[GIVEAWAY] Summer, Friendship & Emery Lord: Readers & Bloggers Weigh In

July 28, 2015 / 66 Comments / Discussion, Exclusive Content, Feature

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Hi guys, today I’ve got a really lovely tribute to Emery, summer and friendship from a bunch of readers and bloggers. When I first conceived of this week, I knew I wanted to have it in the middle of summer because the way Emery writes…it reminds me of those hot-as-heck days where you have the whole world stretched out in front of you and nothing to do but meet your friends and hang out and laugh and talk together. Her work reminds me to be present in the moment – which I think is something we all end up doing a little more when the sun is shining and gardens are blooming. I wanted to capture a little of that feeling, so take a look at what summer, friendship and Emery mean to readers:

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– Kathy @ A Glass of Wine

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– Lynne @ Words of Mystery

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-Andi @ Andi’s ABCs

emerylord-foxshideaway

-Holly @ The Fox’s Hideaway

emerylord-emiliebookworld

-Emilie @ Emilie’s Book World

emerylord-yabookshelf

-Melissa @ YA Bookshelf

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-Alexa @ Alexa Loves Books

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-Sarah @ What Sarah Read

emerylord-ciaobella– Bella @ Ciao Bella

emerylord-readsleeprepeat

-Shelly @ Read. Sleep. Repeat.

 

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-Erin @ The Hardcover Lover

 

Thanks so much to all the readers and bloggers who shared their thoughts – there’s some amazing insight here. So tell me, what do summer, friendship and Emery Lord mean to you? Did any of these readers hit on your favourite thing about summer or friendship? Hit the comments and let us know!

And hey, if you haven’t read Emery’s books yet, Bloomsbury and Emery are generously offering signed, personalized copies of Open Road Summer and The Start of Me and You! This giveaway is international – go ahead and sign up!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Growing up, summer always felt like this kind of magical time, where everything that went on during the rest of the year didn’t matter all that much. Summer was a time when I was going on adventures, and was away from most of my friends. Now that I’m an adult, it’s the opposite: summer is the time when I get to see the people that I don’t during the rest of the year. It still has that same magical quality, just in a different way.

 


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66 responses to “[GIVEAWAY] Summer, Friendship & Emery Lord: Readers & Bloggers Weigh In

  1. Summer at the moment for me means loads of free time to read and relax before going back to uni in September. I’m never read any of Emery’s books, but she’s been on my to buy list for ages, thanks so much for the giveaway 🙂

  2. _Sandra_

    Since I was a kid, I was always a big fan of summer. (Also, hate winter and everything and all associated with cold) Free time from school, spending time with family and friends, lots of fun times and happy memories.
    Emery’s books perfectly capture everything I love and enjoy over the summer – new friendships, new loves, crazy adventure, freedom to do whatever crosses yor mind.

  3. Well, I have always been a fan of summer novels because living in Malaysia, I’ve never got the proper summer experience! I believe Emery Lord’s books will give me that! 🙂

    Thanks for the giveaway!

  4. Catherine

    I see summer as the much-needed quiet in between the noise of each semester. Emery’s books capture the perfect nuance of friendships, how “we are all debtors. We all owe each other for a thousand small kindnesses, for little moments of grace in the chaos.”

  5. Betul E.

    Summer means, no stress having fun and enjoying yourself on vacation. When I was growing up we spent the summer in Turkey visiting family. Friendship means someone having your back no matter what

  6. I absolutely LOVE Emery Lord and her fabulous summer stories. For me, summer always meant driving around town with your best friends, your dogs, and iced coffees with Taylor Swift blasting out the stereo and flooding the streets. We used to joke that we were blessing the ears of the town with ours/Taylor’s voices.

  7. Tânia M.

    Summer for me is the perfect time for getting outside and adventuring, always with a book for company <3

  8. Sam

    Since my child is still school aged (college is still school), summer still means vacation to me. I am looking forward to when I can take my vacation when it’s not so hot though.

