In The Summer Book, Tove Jansson aims to capture the understated beauty of summer through 22 vignettes centering on a grandmother and granddaughter pairing — six-year-old Sophia and her unnamed grandmother. Summering on a remote Finnish island, Jansson touches on the moments they share over a brief course of time.

While this one was quaint, it felt fairly conventional — the slightly cranky grandmother (mostly straightforward and no-nonsense) and the irritating young granddaughter (rambunctious but allowed too much disrespect in how she speaks to her grandmother). Unsurprisingly, not a lot happened, but what did surprise me was the lack of emotional connection between reader and page. I wish Jansson had offered more expansiveness in the central relationship and a deeper understanding of their interactions with others. This one was fine to listen to while wrapping Christmas presents, but I think I would’ve DNFed it had it not been for the ease of the audiobook.