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Summary: The Best Worst Summer of Esme Sun
Esme is used to being the underachiever of her family. Her other three sisters are all good at something and get lavish praise from their mother. This summer, Esme realizes that she can actually swim really well. She also starts forming a great group of friends at the pool who encourage each other to succeed. But once her mom finds out and starts egging Esme on to compete at the cost of her friendships, the summer swim team doesn’t feel fun anymore.
The Good
I’m a huge fan of Wendy Wan-Long Shang’s writing and her ability to scaffold important themes into very relatable stories. Which of us have never felt a twinge of jealousy or worry about being upstaged by a friend, especially in competitive settings like school or a sports arena? How can tweens balance forming real bonds of friendship on a sports team where they have to compete against one another? And how do they prevent their efforts from being undermined by a highly competitive parent to whom their worth and value is only evident when they’re winning? That’s Esme’s dilemma.
Another big win with this story is its lush summer setting. Thanks to summertime, Esme can spend all her time at the pool (as many kids will be doing over the summer), exploring her newfound swimming prowess. She’s also navigating an evolving friendship with another girl whose interests are diverging from their shared favorites and forming a tentative new friendship with a girl with whom she got off on the wrong foot.
Esme’s mother, while being far from abusive, is a toxic influence as readers will come to see. Throughout the story, Esme learns to provide internal validation for herself, resist the negative ideas her mother tries to plant, and learn true sportsmanship from her teammates — all for a summer of growth and change.
The Best Worst Summer of Esme Sun
The Best Worst Summer of Esme Sun is a hugely relatable story about balancing friendships with competition — especially in competitive sports. Young readers, especially high performers, will appreciate the lessons Esme learns about the value of teamwork and mutual respect in sports if they want to succeed. I also loved Esme’s friend group and the way they uplift each other throughout the story. A summery splash of a story with compelling themes.
Star Rating
Content Notes
Here are some specifics to know about the content.
Content Warnings
- Death: None.
- Alcohol/substance abuse: None
- Sexual content: References to tweens making out on an isolated tennis court.
- Violence: None
- Racism: Esme’s mom makes some racially prejudicial comments about a Black girl on the team.
- Language: None
Diversity
- Ethnic: Diverse cast featuring black, Asian, and white characters.
- Sexual orientation: One girl has two moms.
Recommended for ages: 9+
Good for kids who like:
- Books about swimming and water sports
- Stories about female friendships
- Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas
- Books about girls in sports
- Stories about sisters
Publisher Details
| Publisher details | Scholastic |
| Author | Wendy Wan-Long Shang |
| Illustrator | N/A |
| Publication date | June 3, 2025 |
| Audiobook? | Yes, Libro.Fm |
| Page count: | 224 |
| Cover artists | Designer: |
Buy This Book
More Book Reviews
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- The Great Wall of Lucy Wu by Wendy Wan-Long Shang
- Not Your All-American Girl by Madelyn Rosenberg and Wendy Wan-Long Shang
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