That Summer By Jennifer Weiner

Meredith (Slowly Catching Up)

3.75 stars

This is a story about an unspeakable act, revenge, and unlikely friendships.

Two women with the same initials and only a period separates their email addresses. What seems to be a coincidence that leads to a friendship is not all that it seems.

I went into this book blind, and I am glad I did. For that reason, I am going to be sparse with the details. The element of not knowing how these two women connected had me intrigued and turning the pages, but it took me until I reached the 25% mark to connect with the characters. Once I hit this part of the book, I couldn’t put it down. All becomes clear early on, but how things will play out is a bit of a mystery.

The narrative alternates between Daisy and Diana, but there are a few additional POV's mixed in. Both are struggling with their identities and finding their voices, but for very different reasons. The timeline also alternates between the past and the present, leading to a heartbreaking revelation.

Overall, I felt like Weiner tried to pack in a few too many characters and storylines. Because of the cover and title, I thought I was getting a mindless beach read, but the content is heavy and centers around a sexual assault. I also found the ending a bit anticlimactic and a little too easy for such a complicated and horrific situation.

At the same time, I grew to love both Diana and Daisy’s characters, and Weiner always knows how to reel me in. While this book isn't perfect, it is worth reading, especially to see an unlikely friendship transform into a powerful force capable of healing and enacting change.

Trigger warning: sexual assault

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Nilufer Ozmekik

Another motivational, heartwarming story from Jennifer Weiner with surprising twist and engaging characters.

There are two Dianas in this story: who are living different lives, polar opposite characters. But when one of them’s emails accidentally fills the other one’s inbox, coincidentally their paths are crossed. Now they decide to meet to devour best bloody Marys after sharing emails with their honest feelings.

In the beginning we are introduced to 15 years old Diana’s summer journey at a summer house on the Cape. Diana is normally from South Boston, living with her two sisters and parents, attending to a private school in Cambridge on a scholarship. Her mother arranged her a summer job as Dr. Levy’s helper to take care of her two kids. The money they offer can easily cover her expanses for the coming year of the school and she can finally be by herself, having a quality time at golden beaches, making friends, having a real summer holiday for the first time.

She forms friendships with au pair girls who also take care of the kids of other families and she finds her first summer love. And she attends her first bonfire party to meet with the boy she got attracted from famous Emlen Academy. It seems like she’s having the best night of her life!

But before everything is dramatically getting changed about her night, we move forward to 2019 to be introduced to Daisy ( the other Diana), in late thirties, married with a lawyer who is also partner of a big firm, 13 years older than her, mostly spending his time out of the house.

She has also a 14 years old daughter who is criticizing everything about her is about to expel from her school ( which is also Emlen Academy : yes the same place where Daisy’s husband Hall has also graduated from)

Daisy lives in her big house, financially secured, emotionally lonely. She doesn’t have any real friend, her blue haired, curious, smart, rebellious daughter doesn’t like to share anything with her and her husband is estranged with her, buried his head in his work.

Meeting with Diane is a fresh change for her life . She already realizes Diana has active and vivid life style comparing her dull, flat, secluded life style .

Spending time with her gives Daisy different approach and forces her to look for what she’s done wrong with her life.

She got married so young: when she was only twenty because her father just died and her mother had no money. She was in debt and meeting with her husband seemed like the answer to all her prayers. But she knew from the beginning, her husband had wild life before he got married with her, suffered from alcoholism.

As she starts to face with her past, Daisy slowly realizes meeting with Diane is not a coincidence. They have to face an ugly truth together to move on their lives!

This was genuine, heartfelt friendship, self discovery, women’s growth, independence story.
It’s intense, emotional, inspirational like the other books of the author.

As a person who suffer from anxiety attacks and insomnia, I easily connect with Daisy even though I didn’t approve some of her life choices and felt closer to Diane, and easily foresee the direction of the book before revealing the big surprise.

I still enjoyed my reading and rounding my up 3.5 stars to 4 feminism, #metoomovement, women power stars!

I’m so pleased to have a chance to receive the arc copy of this book. Ms. Weiner never and ever disappoints me!

