All the Summer Girls
A Novel
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3.6 • 217 Ratings
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
All the Summer Girls by Meg Donohue is a riveting coming-of-age tale set on the New Jersey shore. Donohue, the author of the bestselling novel How to Eat a Cupcake, is a master of literary fiction; her skill is demonstrated in this charming and moving second novel.
Set among the sunsets and dunes, All the Summer Girls is the story of how three former best friends, their lives rapidly unraveling, are reunited at the beach town of their past—where the ambience of summer encourages them to explore new experiences they would never otherwise attempt.
When dark secrets threaten to surface, Kate, Vanessa, and Dani begin to realize just how much their lives—and friendships—have been shaped by the choices they made one fateful summer night years ago. In the hope of finally moving forward, the women turn to one another for forgiveness—but how can they forgive each other when they can’t forgive themselves?
Meg Donohue is a phenomenal talent, and fans of Sarah Pekkanen, Susan Mallery, and Catherine McKenzie, will be enthralled by this rich and detailed novel about women, relationships, and forgiveness.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Donohue (How to Eat a Cupcake) sounds an irresistible call to spread a blanket on the nearest beach with three best friends who reunite on the Jersey Shore to commiserate, imbibe, and confess the dark secrets that have haunted them since college. The ladies newly jilted Philadelphia lawyer Kate, restless Manhattan "yummy mummy" Vanessa, and drug-and-alcohol-abusing San Francisco writer Dani are a hot mess in "the summer of our discontent," mishandling the past and present as they move Kate's canceled Las Vegas bachelorette party to their favorite summer haunt in Avalon, N.J. But problems old and new follow them to the beach: Kate is pregnant; Vanessa is flirting with an old boyfriend; and Dani can't keep a job, find a home, or finish her novel. The elephant in the room at their rambling beach house, however, is the eighth anniversary of the drowning death of Kate's troubled but lovable twin brother, Colin, a disaster that became a "lever pulled, sending them each hurtling down a different track." The girls' shared and private guilt predictably brings them closer, but Donohue gives the chick-lit buddy trope an appealing twist and a lot of depth, turning a familiar yarn of regret, trust, and loyalty into an elegant ode to late bloomers.
Customer Reviews
Enjoyed It
I really liked this book. It was a great Summer read. At first, it was a little slow, but still a page-turner! The ending was unexpected. I would definitely recommend this to anyone.
All the Summer Girls
I struggled to finish this book - slow, painfully slow. The author repeats the phase 8 yrs. ago about 20 times too often.
All the summer girls
Good storyline...