From the publisher:
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Summer comes another deliciously twisty novel of intrigue, secrets, and the transformative power of female friendship.
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.
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
“Weiner, the undisputed boss of the beach read, is back with another stunner.” —The New York Times
“That Summer Is Your *IDEAL* Beach Read.” —Cosmopolitan
Named a Most Anticipated Book of Spring 2021 by Marie Claire, Bustle, Good Morning America, CNN, PopSugar, Good Housekeeping, Frolic, Country Living, and Working Mother
“Legions of fans will applaud this emotionally affecting and often surprising story.” — Publishers Weekly
“An uncompromising, complicated portrait of the insidious dangers of the patriarchy that is also a lot of fun to read.” — Booklist
I have been reading Weiner since her first novel, Good in Bed, which I loved. She is just a great story teller, and her latest is no exception. It is a terrific read and I couldn’t put it down. I just escaped to Cape Cod and enjoyed every page.
Daisy, real name Diana, is married but her marriage seems to have settled into the doldrums. Her teenage daughter has an Etsy store and is more interested in her crafting and budding taxidermy skills than her mother, or school for that matter. Then Daisy starts getting these surprising emails, mostly invitations to glamorous events from people she’s never heard of. She quickly realizes that the emails shouldn’t really be going to her, there is another Diana with a similar email. She contacts the other Diana who is everything Daisy is not – single and sophisticated with a job that has her jetting around the country.
They meet up and become friends, the first friend Daisy has made since her best friend passed away. But there is more going on with her new friend than Daisy knows, and when she finds out the truth, it shatters everything she thought about her life and her family.
I have to say while I liked the cover of this book, it didn’t really fit the book, if that makes sense. It is not the light, fluffy book that the cover reflects, but it is a really interesting, heartwarming one that deals with a difficult subject, rape and its aftermath. If you haven’t read Weiner (why not?), it’s a terrific place to start.
Note to audio book readers: Sutton Foster reads this audio book. If you are not familiar with her, she was in the Gilmore Girls reboot, starred in Bunheads (a series that was cancelled too soon!) and Younger (which has pretty much jumped the shark now but the first several seasons were great).
6/2021 Stacy Alesi, AKA the BookBitch
THAT SUMMER by Jennifer Weiner. Atria Books (May 11, 2021). ISBN: 978-1501133541. 432 pages.
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