An absolutely riveting story. I thoroughly enjoyed this read and will be recommending it to customers in our store!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan
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Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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Laura lives in San Francisco where she runs her on business. She’s happyish, but then an invitation shows up in her mailbox. An invitation from her high school best friend, who she hasn’t spoken to in 17 years, asking her to come to their hometown and make amends. What we learn is that this visit is not what it seems, but takes Casey and Laura on a scavenger hunt through their past.
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The Summer List was extremely enjoyable. The relationship between Casey and Laura was genuine and each layer was deep, but not overdone. Mason Doan wrote an intriguing story about their relationship switching between past, present, and a third voice who takes their time revealing who they are to the reader. Laura and Casey’s friendship is complicated and heavy, but most of us have had a friendship along those lines. Devour this one the way I did! You will not regret it! 🤗📚☀️
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Two friends had an epic friendship in their younger high school days and on the cusp of college something happened that broke them apart and years later one of their mothers will scheme to get them back together to heal and learn some truths.

Overall the book for me was fine but not amazing. I think most of what I didn't enjoy about the book was the pacing at a few of the parts. There were just a few moments that felt repetitive and felt like they dragged the book down a bit. Not to spoil too much, but there are these little vignettes throughout the book and they are confusing and odd until the very end when you have the AHH moment. I thought these interrupted the flow and I get at the end why they were there and what they meant, but I could have enjoyed the book without them.

I loved the concept. I loved the idea of the scavenger hunt and how it changed the girls in their high school days and it was what brought them back together. I am a scavenger hunt fan, so I loved the inclusion of the poem clues and although the reader can't completely solve them before the girls do, its fun to reread the clue after it has been solved.

The characters were also so good in the book. These two girls who had polar opposite childhoods but could come together and create such a sweet and beautiful relationship was so fun to read. I love a book that focuses on friendship and not as much as the love stuff!

I liked her writing, so I would read another book by her, but would have to make sure that I was in love with the synopsis and concept of the story.

http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=66173

A thought-provoking look at friendship and forgiveness..."


also on TV Wednesday Reads / YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H843OsrMwTI

I absolutely loved The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan.

If you’re looking for the perfect summer read, one that’s about friendship, forgiveness, secrets and a second chance, this book is for you.

I want to thank @netgalley for providing me an advanced copy of this wonderful book for an honest review.

I definitely recommend adding The Summer List to the top of your TBR list. A truly beautiful and captivating read.

The Summer List by Amy Mason Doan is a book that is perfect for your summer reading list. There are so many different sides to this book that it will engage more than just fans of contemporary novels. The characters are well-developed and the writing is really interesting.

There are so many elements to this book that make it a really enjoyable read. The themes of friendship and mother-daughter relationships are what glue the book together. However, there is also some mystery surrounding the reasons why the girls had a falling out in their teen years. The scavenger hunts that the characters go on are also lots of fun to read and set so much in motion for the characters as the book progresses. The hunts were my favourite aspect of the novel.

I love it when a book has really well-developed characters. Even the side characters are compelling and well-rounded. Laura and Casey are both very engaging and grow so much throughout the novel. I also really enjoyed reading about Casey’s mom, Alex, she is such a spunky, free-spitted woman. She adds an element of excitement to the story.

The Summer List is actually written in three different timelines. The main parts of the story are written in a dual timeline that shows the girls in their teens and then as adults. However, there is another side story that is woven throughout the novel. At first, the third timeline seems a bit too much, but as the story moves along, it becomes clear that it will all tie together in the end.

There is something about beach town settings that just screams summer. This a book that will satisfy your need for a summery read and give you a little bit of a mystery to solve as well. Although the book is definitely women’s fiction, it can easily be a YA crossover, as much of the novel is set during the teen years of Casey and Laura.

"In the tradition of Judy Blume’s Summer Sisters, The Summer List is a tender yet tantalizing 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...

Mesmerizing 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."

I was all in with the Judy Blume comparison.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Harlequin Graydon House, and Amy Mason Doan for the opportunity to read and review this book - 4.5 stars for this debut novel!

