From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Summer comes another timely and deliciously twisty novel of intrigue, secrets, and the transformative power of female friendship, set on beautiful Cape Cod. Daisy Shoemaker can’t sleep. With a thriving cooking business, full schedule of volunteer work, and a beautiful home in the Philadelphia suburbs, she should be content. But her teenage daughter can be a handful; her husband can be distant, her work can feel trivial, and she has lots of acquaintances, but no real friends. Still, Daisy knows she’s got it good. So why is she up all night? While Daisy tries to identify the root of her dissatisfaction, she’s also receiving misdirected emails meant for a woman named Diana Starling, whose email address is just one punctuation mark away from her own. While Daisy’s driving carpools, Diana is chairing meetings. While Daisy’s making dinner, Diana’s making plans to reorganize corporations. Diana’s glamorous, sophisticated, single-lady life is miles away from Daisy’s simpler existence. When an apology leads to an invitation, the two women meet and become friends. But, as they get closer, we learn that their connection was not completely accidental. Who IS this other woman, and what does she want with Daisy? From the manicured Main Line of Philadelphia to the wild landscape of the Outer Cape, written with Jennifer Weiner’s signature wit and sharp observations, THAT SUMMER is a story about surviving our pasts, confronting our futures, and the sustaining bonds of friendship.
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Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for honest feedback.
Jennifer Weiner is one of those authors that could write the phone book and I’d happily read every page. “That Summer” is an extremely powerful take on today’s social climate relating to the #metoo movement, generational difference and gender norms.
I really don’t want to go in depth on the synopsis of the book because I think it’s fairly easy to figure out what the plot is once you 2 chapters in so I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. I’ll just say that it’s a pretty common trope these days but Wiener makes the story feel fresh and oddly hopeful.
Wiener also gives us 3 of the most amazing female characters: Diana, Daisy and Beatrice. Honestly, if I don’t get a sequel with Beatrice as the main character I will write a letter to the editor because I want to be her when I grow up! Are these women damaged and sometimes unable to see how strong they are? Yes, but aren’t we all like that at times?
Overall, another strong novel from Jennifer Wiener. I might suggest some Trigger Warning language at the beginning of the book but ultimately I think this book is a really important read.