Special thanks to Maudee Geneo, Atria Books and NetGalley for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

Tina

This is a Romance/Women's Fiction/Chick-Lit. Jennifer Weiner is the author of Big Summer, and I really enjoy that book. I was very excited to see if I love this book as well. I have to say I found that first half of this book to not flow well, and I spend most the time trying to figure out what the characters have in common or how they connect to each other. I hate when books do that. How they fit together comes out around the half way point of the book. I really enjoyed the last half of the book. There is a lot about rape, and how man treating woman badly in this book. I wish the first half of this book flow better and was put together differently because I do think the message in this book is very important.

Farrah

Oops! I judged a book by its cover again and didn't get the fluffy, feel-good book I was expecting.
Luckily I have no problem with books that tackle heavy subject matter so, although this surprised me, it was by no means a disappointment.

𝘔𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 it tried a little 𝘵𝘰𝘰𝘰𝘰 hard with its social commentary but all in all I thought it was a good book and will gladly read Weiner's next offering 3.5 ⭐

Melissa (Way Behind Again!)

Much deeper and more meaningful than I was anticipating. The cover makes it seem like a light and fluffy beach read, but I should have known better because I have read other books by this author and she tends to be more introspective.

The premise is, in general, a tale of two women. Daisy is wealthy and married with a teen daughter. Her email address and a woman named Diana's are nearly identical, so Daisy gets glimpses at the glamorous Diana's life when hers is fairly mundane. But it might not be a coincidence, and what will happen when the two of them meet?

I'm being deliberately vague, because it's really best to go into this book blind. It goes back and forth between the past and the present and you realize pretty quickly (or at least you'll have an inkling) how the two women are connected. It's what happens after that point that is intriguing and kept me engaged and anxious to know how everything will settle out in the end. It's a thoughtful, meaningful story, one that isn't easy to read at times, but it's a great exploration of wealth, privilege, expectations, and control. The ending isn't what I was expecting and isn't as hard hitting as I would have liked, but I do have to say that it's probably incredibly realistic, if a bit disheartening for the reader (and a little too tidy).

I listened to the audiobook of this novel, and Sutton Foster is a superb narrator, handling the difficult subject matter with aplomb. The audiobook gives voice to the characters in a unique way that made the book more intimate for me, like a friend telling me a story.

Highly recommended.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book, all opinions are my own.

Debra

3.5 stars

That Summer. That fateful, life changing Summer.

Daisy Shoemaker is mother living on the Main Line in Philadelphia. Her teenage daughter who is a handful and a successful husband who is distant. Life should be great, but she has insomnia and is intrigued by emails she has been receiving. Emails that belong to Diana Starling who has an almost similar email address. Soon the two women begin emailing each other and decide to meet.

One meeting. One fateful, life changing meeting.

Jennifer Weiner takes readers on a journey showing how two women have a connection. How they form a relationship and how it plays out in both of their lives. I do not want to give too much away but this book is about power, manipulation, lies, hurt, accountability, friendship, starting over, truth, and examines why people do what they do. This book is timely and has themes relating to the #MeToo movement. Do not let the title fool you, this is not about beach living or gazing at summer sunsets on the beach. This book deals with serious subject matter.

The book is told in two timelines and it took me a little time to get the flow of it. But soon, I did not mind, and the second half of the book flew by.

Compelling, thought provoking and timely.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Read more of my reviews at
www.openbookposts.com

Elizabeth

That Summer is definite proof that Jennifer Weiner is an amazing writer. The novel flows so perfectly and into places much darker than readers might expect, but it's a journey that is absolutely worth taking.

That Summer is about two women, both named Diana, who connect over missent email, but one Diana, called Daisy by her husband, is starting to feel trapped by the gilded bars of her life and how small her husband, Hal, has made her and her world.

The other Diana is older and sophisticated and living a double life, trying to find a way to live with the horrific trauma she's endured, and that has left her with years of a barely lived, anxiety ridden life.

The two women meet and the older Diana starts a plan that she starts worrying about immediately even though she shouldn't. What she wants is justice, and in the end it will bring her a small measure of peace, of turning to the person she used to be in a way that will let her live her life without as much pain. Along the way, she's also able to help the other Diana, Daisy, and her daughter Beatrice as well.

This book is brilliant at describing the pain that is caused when men who have power take from those they (and sadly still, society) see as powerless, aka women. There were entire sections and chapters that every woman who lived before #metoo will find herself nodding or crying along with.

