that she's perfectly content with who she is; and she's desperately trying to remain behind the scenes and off-camera where she feels she belongs, when she hangs out with Jordi, who documents her entire life in photographs.

Though crazy, summer's been fun, and just as Abby starts to feel like she's no longer the sidekick in her own life anymore, Jordi's photography surprisingly puts her in the spotlight for the first time, and it feels more like a betrayal rather than a starring role. Can Abby find a way to reconcile her positive yet private sense of self with the image that other people have of her?

Seventeen, fashion-obsessed, and gay, Abby Ives has always been content playing the sidekick in other people's lives. While her friends and sister have plunged headfirst into the world of dating and romances, Abby's been happy to focus on her plus-size style blog and her dreams of taking the fashion industry by storm. When she lands a great internship at her favorite boutique, she's thrilled to take the first step toward her dream career. Then she falls for her fellow intern, Jordi Perez. Hard. And now she's competing against the girl she's kissing to win the coveted paid job at the end of the internship.

But really, nothing this summer is going as planned. She's also unwittingly become friends with Jax, a lacrosse-playing bro-type who wants her help finding the best burger in LA; she's struggling to prove to her mother--the city's celebrity health nut--that she's perfectly content with who she is; and she's desperately trying to remain behind the scenes and off-camera where she feels she belongs, when she hangs out with Jordi, who documents her entire life in photographs.

Though crazy, summer's been fun, and just as Abby starts to feel like she's no longer the sidekick in her own life anymore, Jordi's photography surprisingly puts her in the spotlight for the first time, and it feels more like a betrayal rather than a starring role. Can Abby find a way to reconcile her positive yet private sense of self with the image that other people have of her?

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Abby is the perfect, normal girl.
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4.7
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The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the best burger in Los Angeles) was such a great read. I warn you now, you will probably get hungry while reading.

Abby Ives is a 17 year old fashion blogger. She runs a site called +style and just applied for an internship with a designer at Lemonberry, her favorite store. Abby describes herself as the sidekick, never the leading lady. Her best friend, Maliah has a boyfriend and Abby is often left behind or is the third wheel. Life at home is tough at times, too. Her sister moved away and Abby is left with her parents. Abby's mom runs Eat Healthy With Norah! and has made comments to Abby about doing a before and after with the healthy food. Abby is a plus size and feels that her healthy mom is embarrassed by that. Also, she knows Abby is gay, but still asks if she's dating the boy she starts hanging out with. Abby says she is comfortable with herself, but she always worries about how other people see her. Her size doesn't bother her when she's alone, but it is obviously an issue. But Abby has great style and Maliah is always pushing her to share photos of herself on her blog.

Trevor's friend, Jax, starts hanging out with Abby. His dad is creating a new app to rate burgers in the city, so he recruits Abby to help him. Jax isn't the type Abby would normally hang out with, but they actually become really good friends. I love Jax.

Maggie, the designer/owner at Lemonberry does pick Abby for the internship. But she also picks another girl from Abby's school, Jordie Perez. Abby is upset and knows she is competing with her for a paid job after summer, but she can't help but like Jordie. She is opposite of Abby. Artsy, thin, hispanic, and kind of quiet. They quickly become friends and Abby realizes that she's falling for Jordie. They spend the summer together until Jordie does something to surprise Abby, but it ends up hurting her instead.



There were so many parts of this book that I related to. Some of it made me laugh out loud and other parts had me shaking my head yes. It was such a pleasure to read this one early and I hope everyone else enjoys it just as much.

There is also plenty of diversity in this book. Abby is a plus size lesbian with pink hair. Jordie is a hispanic lesbian. Maliah is straight and black. Jax is pretty much the typical jock, but he's also smart and skipped a grade. I also liked Maggie a lot and she was going through a divorce and becoming a single mom.

I didn't really see anything problematic with the book. Just the way Abby's mom was with her.

I gave this one 4 1/2 stars (rounded up to 5 for goodreads). Thank you to Amy Spalding for my book. I can't wait for everyone else to read it.

Good Points
diverse characters
protagonist is overweight
funny moments
feels real
lots of food
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