Some Like It Cold was one of the most fantastic books I have read this year so far. It is achingly honest and wholeheartedly wonderful, resplendent in its joy.
Jasper is a shining star, a definite favourite YA protagonist I have read in the past few years. She is just so wonderfully passionate and fiercely loyal to those she loves, going above and beyond to help enrich their lives. However she holds her own dreams close to her chest, wanting to burst out of the bubble she has been trapped in. Part of this is intertwined with the pressures of Lake Pristine and the expectations she feels she needs to uphold. Her role has been prescribed to her and it is exhausting. That is exactly why Arthur works so well as her foil and eventual romantic interest. He is more sardonic, with a different outlook on the town and the people within it. His friendship group has always been more on the outside and he shoulders expectations he has placed upon himself while grieving his dad’s death. Both of them can pull the best and worst from one another, leading to some charged scenes of rage and romance. I love a rivals to lovers situation and this is perfectly pulled off by McNicoll here. Their dynamic feels like it shifts naturally from a mutual dislike (bordering on hatred at times) to an unlikely friendship to the spark of something more. I also loved how this is a narrative that celebrates a changing relationship with your hometown, which can be a place of solace or somewhere you feel like you need to run away from. Arthur’s documentary begins as an expose but transforms into something different and powerful in its own way.
The book is steeped in a love of cinema, something which draws Jasper and Arthur together. There is a sense of escapism in these different stories, a place where you can be someone else and lose yourself in their narrative. It may also be the space in which you can truly be yourself, as Jasper experiences. The story itself has a cinematic gloss to it, drawn out by the lush description and vividly imagined settings. You can almost picture Lake Pristine around you as the story unfolds and feel the chill in the air. McNicoll also taps into this filmic quality in some classic rom-com moments. We get several meet-cute style moments that are so achingly romantic. You feel your heart glow a little. The dialogue sparkles and the characters are so captivating, brilliant in their complexity. McNicoll gives them space to breathe on the page which allows for authenticity and development. They feel like friends catching you up on what’s happened recently.
McNicoll delves into this in the book but disabled characters are often used as inspiration or supporting character development for the neurotypical, able bodied protagonists. There is often a lack of three dimensionality and of allowing a full sense of personality and humanity, instead just as props for the overarching narrative that does not prioritise or celebrate them. Jasper herself has often been used as a supportive tool for those around her, with little acknowledgement of her effort and the toll it takes on her from masking and fielding the world with a disability. Her empathy and love for others is abundant, but sometimes comes at a cost to herself that is not recognised by those around her. I loved the character arc of her recognising this and also others beginning to recognise the ways they have taken her for granted, without reciprocating and supporting her in turn.
There is one scene that illustrates the overwhelming nature of some of these scenarios for her and it is heart-breaking to witness. You can see it building and bubbling throughout the lead up, but only a few characters recognise it and are actually there for her in that moment. All this is to say that Jasper’s disability is a crucial facet of her and how she navigates the world, emphasising the way wider society does not accommodate for those who interpret the world in a different way. McNicoll pushes against those flat, stereotypical depictions of disabled characters and instead offers a chance for them to take ownership of their own stories, to tell narratives beyond the ones often prescribed to them. With Jasper’s story, so many neurodiverse young people are going to see themselves in the love stories they deserve and also the main characters they deserve to be.
Some Like It Cold just warmed my heart. It is a wonderful romantic story full of love, particularly with learning to love yourself and believing you can be the main character of your own story. It is just exceptional.
Some Like It Cold is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Waterstones, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstores.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
A big-hearted small-town romance from bestselling, award-winning author Elle McNicoll, Some Like it Cold is perfect for fans of Alice Oseman, Beth Reekles and Gilmore Girls.
After a long absence, 18-year-old Jasper is finally heading home for the holidays – and she’s keeping secrets.
Arthur, a budding filmmaker, is turning the town of Lake Pristine into a small town story worthy of the big screen. His plans are disrupted by the arrival of the town’s golden girl – the antagonist of his school days; a girl he’s never forgotten.
Jasper Montgomery is back in Lake Pristine for one to say goodbye. But before long small-town tensions start to rise, and a certain brooding film buff starts to look like a very big reason to stay . . .
The perfect story to get lost in, Some Like it Cold centres Jasper as an autistic heroine in a big-hearted small-town romance that will melt your heart, from the bestselling author of A Kind of Spark.