There's also two particularly powerful and painful sections--one about a recent Supreme Court nomination that was so spot on with how it makes assault victims feel when questioned--and another from the pov of the man who has torn through both Diana's lives. His rage and incomprehension about who he is and what he's done is horrifying but so essential to understanding why so many men felt entitled to do awful things.

That Summer isn't a beach read--it is better than that, more than that. It's a timely book and a necessary one. And women who came of age in the pre #metoo era will find pieces, if not more, of their lives reflected and understood.

Katie B

3.25 stars

That Summer is the fifth book I have read by Jennifer Weiner and it's the most ambitious story by far. While I appreciate the author tackling a tough subject, I had a few problems along the way. To be fair though, I don't think it was an easy task to pull off this type of story.

On the surface it seems like Daisy Shoemaker has it all. She lives in a beautiful house with her husband and teenage daughter, Beatrice. But Daisy just isn't all that happy. She quickly develops a friendship with a woman named Diana Starling. Perhaps there is a reason Diana just suddenly popped up in Daisy's life out of nowhere. The story alternates between Daisy, Diana, and Beatrice.

My personal rule for writing reviews is to not include anything that isn't mentioned in the publisher synopsis. I highly suggest checking out other reviews that go more in depth about the plot as the subject matter in this book might be triggering for some readers. Despite a pretty book cover, this novel isn't exactly a light and easy beach read and I do believe that's worth mentioning so readers aren't caught off guard.

The strength of the novel is the three perspectives as it made the story unique with a subject that has been covered frequently in fiction over the past couple of years. Whether or not you like the characters doesn't really matter all that much as you can at least feel for them and their situations.
You really don't want to be in anyone's shoes is a good way to put it.

There are two things in the story that really stood out in a bad way. I felt uncomfortable to a point in which it was beyond what I normally would feel reading about this topic. One plot point seemed to be inserted for dramatic purposes but inadvertently sends the message that speaking up can have horrible consequences. It just left a bad taste in my mouth. However, I was more offended by a blink and you'll miss it moment towards the end with Diana and another character. Given everything you know about Diana and her background, that moment was so beyond unrealistic. It's a shame because the author certainly had the best intentions with this story but some poor choices really muddied things up.

A very different Jennifer Weiner book. Not a perfect read, but it was a thought-provoking novel.

Thank you to Atria Books for providing me with an advance digital copy! All thoughts expressed are my honest opinion.

Larry H

That Summer, Jennifer Weiner's upcoming book, is a thought-provoking and timely story about friendship, secrets, and trust.

Daisy has the life she thought she always wanted—a beautiful home, a growing cooking business—but there are definitely downsides. Her husband is demanding and belittling, her teenage daughter is rebelling, and she wonders if this is all that her life will hold.

She starts getting emails meant for another woman, Diana (their email addresses are one character apart), which always discuss fancy events and important responsibilities. If it’s possible to be envious of a person’s life from a distance, that’s the way Daisy feels.

After forwarding and receiving emails, the two women strike up a conversation and decide to meet. They wind up forming a friendship that becomes important to both of them. But the start of the relationship wasn’t completely coincidental—Diana might not be quite what she says she is. What will that mean for Daisy?

This is an interesting story spanning more than 30 years, narrated by the two women and Daisy’s daughter. There are sadly, all-too-familiar themes, but in Jennifer Weiner’s hands, That Summer is a compelling and emotional story.

I’ve come late to Weiner’s books, having only read the last three now. Which of her older books should I read?

Atria Books sent me a complimentary advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making it available

That Summer publishes 5/11!

Check out my list of the best books I read in 2020 at
https://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-best-books-i-read-in-2020.html.

See all of my reviews at
itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com.

Follow me on Instagram at
https://www.instagram.com/the.bookishworld.of.yrralh/.

Ceecee

3.5 rounded down.

This is a novel about two Dianas. The older of the two at the age of fifteen gets the offer of summer work caring for twins on the Cape. This is 'That Summer' which lies at the heart of the novel. The younger Diana, re-christened Daisy by her older husband Hal, works as a cook. Via an email mix up the two women meet in 2019. This is a novel about guilt and atonement.

The aspects of the novel that I think are good lie in the positive message the author is trying to convey with the darker elements handled sensitively. The impact, the suffering and the feelings as a consequence of that summer are portrayed well. The character of Beatrice, Daisy's daughter, is done exceptionally well and she is the standout character for me. She's brave, spirited, she's unabashed to be different and is comfortable in her own unique skin. If I had a daughter I'd want her to be like her. Diana and Daisy are also good characters but Hal makes my fists clench with his control of Daisy.

