Summer Sisters by Judy Blume Published by Random House Publishing Group on December 16, 2009
Genres: Fiction / Coming of Age, Fiction / Romance / Contemporary, Fiction / Women
Pages: 416
Format: Hardcover
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • READ WITH JENNA BOOK CLUB PICK AS FEATURED ON TODAY • “Summer Sisters is a book to return to again and again.”—Colleen Hoover
“As warm as a summer breeze blowing through your hair, as nostalgic as James Taylor singing ‘How Sweet It Is.’ You remember. So does Judy Blume. How sweet it was.”—Chicago Tribune
In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard’s world changes forever when Caitlin Somers chooses her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomes Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha’s Vineyard, an enchanting place where the two friends become “summer sisters.”
Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin begs Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go—because she wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend—her summer sister—still has the power to break her heart.
My Review
I was reminded of this book when I was scrolling through Instagram and saw that it was going to be Jenna Bush Hager’s August pick for her book club, Read With Jenna. Of course, after I saw the announcement I went to my shelves and dug out the copy I have had since I was a child. To be honest I am not sure that I read the whole book back then so when I picked it up this time it was like reading it for the first time and who knows maybe I was. I raced through this story and was completely shocked by the ending. It is safe to say I am more than happy I have saved this book for all these years because I truly enjoyed it.
Victoria (Vix) and Caitlyn met during middle school in 1977. It is safe to say that Vix thinks Caitlyn is just the coolest girl in the whole school. She desperately wants to be friends with her but is too shy and self-conscious to do anything about it. Luckily for Vix Caitlyn approaches her one day and asks if she wants to go with her for the summer to her dad Lamb’s house. Every summer Caitlyn goes to visit her dad at his summer home on Martha’s Vineyard. Vix is ecstatic at the idea of seeing the ocean and spending the summer with Caitlyn the only problem is she has to get her parents to approve. Vix comes from a working family that struggles financially, with three other children in the home including one with a disability. Vix happens to be the oldest child in the home with two younger brothers and a sister.
As you can see from reading the blurb on the book or even the Goodreads Description above her parents do allow her to go for the summer and it changes Vix’s life forever. This is not just a one-time summer deal but it continues on throughout her years of growing up and even into adulthood. Vix and Caitlyn come from completely different backgrounds but they become summer sisters nonetheless. These summers are what really shape Vix into the person that she will become. She is able to experience things that she would not otherwise be able to experience without the help of her “summer family” and their wealth.
The summers are full of adventures and explorations both in their surroundings and sexually. There are summer crushes, romances, jobs, and secrets. Not to mention envy and jealousy from both girls. For example, one wants to have the boyfriend of the other and one wants to have the mother of the other. These are things that they will carry with them into adulthood. One of the girls for a moment ends up living her dreams of being the other girl in a way. I am not going to say more than that because I do not want to spoil anything.
Vix is given the opportunity from her “summer family” and their scholarship to attend one of the top colleges in the country. She works her butt off there while Caitlyn has decided to not attend school but to travel the world. Vix is a very driven and responsible character who takes nothing for granted unlike her friend Caitlyn. Caitlyn in my opinion is very self-centered, self-absorbed, and downright selfish. She has never had to work for anything so therefore she doesn’t appreciate anything. Caitlyn has always had the means to do as she pleases because of her family’s money.
There are so many characters to follow in this story but the majority of the characters are from Vix’s “summer family”. I enjoyed reading from each of their perspectives on things but I did find some of them to be frustrating and Caitlyn was one of the frustrating ones for me. Her lack of respect for herself and those around her made me want to scream. I did however enjoy watching the kids grow up throughout the story and how Lamb and Abby adjusted to life with preteens who turn into adults. I also really appreciated how hard Abby worked to keep everyone up to speed in each other’s lives as the years went on. I am not sure she received the appreciation she deserved for doing so but I enjoyed how she went about it. Ultimately this is a coming-of-age story with some pretty heavy-hitting topics in it. So please pay attention to the trigger warnings before picking this one up. If you are good with them then I do hope you enjoy this story the way that I did because I found it to be an absolute joy. Until next time Reader Happy Reading.
Trigger Warnings:
-Sibling Death
-Divorce
-Parental Abandonment
-Parental Neglect
-Death by AIDS
-Suggested Suicide
Below is the cover of my copy.
