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Victor Jestin: Heatwave (Hardcover, 2021, Scribner)

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I can see why some people didn't enjoy this and I probably wouldn't have chosen it if I'd known some of the themes. But I absolutely tore through this book and thoroughly enjoyed it. 

After decades of reading YA, I realised I’d never encountered such a sharp, honest portrayal of how teenagers genuinely don’t have a fully developed prefrontal cortex, how they fail to see the consequences of their actions, and consistently make terrible decisions. It was brilliantly done.

The heatwave felt like a character in its own right. I was in France this summer when it hit 41.5°C in Paris, and I loved the idea that this story unfolded during that same oppressive, shimmering heat.

Definitely a book to read if you're in a reading slump