However, unfortunately I find it a laborious build up to the nitty-gritty, there's superfluous detail as the plot drifts and meanders. Therefore, it takes me a very long time to connect with it although ultimately I do. The alternating perspectives leads to some repetition and so the 'punch' you expect to get from the novel never really comes. It lacks the suspense and tension that such a storyline suggests should be there and which it really needs to be powerful. Some parts of the storyline didn't really go anywhere and yet could have been very revealing on certain characters and other aspects are just a bit too convenient. I just want more sparks and drama and the lack thereof is exemplified by the ending which is a fizzle out in my opinion.

Ultimately, it's way too long which thus reduces the impact of what should have been a gripping story.

Triggers - rape/sexual assault

With thanks to Netgalley and especially to Little, Brown Book Group/Piatkus for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

Ellery Adams

Readers Beware: The cover design is misleading. Perhaps it was meant to envoke the vibe of Big Summer, but this is no beach read. That Summer tackles some very hard and, for many readers, triggering subjects. As always, Jennifer Weiner excels in creating complex characters. The two Dianas are vastly different, but so are their men. I appreciated the existence of Michael in what felt like a world of Hals, and I loved Beatrice. This is a serious book about series and meaningful topics. It's not Chick Lit and Jennifer Weiner's publisher should package her books to better reflect the content.

Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader

It’s not summer without a thoughtful new book from Jennifer Weiner, and THIS summer we can ring in the season with THAT Summer! A juicy, dramatic story of revenge.

Daisy begins receiving emails meant for someone else, someone with a similar name who has a much more exciting single life. Daisy and Diana chat through email, and then a friendship between the two is formed. But then it begins to appear that their encounter didn’t happen by chance.

I loved having two main characters. The polished, engaging dialogue is what we expect from Weiner. Yummy food, vintage clothes, Cape Cod, and female friendships, along with an important and timely topic; this is Jennifer Weiner at her finest. This is your grown-up beach read with flair. I loved it!

I received a gifted copy.

Many of my reviews can also be found on my blog:
www.jennifertarheelreader.com and instagram:
www.instagram.com/tarheelreader

Kristy

A touching and insightful look into the power of the past

On the surface, Daisy Shoemaker has the perfect life: a doting lawyer husband, a loving daughter, and her own cooking business. But underneath, she's full of doubts. Her husband is distant, her teenage daughter resentful, and her business--just something to keep her "occupied." Daisy's been receiving emails lately, meant for another woman named Diana, Daisy's given name. This Diana, a business consultant, seems glamorous and wealthy. When Diana invites Daisy to lunch, she impulsively says yes. But as the two form a friendship, Daisy starts to wonder if their connection was purely accidental. What exactly does Diana want from Daisy?

"For the last six months, Daisy had been receiving emails that she realized were intended not for her, but for the other Diana."

This is not a light and airy beach read, but a serious book that focuses in on the recent #MeToo topic. Much of the book doesn't even take place on the promised Cape setting. Does that mean it's not worth a read? Not at all. Weiner's constructed a compelling and heartfelt tale, with characters that pull you into the story. It feels a little reminiscent of some other #MeToo stories I've read recently, but I was still glued to the pages, wondering what had happened in Diana's past and how things would turn out for everyone.

There's a bit of a mystery here, but it's not too hard to figure out how everything pieces together. The real focus is the characters. We have Daisy, insecure and struggling in her marriage to Hal, a wealthy and arrogant man more than a decade older than her. It's clear Hal takes Daisy for granted--and that may be letting him off easy. Their daughter, Beatrice, was a favorite of mine: an original teen, with her own unique way of living her life. Beatrice's scenes stood out; she's a character I won't soon easily forget. We also have Daisy's brother, Danny, and his husband Jesse. And then there's the "other" Diana, who worms her way into Daisy's life. Can we trust her? Diana was a memorable character to me as well, along with someone close to her. (I don't want to say much more for spoilers.)