This is the story of two friends - Casey and Laura. Laura grew up in a small lakeside town in California, adopted by much older parents. Her mom was very religious and Laura didn't fit in at school. Casey moves in across the lake with her free-spirit mother and the two girls become fast friends. With Casey by her side, school is a different place and Casey's home life a refuge from her very different one. Casey's mom, Alex, makes everything an adventure, including big scavenger hunts. Laura falls in love with JB - a college boy who comes into town for the summers. Laura and Casey make plans to live together in LA where they will all attend school. Until one fateful night, when everything changes and Laura runs away from everyone.

Fast forward and the former friends are in their 30s and they are still estranged. Until an invitation shows up in Laura's mailbox from Casey asking her to come for a weekend for one last scavenger hunt. The clues take them back to all their favorite haunts but lead to lots of unanswered questions and long-held secrets.

This was just a book to fall into - very well-written and going back in different time periods to eek out the story. A great story about friendship, loyalty, secrets - it's all here. Highly recommended and I can't wait to read more from this author!

Be still my heart... This book was so relatable. It really delves into friendships, what happens when they fall apart, youth and misunderstandings, betrayal, secrets, etc. This novel is beautifully written and tackles many issues head on. 

I loved the fluidity of the writing and how smooth it flowed. I was white knuckles gripping the pages, wanting to know what happens next. I could not put this book down and it was a one click read for me. After I finished this book I could NOT stop thinking about it. Other reviewers have mentioned how much this book made them reflect back on past friendships and I have to say the same. 

I found myself wondering what did exactly happen and when things fell apart. Why is it that sometimes we lose people we were so close to and now it feels as if you're strangers? This book gives keen insights in a wonderfully fiction way. I highly, highly suggest this book.

4/5 Stars

***Thank you to Harlequin Graydon House and NetGalley for providing me with a copy for this book in exchange for an honest review.***

This is a book about friendship. About shared histories. About mothers and daughters. About secrets.

The Summer List is the story of Laura and Casey. Two girls that met each other in high school and were inseparable. Until something significant happened to split them apart. They have been apart for almost 18 years and now they’re back together to complete a scavenger hunt. I don’t want to give away too much more but I ended up really enjoying this book. It had a lot more to it than I expected. I even shed a couple tears. If you have a chance pick this one up and read it!!

I really enjoyed reading this book and I found it the perfect mix of light and serious. It was great to read headed into summer and made me think about my friendships and some of the people I am not as close to as I may like to be.

Laura and Casey were once inseparable. Floating in the pool, looking at the stars, and teaming up for scavenger hunts in their town. It all went wrong one summer evening when a betrayal was revealed. It sent Laura running, leaving her best friend Casey behind.

Seventeen years later and the women reunite for one last scavenger hunt. Each clue is a bittersweet reminder of their summers together. Like most women's fiction, a secret is unraveled that could tear them even further apart.

Perhaps it was the expectation that The Summer List is comparable to one of my favorite books ever, Summer Sisters by Judy Blume. Or maybe it was the nostalgia of unbreakable bonds of girl best friends. But I am in the minority of other reviewers; this book was just okay. Not mesmerizing but worth it if you want to read chick lit this summer. A story everyone can relate to!

Happy Early Pub Day, Amy Mason Doan. The Summer List will be available Tuesday, June 26.

LiteraryMarie

I could not get in to this book due to the nature of the topic. If I would have known, I would not have requested it. I will not post any negative reviews on any site.

Lovely book, perfect to read over the summer months. Lovely friendship to read about. Nice charaters and well written.

This was a memorable and heartwarming book. “The Summer List” is a story about love, friendship, and family. It is told from first person perspective, jumping from the past back to the present.

There is also another narrator in a series of flashbacks. We aren’t sure how this person’s story ties in to the larger plot until later in the book.

The characters were wonderful! They were so well developed, so much like flesh and blood people rather than characters in a story. The various relationships seemed so tender, real, honest.

