The Book:
That Summer by Jennifer Weiner
Published May 11th 2021 by Atria Books
Date read: June 3, 2021
The Characters:
Daisy and her husband Hal
Diana
Buy it on Bookshop.org | Amazon
The Plot (from Goodreads):
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?
The Twist:
Daisy’s husband is Diana’s rapist. Diana hated Daisy for marrying him, and when Daisy found out she realized how controlling Hal was throughout their whole relationship. Daisy’s brother Danny had been present during Diana’s rape, and the knowledge of what they had done was destroying him.
The Review:
Jennifer Weiner has been an auto-buy author for me since long before this blog and Bookstagram. I remember searching my aunt’s shelves as a teen for her books, so I’ve been reading her work for as long as I can remember. My current favorite is Mrs. Everything, but I have a handful of hers that I want to re-read.
Sutton Foster is one of my favorite narrators, so I really enjoyed listening to this audiobook. Her voice is clear, pleasant, and easy to understand, so I was able to listen to this one sped up a little. Thank you to @simon.audio for the ALC, and to @joannasbookshelf for sending her ARC as part of her one-year bookstaversary giveaway.
Having grown up vacationing on the Cape every summer, I adored the setting. However, this is not a lighthearted beach read. It deals with some pretty heavy subject matter, mainly centered around the Me Too movement and the repercussions the victims suffer. This book is very character-driven, but the plot moves at an engaging pace as well. Weiner was impressively able to spin an entertaining tale around these topics, and I truly applaud her talent.
QOTD: Are you planning a summer vacation this summer? If so, where to?