The book is told mainly from Daisy, Diana, and Beatrice's perspectives. It goes back and forth in time. It's a little confusing in the beginning, getting the timeline straight and how all the characters relate. Once I got that down, it was a fast read. Some of it may be a little predictable, but it's in turns sad, heartwarming, and funny. I loved Beatrice, as mentioned, and the dynamic between Daisy and Diana was well-written. Weiner does a good job of exploring how class and privilege relate to sexual assault (a definite trigger warning for rape in this story) and the repercussions of rape across individuals, families, and friends. She focuses, too, on the importance of accepting those you love for who they are, no strings attached.

Overall, I'm quite glad I picked this one up. Despite some of the vague familiarity to other #MeToo books, for the most part, it felt refreshing and interesting. It certainly held my attention and brought to light the important topic of rape and its aftermath. The characters here are well-drawn, and I'll always have a place in my heart for dear Beatrice. 4 stars.

I received a copy of this book from Atria Books and Netgalley in return for an unbiased review. Look for THAT SUMMER on 5/11/2021!!

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em 🌻

2.5 ⭐️

This is a story of two Diana’s, one experienced a traumatic event she is working to overcome, and the other, “Daisy”, seemingly lives a perfect life with her husband and daughter. The two meet and develop a friendship, but one has no idea the other has an elaborate plan of revenge.

Big Summer was one of my favourite reads from last year, so when I was sent That Summer I was beyond excited. After reading it though, I’m beyond disappointed. Like what was the purpose of this book? The book did touch on a sexual assault, recovery and healing and that was important, it was also the part that was the most gripping and kept me reading. But the rest was just, what? The ending is SO anticlimactic I was pissed, it felt like a giant waste of time. Daisy’s family was so horrible, from her mother to her brother, her husband and even her daughter was so bratty and ungrateful, hard to read. Daisy herself was miserable and naive, she was constantly taken advantage of and lived in a world where she only did what she thought she should to make everyone around her happy, even though they treated her like complete garbage. I liked Diana a lot better and her story was much more interesting, but in the end again like it went nowhere. I thought this would have some giant twists and turns but I figured everything out before it happened. Also, why is it sooooo long? And why was Beatrice’s perspective included? None of that made sense! I don’t think her perspective contributed to the story at all. The writing was good and I did like reading Diana’s side, I liked Daisy also but her character was just so sad. Anyways, I wouldn’t waste your time with this, it missed big time. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the free preview in exchange for an honest review.

Kat

This was a really good book that features two women—Daisy and Diana, and to a lesser degree, Daisy’s daughter Beatrice. Daisy has a cooking business and runs a busy household, caring for her husband and daughter. She meets Diana, who seems to have a very different lifestyle as a successful businesswoman. But it’s not immediately apparent how the two women are connected. It took me a little while to get into the flow of how the book is written. The chapters jump around in terms of who is narrating and also in terms of time period, spanning decades. I found myself lost at several points in the first half of the novel, not really getting where things were leading, even as I loved the setting (lovely descriptions of Cape Cod) as well as the characters. However once we get to the halfway point in the novel and Diana’s backstory is revealed as well as the way she and Daisy are connected, things fell into place, and I couldn’t put this down. I won’t say much more for the sake of spoilers, but I thought this was really well written.

Trigger Warnings:

Janssen

This dragged on for a long time.

Lynn

Another disappointment from Jennifer Weiner. I give up. This author is trying so obviously hard to be “woke” that she’s lost the ability to give any depth to the characters. “Wake up” and realize you’re losing your readers!

BernLuvsBooks

3.5 rounded up

This story has multiple POVs but the most important belong to Daisy and Diana. With an alternating past/present timeline we follow the two Diana's until their lives collide in a heartbreaking revelation. Do not be fooled by the title and cartoonish cover. It's not a light and fluffy beach read. This book deals with serious subject matter like sexual assault, manipulation, accountability and revenge. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did Big Summer. I felt the pacing lagged a bit at times and I did this sped up on audio so I imagine it would have felt even more so if I had been reading the physical book. Still, this is a timely #metoo movement read that Weiner fans will definitely enjoy.

Meagan (Meagansbookclub)

3.5 stars

You’re going to see this book in every store and you’re going to want to pick it up just based on the adorable cover assuming it is THE beach read for this summer…but let me just give you a heads up before you dive in.

The story has a beach setting, but is far from a typical “beach read.” It has an incredibly heavy subject matter and many might find it difficult to read. While I was reading, I got the feeling that it was on the market a few years too late…I understand the need to enlighten us about another #metoo situation, but this story has been told before…nothing was new and I guessed the ending pretty early on.

