Hurricane Summer
CBC Books | | Posted: April 15, 2021 8:02 PM | Last Updated: August 14, 2023
Asha Bromfield
Tilla has spent her entire life trying to make her father love her. But every six months, he leaves their family and returns to his true home: the island of Jamaica.
When Tilla's mother tells her she'll be spending the summer on the island, Tilla dreads the idea of seeing him again, but longs to discover what life in Jamaica has always held for him.
In an unexpected turn of events, Tilla is forced to face the storm that unravels in her own life as she learns about the dark secrets that lie beyond the veil of paradise — all in the midst of an impending hurricane.
Hurricane Summer is a powerful coming of age story that deals with colorism, classism, young love, the father-daughter dynamic — and what it means to discover your own voice in the centre of complete destruction.(From Wednesday Books)
Asha Bromfield is a Canadian actress, singer and author best known for her role as Melody Valentine, drummer of Josie and the Pussycats in the television show Riverdale.
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Why Asha Bromfield wrote Hurricane Summer
"As you move into your teens, that's taken away from you. It speaks deeply to this journey, when you're no longer loved and revered by your father because you're not this cute little girl anymore. It speaks to society and the way that we view young women, the way that we view sexual young women, how we value women and their virginity and how we shame girls when we feel they're, quote-unquote, 'promiscuous.'
You always hear about girls having, quote-unquote, 'daddy issues' — but I wanted to show the longing that's created when you do have the imprint of a really great father.
"It creates a deep wound. That was something I had felt firsthand growing up, when you become a pre-teen or early teenager, and you realize that the world looks at you a bit differently and you're no longer the cute little girl that you were before."