Gr 10 Up—Lou, who is Métis, plans to spend the summer with her family and friends while working at her family's
ice cream shack. However, a series of unexpected events, including that her mother's rapist—Lou's biological
father—is now free, forces the teen to reckon with her identity and sexuality in Ferguson's searing and moving
debut.

4.5⭐️/5

I want to start off with saying I really enjoyed this book and when I started reading it I had no idea what I was getting into, it was sort of a mystery to me. Even though this is a summer read and described as "summer ace/demi-rep romance" it does deal with some pretty heavy stuff. I have included a TW at the bottom of this review.

The story centers around Lou, her family, some friends, and their family owned ice cream business. We definitely see lots of growth from Lou who constantly questions herself about her past actions that hurt not only herself, but also family and friends. She does have to deal with a lot, she had problems with her self identity and what it brings when she fully embraces her Metis heritage. She is also picking up the pieces from her previous lies but also trying to hide bad situations to help "save" her mom from having to deal with her ex (Lou's abusive father). I felt the story delt well how Lou had to manage all these situations as well as figuring herself & her sexuality out.

This is definetly not your typical summer romance read, it isn't all sunshine and rainbows, but it is a great read and it does feature awesome information about ice cream in the heading of each chapter and throughout the book!

There was a lot of allusions to fire and how it is both comforting but can also be very destructive. It stemed very much from Lou's anger from injustice that she had experienced and lies that were built. It was interesting to see where it came from and how she started to control and heal from it.

A must read book for the summer ☀️!

TW: Mentions of sexual harassment, violence, racism, self harm, alcohol abuse, arson, hate crimes, and discussions about mental health/sexuality.

Thank you to HCC Frenzy for the arc in exchange for an honest review ( )

RGG: A great teen read besides dealing with the issues of racism towards Native Americans, including the abuse of the foster system, sexual abuse, poverty, stereotypes, including of alcohol abuse, as well as issues of identity including being bi-racial and being Ace. Reading Interest: YA