  9. Emma A

    I always think back to summers in elementary school when I could really have a fun, carefree summer with my friends. Once I moved past those years, friends were replaced with books, which was good and bad, and I still had fun, but I wished I could experience summer like those in Emery Lord’s books, and so many others that I read about, that I sort of experienced in the years when I was young.

  10. Emery’s books mean so much to me. It’s amazing – and unfortunately rare – to see books that feature strong, healthy, positive female friendships. I love how emotional her books are, but that they’re funny and swoony, too. You finish them with a smile on your face, feeling like you’ve learned some important lessons, and you’re sad to say goodbye to the characters because they’ve become friends.

  11. summer means absolute boredom in excruciatingly hot weather, and friendship means…having someone you trust enough to tell almost anything…?

  12. Zaira F

    Sadly I haven’t read any of Emery Lord’s books yet. Obviously I’m missing out and I can’t wait to read her books 🙂 I love what you said about how in summer, it feels like the whole world stretched out in front of you and nothing to do. I definitely agree. That has been my favorite part of summer ever since I was a kid.

  13. Summer means a huge vacation from school and AP classes for me! It’s a time to focus on myself and take a break from studying and varsity sports. It’s a time for reading!

  14. Madalyn Hardwick

    Summer is running through the fountains at Centennial Park here in Atlanta. Summer is catching fireflies in mason jars while sipping sweet tea on your grandparents’ porch. Summer is laughing until your insides burst with your best friends. Summer is marathoning all eight Harry Potter movies without stopping. Summer is lazing languidly in the air-conditioned library to escape the preview of hell happening outside. To me, Emery’s books capture the quintessential feeling of summer, the feeling that every moment is full of infinite possibilities.

  15. Ya know, these 3 words are synonymous to me. Emery is one of those writers that will make me always think “SUMMER!”

    Summer, friendship, and Emery Lord = trifecta of reading fun!

  16. I’ve always loved summer. When I was in school, it meant lots of time for sleepovers and cottaging, and now that there’s no school and it’s just work, I still just love when it’s hot out and you can spend the day in the city with your friend, or just lounging in the backyard reading. Summer nights when it cools down and you have a drink and laugh about summer’s past. Summer books are my favourite and Emery writes them perfectly.

  17. Daria

    Some friendships are for lifetime so you have to cherish them !Friends become members of you family. It is one of most imaportant things in your life.

  18. Kierra

    For me, friendship means laughter, happiness, bonding, remembering the good times, and always having someone you can talk to.

  19. Jennifer T

    Summer means war weather, sun, sand and sea and lot of free time. Good time to read more too.

  20. Summer

    Summer is my name, so fortunately it worked out that it’s also my favorite season, I’m one of those people who’s shivering all the time, I very much welcome the heat, and the sunshine just seems to make me happier, and I love to read outdoors, so it’s my ideal time.

  21. Summer used to mean extra time to read, but now I still have to work. I love reading outside though, the sun on my face. Friendship is everything to me. And I haven’t read Emery Lord yet, but soooo looking forward to it! 🙂

  22. Holly

    I absolutely love Emery Lord’s books! The friendships portrayed in her novels are heart-warming and the boys are so kind and down to earth and everything she writes is just completely and utterly touching. Thanks for the giveaway!

  23. In addition to what I said above, friendship means someone who gets you and supports you. For me, I think that takes longer than a short meeting as is what I usually had with the summer friends I mentioned since they weren’t people I met year after year usually.

  24. Natasha

    Summer=too many more months until fall/winter, Friendship=people who put up with you even when you live far away and don’t speak regularly, Emery Lord=Awesome beach reads

  25. Summer means winding down with a great book or tv show,taking it easy. Iced Teas and Water Ice and Beautiful sunrise and sunsets

  26. Maryssa L

    Friendship is always the best thing to read about because I think platonic relationships are forgotten or not held to the same respect as romantic relationships. Friendship is so important because those relationships are different but just as, if not more, important than romantic relationships. Friends are usually the ones that are there when everything else is going wrong.