Jennifer Weiner seems to be going in the “beach read-mystery” hybrid genre and That Summer was drawn on and uninspiring. Was it suspenseful? It had enough suspense for me to want to finish the book, but it took a solid 200 pages to get hooked to the story. (Just a side note: it shouldn’t take you 200 pages to get into a book. IMO, good books hook you in the first 50 pages).

That Summer is also wordy and Weiner takes you on loops of dialogue and past stories for pages and pages that style honestly gets old for me. Where was her editor? The fat needed to be trimmed at least 75 pages.

You’ll probably ask the question like I did when I saw the title, Is this a sequel to Big Summer? The answer is no. The only connection That Summer has to Big Summer is one paragraph early where Weiner mentions the synopsis of Big Summer. We move on from that and never return. One of my biggest beefs is the title. Why title it so similar to last years book?? Ugh.

Anyway. Now you know what to expect. Go forth and read, or don’t. You do you.

Eva K (journeyofthepages)

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner isn’t quite what the title might imply; a beach read. This is a heavy read with some painfully dark subject matter.

The setting, sights and sounds are all beachy because it’s partly set in the Cape. But a central event of the storyline is a sexual assault and rape of a teen. This can be deeply triggering to some, so I am saying it and I don’t consider it a spoiler.

While I don’t think this is a ‘beach read’ exactly, it is an excellent book. This is a poignant, deep and moving story. It’s one of those that’s hard to say ‘I loved it!’ because of content but it is a very good read.

I’ve never read a book by Weiner but I am definitely going to look up some of her other books now. Her writing, character and narrative development are excellent!

Thank you, NetGalley, Atria Books and Jennifer Weiner, for a copy of this book for review!

Judy Collins

View my fun
Q&A Elevator Ride with the Author.

Mega talented superstar #1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Weiner returns following Big Summer, with her latest, THAT SUMMER. Also, set in Cape Cod, the author tackles the #MeToo movement and many more emotionally charged topics ripped from today’s headlines.

THAT SUMMER opens with a woman named Daisy (whose real name is Diana, opening an email meant for another woman named Diana.

This sparks a conversation, and the two unlikely women meet up for drinks in New York, and a friendship develops. However, was the meeting planned or by chance?

Daisy and Diana are opposites—Daisy, a housewife, married to a successful lawyer with an outspoken spirited, quirky teenage daughter, Beatrice.

She did not graduate from college, due to her circumstances and chose to marry instead. Everyone takes her for granted. She also is a great cook and has a cooking business that no one in the family seems to take seriously.

Diana is a career woman and independent. However, is she really? Things are not as they seem. The two women find they have more in common than they could have imagined and a friendship develops.

There is an ongoing mystery developing and Jennifer takes us back to a time with Diana in her teens and suffered a horrific tragedy on Cape Cod one summer. This forever changed the course of her life. She has held on to this painful secret for so long. Now, as an adult, she is trying to move on from her past. However, can she?

She tries desperately to put the past behind her until she is confronted with the past head-on.

Slowly the cards are placed on the table and these two women are connecting in ways they could not have imagined. The ugly past is revealed and many have been living a lie. Do you really know your spouse?

Beautifully written, Jennifer weaves a heartbreaking tale of triumph over tragedy.

All the while, she skillfully draws a connection between appearance, status, and perception, from privilege, social class, career choices, success to age, body size, social status, bullying, rape, abuse, accountability, forgiveness, revenge, and much more. #metoo

THAT SUMMER is not a light fluff beach read; however, it is so much more!

The setting and descriptions are vivid and evocative, and the innermost feelings of the characters are emotional and come alive on the page.

Character-driven and suspenseful, fans of Weiner and new fans alike will become immersed in this storyline as well as the adorable beach cottage, new relationships, crafting, seashells, art, and most of all mouthwatering food descriptions.

When reading JW books, they transport you. You can almost smell the wine, taste the gourmet food, and hear the ocean. I fell in love with Michael and Diana and the adorable beach cottage and the restaurant. I have read all JW’s books, and this was one of my favorites! Highly recommend!

Celebrating 20 years of books! Congrats to the winner of the book giveaway contest and see the
results of the voting.

