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Summer Sisters by Judy Blume Book Review

Reasons For Reading This Book:

I listened to an episode of House Guest with Kenzie Elizabeth where Kenzie, Margo and Emily answered a series of questions about the books they have read. One of the books discussed was Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. Even though I listened to this episode a while ago I didn't get around to reading the book until recently. Summer Sisters piqued my interest not only because of the author but because of the praise given to it in the episode. I read Judy Blume growing up and was excited about the idea of reading one of her adult books. 

Content of This Book:

While working in her Manhattan office, Victoria Leonard answers the phone and on the other line is Caitlin, her oldest friend who she hasn't spoken to in months. Caitlin breaks news to Vix that takes her breath away--and Vix is transported back in time to when she met Caitlin and was swept into the Somers family, their world of privilege, summer adventures and sexual exploration. The bond formed between Vix and her summer family reshaped her relationship with her own family, and brought her opportunities she would otherwise not had. One summer Vix fell in love, but it all came shattering down in one moon swept Vineyard beach moment, everything changed exposing the darkness in her friendship with Caitlin. 

What I Liked About This Book:

The highest praise I can give this book is the phenomenal detail. The amount of detail is impeccable and truly captures and bring the reader into the plot each time the book is picked up. The author did not spare any chance to give explicit detail for everything. Another aspect of this book that I will praise the author for is the accuracy  and relatability in describing the evolution of friendship and other relationships as one ages and experiences life. With the narration of this book starting from the point-of-view of a child and progressing into adulthood, grasping the importance and understanding that the narrator has of their relationships is important for the reader and the plot. The author was also able to mature the level of writing and narration as the narrators aged and matured. There were parts of this plot that I found intriguing and was somewhat interested in following, but a majority of the plot repulsed me. Another praise I will give to the author was the ability to create narrators who are so different from one another. The narration from character to character had aspects that were different that clearly defined them for each of their chapters. The vast difference in characters made for entertaining narration as there were different takes on the same situation. One last aspect of this book that I liked was the narration encompassed their lives from the time the met each other. The author was also made smart choices on focusing on aspects of the different timeframes that progressed or added to the overall plot of the book. 

What I Disliked About This Book:

I had no idea when I started reading it how explicit and that a main focus of the book was sex and sexuality. Even though I praised the author for their level of detail, there were many occasions where I could have gone without the amount of explicit detail relating to sex and sexuality. I am all for romance and sexual encounters when appropriate, but the author chose to focus on the unattractive and quite frankly disgusting parts of sex and sexuality. The talk of hormone, puberty, and getting turned on was too much and I quickly became repulsed by the book. There were many times where I wanted to stop reading this book and return it to the library, but I had nothing else to read as I was on the waitlist for other books, so even though I hated picking it up each time I continued to read. To put it simply I was sick to my stomach more times then not when reading this book. The way the the parents attempted or did not attempt to parent really annoyed me. I felt as though there was no one in this book who I looked to to be the moral compass. 

Would I Recommend This Book?

There is no one in my life that I would recommend this book to. I would also not recommend this book to any other reader. There were times I enjoyed reading this book, but more times than not I was repulsed by it and regretted picking it up each time. 

Check out my book reviews for 2023!!

Horse by Geraldine Brooks  
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
Luckiest Girl Alive by Jessica Knoll
Hester by Laurie Pico Albanese
The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides
Environmental and Sustainability Book Reviews 2022
Self-Improvement Book Reviews 2022
American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins
Know My Name by Chanel Miller
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
Not All Diamonds and Rosé by Dave Quinn
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Golden Girl by Elin Hilderbrand
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham 
Girls With Bright Futures by Tracy Dobmeier and Wendy Katzman
Run, Rose, Run by James Patterson and Dolly Parton
The Summer Series by Jenny Han
A Stolen Life: A Memoir by Jaycee Dugard
The Housewives: The Real Story Behind the Real Housewives by Brian Moylan
Verity by Colleen Hoover
All Rhodes Lead Here by Mariana Zapata
Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid
Our Country Friends by Gary Shteyngart 
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Majesty: American Royals 2 by Kathrine McGree
Every Last Secret by A.R. Torre

Check out my book reviews for 2021!!

2021 Book Rankings

Beach Read By Emily Henry
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Educated by Tara Westover
The Simple Wild by K.A. Tucker
The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins 
We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A Slow Fire Burning by Paula Hawkins 
We Are the Brennans by Tracey Lange
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Klara and the Sun 
The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner
American Duchess by Karen Harper 
Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters
Girl With No Job by Claudia Oshry
Down the Habit Hole by Holly Madison Book Review
My Story by Elizabeth Smart
Layla by Colleen Hoover

Check out my book reviews for 2020!!

Check out my book reviews for 2019!!

Check out my book reviews from 2018!!


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