Big Summer
Fiction
Atria Books
May 5, 2020
E-book
368
Publisher via NetGalley
Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask. Daphne hasn’t spoken one word to Drue in all this time—she doesn’t even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media—so when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless.
Drue was always the one who had everything—except the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne’s no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She’s built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend’s siren song.
A sparkling novel about the complexities of female friendship, the pitfalls of living out loud and online, and the resilience of the human heart, Big Summer is a witty, moving story about family, friendship, and figuring out what matters most.
My review:
3.5 stars
Reviewing this book is going to be almost like talking about two separate stories. I adored the first part (49% since I read an e-book version)! It was quintessential Weiner at her finest, with a story about a plus size social media influencer who is just starting to accept herself and her life for who she is. We start to get a glimpse of how hard this has been when a blast from her school age past enters the picture. This brings back all sorts of memories of insecurities and wanting to belong no matter the cost to ones' self esteem. It was fabulous! I loved the character of Daphne, the description of her job, her parents, her roommate, and her newfound confidence. Then we move on to the second half of the book which ends up being a murder mystery. HUH?? The story was okay I guess, there wasn't a dropoff in the writing quality, but I just found myself saying "why did we have to go there?" I'm getting tired of writers feeling like they have to include some sort of mystery with a big twist in order to sell books. Have we really resorted to readers only having attention spans so short that we have to have something exciting happen to like a book? Anyway, you get the idea here, I'll get off my soapbox now 🙂
I recommend you read this one with the following in mind. If you love the first half, just know that you may feel a bit letdown by the direction it takes. If you are not a fan of the first half, skip over to part two and you'll hopefully find more of what you are looking for.
I've heard a lot of mixed reactions to this change in the middle. It is still on my TBR, so I guess we'll see what I think of it soon!
Still a good read, just not what I was expecting after reading the first part. Hope you enjoy it!