  27. Angela

    Summer means hanging out with friends from high school and with my family before I’m back to college. Also beaches, fireworks, and late nights outside. 🙂

  28. Matt Finch from Open Road Summer!

    Gregarious and good-hearted, you can lay on the charm with ease. But sometimes your easy way with people is a mask for hurt and depth you’re reluctant to reveal. Once you set your sights on something, you’re not ashamed to go after it with everything. You don’t shy away from the finer things in life, but to you- the finest things are usually pretty simple. Frisbee on a sunny day, a rental cottage on the beach, and falling in love all the way.

    OMG! description matches a lot to me O_o

  29. Ileana A.

    Summer means a time to share with your best friends, the excitament of the season, the heat of the wind and the love for a summer adventure 😀

  30. Holly

    I took the quiz and I got Max. And I would have to agree! I like school and I spend a lot of my days either in a bookstore or library.

  31. Chelsea Hatfield

    Summer is my time to relax and look back on the last year of school and decide what needs changed and what can stay the same. It’s a time of doing what I want to do and moving at my pace for my schedule.
    Friendship is knowing that someone is there for me and supporting me in all circumstances at all times. It’s being able to have someone to confide in and relate to.
    Emery Lord is an author that I am dying to get into. Her books sound amazing! Just the kind of contemporary books I like to read and I’d love to try them out and see what I think.

  32. Summer! ahh the great time of vacationing and swimming and just basically doing the things you don’t have time for during non-summer days hahaha 🙂

    I honestly haven’t read anything from Emery yet *hides* but I’ve already added Open Road Summer on my TBR shelf 🙂

  33. Valentina B.

    Summer at the moment for me means loads of free time to read and relax, sun, sea and lot of fun. Thanks for the giveaway!

  34. Hmm I think for me summer means getting a little break to enjoy the sunshine and just relax since work tends to become more slack during these months 😉

  35. I think when you’re in school that summer represents POSSIBILITY, even if your summer is kind of boring and sucky compared to the summers you see in TV, movies, and books. There’s a freedom there, a sense of “what next?” — and I think Emery’s books do a good job of representing that, even with parts that aren’t set during summer.

    (Also, I’m MAX like I mentioned before — nerdy enthusiasm FTW!)

  36. […] I happily call myself an Emery Lord fan. Her books, Open Road Summer and The Start of Me and You, are books I’m always recommending to friends in need of a good contemporary read, and my excitement for her next release, When We Collided, is unmatched. All that said, I loved Mostly YA Lit’s week of posts dedicated to Emery Lord. You can catch my own contribution, as well as other bloggers’ thoughts, here! […]

  37. Catherine

    According to the quiz I’m Tessa from The Start of Me and You, and as a devout concertgoer, it makes sense!

  38. Breanne

    Summer to me means having fun with no regrets. Just doing thing you want to do for the short time period you have to spend.

  39. Shyanne

    Summer is fun , perfect weather, hanging out with good friends, having fun, going places , enjoying every moment possible, pool, volleyball, beach , tanning, river, sun, happy faces, fashion time, flip flops, fun days, road trips, long nights, bonfire, all nighters, sleep ins, sleepovers, there is so much more.

  40. Summer means beach, sun, ocean, and fun! It’s a period when we get off from school and have a little down time and laziness. Time flies past, but it’s a little paradise during the year.

  41. Yun0A

    I haven’t read an Emery Lord book yet, so I should probably get started. I’m in school for most of the summer, so boo:(. But it used to be a time when I could go on vacations with my family and meet up with friends that were busy during the rest of the year.

  42. To me, friendship is important. I definitely value friendships. Once a friend, you will always be my friend.
    Thank you for the chance to win Emery’s books. <3 PS. I got Reagan from Open Road Summer!

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