The Extended Summer of Anna and Jeremy

By: Jennifer Ann Shore

Narrated by: Stacy Birch

Length: 4 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Is one summer enough time to change everything?

Anna Wright is always on her best behavior—turning in homework assignments early, keeping her head down during disagreements, and living life vicariously through action movies. Faced with the reality of her reputation as a lame high school cliché, she decides now is the time for a change, so when hotshot basketball player Jeremy Blake interrupts her late-night plotting over a bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch, she convinces him to help.

As they explore the summer together, Anna can’t help but wonder what else will fall into place as autumn approaches.

The Extended Summer of Anna and Jeremy is a mature young-adult novella with coming-of-age themes such as self-discovery and teenage love/relationships.

©2019 Jennifer Ann Shore (P)2022 Jennifer Ann Shore

Narrator has a vivid voice & makes this book sing

Summary –

Anna is tired of being the same old boring goody two shoes so after mulling over her life while eating a bowl of cereal, she vows to make some changes. She’s going to make a bucket list and when her brother’s best friend, Jeremy, walks into her kitchen, she decides to start by kissing him. She’s crushed on him for as long as she can remember, and she’s floored when he agrees to help her with her list but with more spontaneity. As the summer rolls on, she spends all her time with him. She makes it perfectly clear it’s just for the summer but when it’s back to school time, Jeremy doesn’t want to go back to just being friends. Can Anna see past her list to what’s in front of her or will she break Jeremy’s heart?


Narrator’s overall voice –

Stacy Birch has a vivid voice with great personality to it. She takes each character and brings them to light using intonation. I closed my eyes and I felt like I was watching it on screen, without leaving my home.


Does the narrator fit the characters?

Yes, she does. Stacy Birch uses her voice as an instrument, so each character has their own voice. From the main characters to the minor characters, it’s a full cast of characters Stacy recreates with ease. She does a superb job with Anna.


Narrator’s reading style –

Stacy’s reading style is effortless, and I found it easy to get caught up in the story. The enunciation is clear, no matter which character is speaking.


Narrator’s impact on reading experience –

Her characterizations of Jennifer Ann Shore’s writing are brilliant, and I found myself laughing at Anna’s antics. This is one of my favorite stories by Jennifer Ann Shore and Stacy is the embodiment of Anna.


Narrator’s pacing –

The pacing is well done with plenty of teen angst so the reader can follow along without getting lost.


Audiobook flow –

The audiobook flowed from start to finish with the right balance of humor, romance, and crushing on a sibling’s best friend. I didn’t want to stop reading/listening.


What makes this audiobook unique –

I’m a huge YA romance reader and this audiobook has a fantastic vibe. Anna’s love affair with cereal is a thing of beauty.


Would I recommend this audiobook –

YES! I would recommend this to any reader looking for a young adult romance with depth. There is a full cast of characters and Stacy brings each one to life. Highly recommend!


My Rating: 5+ stars

Anna & Jeremy

Anna is tired of being the boring good girl, and wants to change that. It all starts with a kiss - one she did very spontaneously with her brother's best friend, Jeremy. Jeremy, Anna, and her brother Cory grew up together doing everything, but once they got to high school, the boys drifted off a bit with their friends. Anna's friend Jess is going away for the summer and Cory is shifting his focus a bit more to work, so Jeremy and Anna have more down time. She's always had a crush on him, and looked up him - wanting to be more like him and be more easy going and adventurous, but to also be with someone like him. So, she's surprised when he agrees to help her with her bucketlist to stray away from her boring self and live a little, but she makes it clear that she only wants it to be a summer thing and that once school starts in the fall, everything's over, they're over. But Jeremy doesn't agree with what she says she wants, he doesn't want it to end once school starts in the fall. Will she change her mind before the fall and just be with him, or will she stick to her guns and break his heart?

This is such a beautifully written emotional rollercoaster about a coming of age story and summer romance about a first love. This is the summer of changes she wants - she gets the confidence to do things she never would've before, and it all starts with a kiss, one she never thought he'd respond to. She has no idea what she wants out of life. She's trying to figure out where she fits in and where she's going. She's jealous of what Jeremy has and kind of holds it over him, but it's not what he wants - he gets a lot of pressure from his father about his basketball career. Likeable characters - I really liked Jeremy (also Cory, Jess and Jeremy's mom for telling Anna what she needs to hear, even if it's hard for her to understand - that what she's doing is affecting Jeremy). My favorite part was when she finally saw what she's been missing all this time (the photo and then looking at Jeremy), and off course the ending. I really enjoyed Anna and Jeremy's relationship - there was a lot of great character development when she wasn't in her head and second guessing everything, and just living in the moment. It's filled with lots of tension, attraction, chemistry, and way too much unneccesary push and pull/back and forth because she's scared (a bit frustrating!) and she ends up being really mean about it by denying and fighting everything if it strays from her original plans.
I like that you get to see the back and forth between what happened that summer and how it's going this fall. I really would've liked to see Jeremy's POV from the summer and fall, but I feel like I probably would've hated Anna a bit more seeing how much he felt/feels about her, and since it is Anna's coming of age story, it wouldn't fit right. I thoroughly enjoyed this one and highly recommend it! This is the first book I've read from Jennifer Ann Shore and I look forward to reading more.

I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.