Robin Constantine’s YA novel The Season of You and Me takes place over a summer at the Jersey Shore, during which Cassidy Emmerich stays with her estranged father at his bed-and-breakfast. After a dramatic break-up with her boyfriend, she attempts to move on as she works as a summer camp counselor at Camp Manatee. She then meets the charming and adventurous Bryan Lakewood, a fellow camp counselor who recently became paralyzed and must now use a wheelchair. The two get to know each other over the course of the summer, and in the process, each learn more about themselves.

By now, I should trust that age-old adage to never judge a book by its cover. If I did, I’d have known not to assume that The Season of You and Me was just another poorly written, corny YA romance. The cover features two teens cuddling on the beach, with the title hovering above in a hot pink, whimsical font. But the story tells more than what the cover connotes.

While, yes, this is a summer romance novel featuring two teens, it’s also a coming-of-age story. It’s a story about finding yourself, overcoming real-life obstacles, living in the moment, moving on from the past, and taking chances. 

The story feels much like a Sarah Dessen novel, though I will say that it is lacking the character development and inner thinking that Sara Dessen’s books have. By the end of a Dessen novel, you feel like you’ve personally gone through the coming-of-age experience along with the protagonist; you feel like you’ve struggled through the same things and learned the same lessons. The Season of You and Me has this, but to a lesser extent for a couple different reasons.

Firstly, the alternating POVs, from Cassidy to Bryan, mean we never get a chance to fully understand either one of them. Just when we feel like we’re getting to know Bryan and the adjustments he’s had to make while learning to live in a wheelchair, we switch back to Cassidy. Just when we feel like Cassidy is moving on from her ex-boyfriend or bonding with her father and his new family, we’re back to Bryan’s POV.

Also, there’s some skipping ahead. Instead of showing us those in between, “getting-to–know-each other” moments between Bryan and Cassidy, the characters often skip ahead in time and simply summarize the fact that they’ve spent time together. As a reader, you want to experience those moments firsthand.

Though there were those points in the novel that left me wanting more, overall, this was a fun, enjoyable read, with its comforting descriptions of the beach, and its endearing characters and authentic dialogue.

And lately, I’ve been basing the quality of books on whether they do what they set out to accomplish. For instance, I’m not gonna go into a fast-paced thriller expecting Shakespearean prose, or a YA romance expecting something deeply profound. A YA romance novel, I assume, seeks to be breezy, light, entertaining, and just a touch thought-provoking. The Season of You and Me can be described in this way. Possibly my enjoyment of this novel is clouded by some nostalgia, because the beach setting and the female protagonist going through a major life change bring me back to Sarah Dessen, whose books I used to eat up in middle and high school. Either way, this book surprised me in a good way and I’m excited to pick up another one of Robin Constantine’s books.

Rating: 3.5/5

Check out The Season of You and Me on Goodreads.