The Summer List
-
- $1.99
Publisher Description
In the tradition of Judy Blume's Summer Sisters, The Summer List is a tender yet tantalising novel about two friends, the summer night they fell apart, and the scavenger hunt that reunites them decades later – until the clues expose a breathtaking secret that just might shatter them once and for all.
Laura and Casey were once inseparable: as they floated on their backs in the sunlit lake, as they dreamed about the future under starry skies, and as they teamed up for the wild scavenger hunts in their small California lakeside town. Until one summer night, when a shocking betrayal sent Laura running through the pines, down the dock, and into a new life, leaving Casey and a first love in her wake.
But the past is impossible to escape, and now, after seventeen years away, Laura is pulled home and into a reunion with Casey she can't resist – one last scavenger hunt. With a twist: this time, the list of clues leads to the settings of their most cherished summer memories. From glistening Jade Cove to the vintage skating rink, each step they take becomes a bittersweet reminder of the friendship they once shared. But just as the game brings Laura and Casey back together, the clues unravel a stunning secret that threatens to tear them apart…
Mesmerising and unforgettable, Amy Mason Doan's The Summer List is about losing and recapturing the person who understands you best – and the unbreakable bonds of girlhood.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This accomplished debut novel from Doan cleverly blends a coming-of-age tale, the story of a long-simmering mystery, and a thoughtful study of relationships between childhood friends. Laura Christie and Casey Shepherd were best friends as teenagers growing up in quaint Coeur-de-Lune, Calif., but they have become estranged as adults. Seventeen years after they graduated high school, Casey's eccentric mother reunites them with an elaborate scavenger hunt intended to prompt their reconciliation. The book toggles between Laura's narration of her prickly 2016 reunion with Casey and their teenage years in the 1990s, when Laura feels out of place in her strict adopted mother's home and intoxicated by the exuberant tenuous life Casey and her mother, Alex, share. While the conceit of the scavenger hunt and the accompanying tidiness of the mystery about what caused the rupture in Casey and Laura's friendship stretch the limits of plausibility, Doan's layered storytelling moves readers slowly toward uncovering what happened to each of the three women. As Laura and Casey move through the items on the list, they reenact previous moments from their early friendship, like swimming in Jade Cove and ice skating at a local skating rink, which slowly works to rekindle their friendship. Doan's characters leap off the page, believably struggling with the conflict between resentment and tenderness. With lovable characters and a scenic small town, Doan's pleasant mix of mystery and high school nostalgia will please readers who grew up with the novels of Judy Blume.
