That Summer
A Novel
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4.1 • 1.4K Ratings
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
Named a Notable Work of Fiction by The Washington Post
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Big Summer comes another “ideal beach read, full of secrets and complicated female friendships” (Cosmopolitan).
Daisy Shoemaker can’t sleep. With a thriving cooking business, full schedule of volunteer work, and a beautiful home in the Philadelphia suburbs, she should be content. But her teenage daughter can be a handful, her husband can be distant, her work can feel trivial, and she has lots of acquaintances, but no real friends. Still, Daisy knows she’s got it good. So why is she up all night?
While Daisy tries to identify the root of her dissatisfaction, she’s also receiving misdirected emails meant for a woman named Diana Starling, whose email address is just one punctuation mark away from her own. While Daisy’s driving carpools, Diana is chairing meetings. While Daisy’s making dinner, Diana’s making plans to reorganize corporations. Diana’s glamorous, sophisticated, single-lady life is miles away from Daisy’s simpler existence. When an apology leads to an invitation, the two women meet and become friends. But, as they get closer, we learn that their connection was not completely accidental. Who IS this other woman, and what does she want with Daisy?
From the manicured Main Line of Philadelphia to the wild landscape of the Outer Cape, written with Jennifer Weiner’s signature wit and sharp observations, That Summer is a “compelling, nuanced novel” (Maureen Corrigan, The Washington Post) about surviving our pasts, confronting our futures, and the sustaining bonds of friendship.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Best-selling novelist Jennifer Weiner has written her most exciting, explosive novel so far. Suburban wife and mother Daisy Shoemaker feels stuck in a domestic rut, while dedicated career woman Diana Starling spends her days making important decisions. When a simple mix-up over an email address puts these two women in touch with each other, they form an unexpected friendship—until a dark secret reveals that their lives may be more intertwined than they thought. Weiner addresses hot-button issues like class divisions and sexual violence with unblinking honesty, while also keeping us invested in the suspense surrounding her compelling protagonists. We also loved spending time in her gorgeous Cape Cod setting, which provides a sunny contrast to some of the heavier moments. Like Liane Moriarty’s Big Little Lies, That Summer is both an entertaining, page-turning mystery and a relatable, empathetic story about women tapping into their inner strength to get through hard times.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Weiner follows up Big Summer with another emotionally charged drama, this one centered on a #MeToo reckoning. Diana Shoemaker has been known as Daisy ever since marrying her husband, Hal. But when she begins receiving emails intended for another "Diana S." with a similar address—and when the two Dianas strike up a correspondence—she starts to wonder what her life might have been like had she not fallen into Main Line Philadelphia motherhood and a modest culinary education business. A parallel narrative follows the other Diana, whom it turns out is intent on contacting Daisy to confront her about her sexual assault when she was 15 by a group of boys on Cape Cod, including some with connections to Daisy, whose family spent summers there along with Hal's. After Daisy and Diana become friends, Daisy learns their seemingly accidental online encounter was anything but. Weiner's writing is infused with evocative depictions of place, particularly year-round scenes on the Cape. Some villains are painted with overly broad strokes, and while the plot hinges on more than one coincidence, the account of a woman on a deferred quest, nearly three decades after an assault, feels emotionally honest. Weiner's legions of fans will applaud this emotionally affecting and often surprising story.
Customer Reviews
Was good
Enjoyed Weiners cape cod setting
Political nonsense
Shame on Jennifer Weiner to use a story about rape to preach her uninformed political views. Her character watched all of the Kavanaugh trial. Did she?! Every sane minded person knew it was a farce. Mrs. Ford’s own called upon witnesses said it didn’t happen. God forbid Jennifer Weiner used Harvey Weinstein as her lead example. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced to over 20 years in prison! Maybe it would have cost her a movie deal to offend him & his cronies? Shameful.
That Summer
I was enjoying this book until I read the part about Bret Kavanaugh. That ruined the book for me. Why didn’t the author talk about Harvey Weinstein or Epstein? I won’t ever purchase another one of her books.