There was even evidence of character development in minor characters, such as Pauline (a character who was a bit of a bully when she was a preteen but became empathetic and kind as she grew older).

This was a brilliant debut novel with potential for becoming a well-loved classic.

Loved everything about The Summer List! This book has it all! Teenage friendship, a mysterious rift, reconnecting as adults, first love, mother daughter drama. I loved the characters of Laura and Casey and Casey's mom Alex. The stories of the girls growing up and in the present time were equally interesting. I loved how the author used the present day scavenger hunt as a touchstone to the important events in Casey, Laura and Alex's past. My mind was busily working to put together all the pieces, but I didn't until the very end (which made me glad). And the final scavenger hunt prize...wow! One of my favorite books I have read in 2018!

This book was so well-crafted; I loved watching everything unfold and the many secrets fall into place. It did sometimes feel a little disconnected because there were three “points of view” and times that it switched between. There were italicized chapters involving two girls and a religious summer camp, which took place back in the 1970s/1980s; chapters with two different girls throughout their history of friendship in the late 1990s; and chapters with the present day women and their scavenger hunt. The latter two focused on Laura and Casey as they grew closer and then grew apart. The italicized chapters from farther back in time were a slight mystery that eventually tied into everything later.

I always forget how much I enjoy stories like this, with multiple generations and different time frames between chapters. This one had light moments about friendship, sweet moments with Laura and her father’s bond, and heavier moments about health, family secrets, and breaking up. It’s a heavier “beach read” if I had to give it that label. I love books about scavenger hunts or bucket lists, especially when there are so many layers to why they were hunting in the first place. The scavenger hunt history was intriguing to read about, and everything fell into place from there.

Even when I thought I had most of the secrets figured out, there was more to come. Things that could have been obvious but didn’t click into place until the very end. It was a fascinating journey with an equally fascinating pay-off at the end. There were some times I thought that the historical chapters took too long and I was dying to get back to present day, and vice versa. I don’t really have a lot of complaints in general though; the many revelations throughout the story were so great.

I loved everything about this book! Every character, the location on the lake, the development of each main character, the pace of the novel and uncovering all the clues and the final page. I had been in a thriller rut and needed a feel good, well plotted novel and this one hit the mark! Great book to add to your list the day it comes out. Highly recommend!

The Summer List falls into the category of impressive debut novels for me. I couldn't believe this was Amy Mason Doan's first time at bat! She struck one out of the park. (Pardon the baseball euphemisms, but it's summer!)

This novel was a wonderful tribute to friendship. It reminded me of The Gospel According to Drew Barrymore in terms of the friendship dynamic, air of mystery, and characters named Laura. Both books also shift between the present and the past to tell the story, and we learn new secrets about the characters over time. I love that part of the story took place in the nineties, and often at a roller rink. The mystery element kept me going throughout the book. Just when I thought I had something figured out, I was surprised once again. Laura and Casey were both sympathetic characters and I wanted them to find their way back into the friendship. I could relate to both of them for various reasons.

My only concern was that sometimes I felt like the story was trying too hard to get to the big reveal and so much new information was given that I had to try and remember what happened even a few chapters prior.

The story gave off a nostalgic feel that reminded me of my teenage years and wanting to hold on to certain friendships because of how secure they felt. It's the perfect way to get in the mood for the summer ahead!

Movie casting ideas:
Laura (adult): Mila Kunis
Laura (teen): Isobelle Molloy
Casey (adult): Kate Mara
Casey (teen): Willow Shields
Alex: Rebecca Ferguson (they can age her for the present)
Ingrid: Frances Conroy
J.B. (adult): Brandon Routh
J.B. (teen): Charlie DePew
Katherine: Kaitlyn Dias
Sam: Rob Reiner

The Summer List is a heartwarming tale of friendship by Amy Mason Doan. We see Laura and Casey both as inseparable girlhood friends and grown women - after years of separation. This is a novel about what breaks and mends a friendship and about how the friendships we make in the halcyon days of youth are precious and a bit more resilient than those we make when we are older.