Not Our Summer by Casie Bazay Book Review

Title: Not Our Summer
Author: Casie Bazay
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Release Date: May 11, 2021
Pages: 288

Five trips, two cousins, one family feud, and a summer that will change their lives forever.

It's bad enough that estranged cousins Becka and KJ see each other at their grandfather's funeral, but when he leaves them a bucket list of places to visit together over the summer, so they can earn their inheritance, it seems like things are about to get much worse.

However, with each trip the cousins complete -- like riding mules into the Grand Canyon or encountering a bear and a hot tour guide at Yellowstone -- they steadily learn about and begin to trust one another. That is until the truth behind Grandpa's bucket list, and their family feud, is revealed, testing Becka and KJ far beyond their limits.

Will they find a way to accept each other or will their grandpa's wish to mend his divided family end up buried alongside him inside his grasshopper green casket? 

Pre-order it on Barnes & Noble or Amazon 

My Thoughts

**Thank you so much to NetGalley and Running Press Kids for sending me an Advanced Reader's Copy in exchange for an honest review!**

After K.J. and Becka's grandfather passed away, the two cousins are left with a big sum of money but there's a catch: they have to complete a series of tasks together. Spending summer with your cousin may seem fun but K.J. and Becka aren't your regular cousins. They're so different from each other, but to get the money, they must tolerate each other. 

Something happened between their moms many years ago that has caused a big separation of their family. Since their moms don't like (more like hate) each other, the girls had grown up apart. The ultimate goal for all of the trips their grandpa had planned was to bring the girls together and maybe even become friends. 

Two rows ahead, an old lady with painted on eyebrows turns to squint at us. She's probably trying to figure out why we're sitting in the back of the chapel instead of up front with the rest of our family. Maybe she doesn't know the story.

Completing the tasks seemed like torture and both girls are reluctant to do spend time with each other. Aside from that, they get to visit amazing places like Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon but of course, not without annoying each other throughout. As time passes, they do seem to get closer but then everything goes downhill as if their efforts were all gone...

I can't believe I got so worked up but then again, maybe that's only normal when two people have spent as much time together as Becka and I have lately. It's hard to say. 

It's an adventurous debut novel

Star Rating: ★★★★☆ (4)

Because the book was written from two perspectives, I got to see what each girl was thinking when the events happened. I liked the difference in the social class between K.J. and Becka. It was nice seeing how that kind of influenced them as a person. The pacing was just right for me and it was fun seeing the characters develop.  

The plot twist was totally unexpected. I didn't see it coming at all, but hey, it makes sense why the girls were kept apart. It still was a surprise though and it took me a moment to recover.   

Overall, Not Our Summer caught my attention from the first page, and I finished it fairly quickly. It was a great debut novel and it kept me engaged throughout. I'm definitely interested in reading future works by the author!

About the Author

Casie Bazay is former middle school teacher who now works as a freelance writer and editor. In her spare time, Casie enjoys exploring the great outdoors, spending time at the barn with her horses and goats, reading, and watching movies (especially young adult novel adaptations). She lives on a hay farm in northeastern Oklahoma with her husband and two children but loves traveling to new and exciting destinations whenever she can.