AUDIOBOOK: The audiobook is a Must Listen narrated by none other than Sutton Foster (from Younger TV)

NOTE FROM JENNIFER: "I’m so thrilled to have Sutton Foster @suttonlenore as the narrator for THAT SUMMER.” (True story: my older daughter is a Broadway fan antic and a Sutton Foster superfan, so when I was lucky enough to be asked to do a cameo on @youngertv, I, of course, brought Lucy with me, and Sutton Foster could not have been nicer.) She’s a huge talent and a lovely person and I am so excited to hear what she’s done with THAT SUMMER....which you can order on audio."

I am #currentlywatching Season 7 now - the final season (on ParamountPlus) Going to miss this show! Also, a big fan of Sutton Foster and she does a killer job as narrator of THAT SUMMER audiobook! It is fabulous! Highly recommend the book and audio.

#JDCMustReadBooks

A special thanks to Atria and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy and audio copy.

Lisa

A DRAMATIC AND DESCRIPTIVE STORY OF REVENGE THAT WILL SPEAK TO MANY WOMEN.

SUMMARY
Daisy Shoemaker has a full schedule, with a flourishing cooking business, volunteer work, and a beautiful home in the Philadelphia suburbs. But she is not happy. Her daughter, Beatrice is troublesome, her husband, Hal is distant and she has just lost her best and only true friend.

When Daisy, whose real name is Diana, starts receiving misdirected emails meant for a woman named Diana Starling she’s envious. Diana Starling seems to be living a glamorous and sophisticated single life, just like the life Daisy had hoped for. The two women correspond over the misdirected emails, which leads to an invitation for drinks and a friendship. But was that email connection really accidental? Who is Diana Starling, and how is her life so perfect? What does she want from Daisy? What is she really up to?

REVIEW
That Summer is a story of two Diana’s, their friendship, their past, and their future. The story is both heartbreaking and hopeful.

Author Jennifer Weiner”s writing hooks readers with an idyllic summer story that turns into something dark. She meticulously builds drama, while effortlessly juggling two main characters. The immersing dialog and the detailed descriptions make the story come alive. The food and cooking descriptions and the vintage clothing ensembles concocted by Beatrice are particularly intriguing. It's a perfect done-in-a-day, beach read.

Weiner has captured a realistic story that will speak to many women. It’s a story of the effect of an assault kept secret, and the power and impact of revenge. Thanks to Netgalley for an advance reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Publisher Atria
Published May 11, 2021
Review
www.bluestockingreviews.com

Jennifer

"She would think about her nieces, and all the girls and young women she knew, growing up in a world where every day was dangerous, and she knew she couldn't give herself the luxury of inaction."

When the #metoo movement gives Diana Starling the courage to break her silence about a sexual assault from her teen years, she realizes that she must take it a step further. After all, this is the world where perpetrators continue their lives while victims silently hide. What proceeds is a journey through two women's lives as POV's and timelines alternate. Readers witness the #metoo movement unfold (again), and the story has just enough twists and turns to blend genres. Check it out.

Melissa

I have always been a fan of
Jennifer Weiner's writing, so I go into her novels expecting something great. With
That Summer, I was, once again, not disappointed by my expectations.

The story is well told and interesting throughout. I liked both Daisy and Diana, but I really liked seeing Diana's story progress through the years. While foreshadowing made the story feel predictable in parts, I also wanted to see how things would go from point A to point B and what the outcome would be. I liked seeing Beatrice's perspective, as well. Her fashion choices sounded so creative. Jennifer has a good grasp of the teenage point-of-view and should try her hand at a young adult novel sometime. (I know she has written middle grade novels.)

The food descriptions made me hungry and Jennifer, as usual, wrote a really steamy bedroom scene that I enjoyed. I felt like there were too many location descriptions though. A large amount of the story was telling us what a room looked like. I also didn't feel like Hal's perspective was necessary and it didn't make him a sympathetic character.

What I liked the most was that this novel covered a relevant topic in a sensitive and thoughtful way. I like how Jennifer weaved in some current events without naming names.

There's a spoiler for Big Summer toward the beginning of this novel, so be sure to read that one first! Afterward, you'll want to devour this one for sure!

Movie casting ideas:

Daisy:
Zoe Kazan
Diana (present):
Elizabeth Berkley

Diana (past):
Elizabeth Lail
Hal:
Michael Vartan
Beatrice:
Jessica Cherniak
Michael (past):
Paul Walter Hauser

Michael (present):
John DiMaggio

Thanks to
Atria for the book in exchange for an honest review.

