Hurricane Summer

In a packed debut novel based in personal experiences, actor Bromfield explores the trials of a Black teen’s tumultuous transition to womanhood. Eighteen-year-old Tilla and her sister Mia, nine, travel from Toronto to Jamaica to spend two months with their increasingly absent father. Upon arrival at his family house in the countryside outside Kingston, Tilla begins to realize that there’s more to the paradise her father’s told them about—while falling in love with Hessan, a sensual young man with whom she explores her sexuality, she also hears accounts of poverty, sexism, and colorism in the community. As the hurricane season approaches, she further realizes the dangers of external storms, including people around her weaponizing her sexuality. Bromfield’s story of summer discovery, voiced by Tilla in emotional prose, is packed with immoderate trauma, including sexual assault and incest, whose consequences are glossed over. Though the author’s affection for Jamaica comes through, high drama and overlapping characters overwhelm this narrative. A lengthy Patois glossary defines phrases used throughout. Ages 13–up. [em](May) [/em]