Review originally posted at
Chick Lit Central. There's also an interview and giveaway!

Dana

Review to come.

NAT.orious reads ☾

This book is for you if… you like to see women shed the dirty cloaks that are their lame husbands' awful secrets.

⤐ Overall.
Not gonna lie, I spent a significant part of this book wondering what the deal was and contemplated dnfing it. My mistake was getting into this thinking it was a summer romance novel, when in fact, this is a story that portraits rape, privileged wealthy white men that abuse their power and what it means to witness something atrocious and to not speak up about it. But what this story is about is far more important: women learning to see their worth and to trust others. And about what taking revenge actually means.

It is true that I have personally never gone through something that I would warrant revenge-worthy in the epic sense. Maybe that's the reason why I disagree with concept of revenge as a part of the healing process. Cheesy as it might sound, I firmly believe that:

I nevertheless enjoyed seeing two women coming together to empower each other and leave toxicity behind.

⤐ What’s happening.

When someone tells you who they are, believe them’

spoiler alert: This so not what applies to the book.
_____________________
4 STARS. Would stay up beyond my typical hours to finish it. I found some minor details I didn't like, agree with or lacked in some kind but overall, this was enjoyable and extraordinary.

3 STARS. Decent read that I have neither strongly positive nor negative feelings about. Some things irked me and thus it does not qualify as exceptional.

Di

A book written by Jennifer Weiner never disappoints me. This one should be classified as Contemporary Lit, not Women's Lit. The relevance to today's society is at the forefront, right from the beginning.

Many of us have a summer from their teens that can be remembered as That Summer. Sometimes the memories are good, sometimes they are not so good.

Daisy and Diana met by an odd coincidence, which turns out to be not so odd as the story unfolds. And, Beatrice, Daisy's 14 year old daughter, is also an important character. All of their personalities and traits are very well developed.

Diana is trying to come to terms with her past. Daisy is trying to justify her life in the present. And, Beatrice is trying to find her path in life as someone who does not fit in with the “norm”.

The “Me Too” movement has a huge part in the story. The “Boys will be boys” mentality is challenged. The Mean Kids and bullying atmosphere of teens are also spotlighted. This sounds like a lot to deal with while putting together a coherent story but all these themes tie in with each other.

The story demonstrates how one action can create a snowball effect......for many years and many people. The story certainly makes the reader think. “Incidents” can no longer be swept under the rug. People must be made accountable for their actions.

And a warning: despite the title and the cover, this is not a “beach” read. It is not a light and fluffy book. It is a well-written and well thought out storyline. The last 25% of it may be a little hard to read and process. Sometimes we need a book that makes us think.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Jenny (Reading Envy)

The tale of two Diana's, or maybe I Know What You Did ...That Summer. It looks like a beach read but is not light in content. Content warning for rape and long-term effects of said trauma. It is in the context of hashtag-metoo and grown men being followed by bad behavior from their earlier years, the conflict between the "boys will be boys" narrative and those who feel women should have bodily autonomy.

There is a more subtle (subversive?) story at play about how marriage can also be used to control a woman, and that entangles nicely with the more prominent storyline.

I had a review copy but encountered multiple timeline errors and food errors that I have verified lingered into the final version. It was sloppily edited in that sense and also overall pacing - this made what could have been a 4 star book a 3 instead.

I had a copy of this from the publisher through Edelweiss; it came out May 11, 2021.

Silvia C.

A lovely summer read about Daisy Shoemaker and Diana Starling, who'd paths mysteriously intertwine.

We get some nice coastal vibes, as well as some delightful food scenes.

I just vibed with this book and Big Summer so much. I think the combination of mystery, family, friendship, and writing style was very much what I like in the books I read.

Also another think that I liked it for are the layers that the novel has. It is easy to read as a summer book, but it has depth and character journey with growth.

I recommend it if you like character driven books, about family, friendship and a bit of mystery. (it's not a romp or edge of your seat book)

Title	:	That Summer
Author	:	Jennifer Weiner
Rating	:
ISBN	:	1501133543
ISBN-10	:	9781501133541
Format Type	:	Hardcover
Number of Pages	:	432
Publication	:	First published May 11, 2021
Awards	:	Goodreads Choice Award Fiction (2021)

That Summer Reviews

Releated on That Summer