Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner, was a BIG, wonderful, interesting, current and compelling novel. I didn't expect to LOVE it this much. Full of thought-provoking issues, including body image, social media, friendship, family, self-esteem and self-love, mixed in with murder mystery, was just AMAZING! This is one of my new favorites! Thank you NetGalley, the author and publisher for the e-reader for review. All opinions are my own.

This book is a little bit different than the usual Jennifer Weiner book in that it is part mystery which is not her usual genre. However, that element only adds to the enjoyment of the book. Everything that is great about Jennifer Weiner's books is here starting with her plus size heroine in this case, Daphne Berg. She is an exceptionally admirable and immensely likable character who has risen above the stigma of her size and used it to her advantage to become an extremely successful social media influencer. When her former best friend, Drue suddenly invites her to be a bridesmaid at her wedding, Daphne is hesitant. They did not exactly part on the best of terms. In fact, Drue was never really a nice person to begin with, and she was responsible for the single most embarrassing moment of Daphne's life. Still, Daphne decides to give her former friend a second chance. However, on the weekend of the wedding a tragedy occurs, and Daphne is compelled to find out what really happened both for herself and for Drue. This book is extremely timely and relevant. It reminds us that the way we treat each other matters . This is something that is all too often forgotten today.

I read Jennifer Weiner books because she writes stories about real people's issues and works through them while giving us an entertaining read with a little romance, a little intrigue and lots of good writing thrown in. I've read many of her books and always enjoyed them.
When a young woman who is not quite comfortable in her own skin runs into an old "friend"....a friend that always made her feel less than perfect...she is amazed to find herself invited to a society wedding. Her first inclination is to refuse but after a long discussion with herself, she agrees to attend. The story explodes with all of the actions and consequences you'd expect when you mix a social event with an attempt to relive your past. There is a lot of fun and some not so fun along the way to the lesson Ms Weiner always gives us in the end. Another winner for one of my favorite summer beach read authors!

Review:

I picked up my ARC of Big Summer after seeing some good reviews of it on bookstagram. The cover screamed summer read so I dove right into it hoping for a fun read. It was not what I expected at all but it was still an enjoyable read.

The main character, Daphne is an Instagram influencer and dealing with a rift between her and her friend, Drue. I loved the main character's point of view and how the author spoke about body acceptance and self-loathing and learning to accept yourself, it was something I connected a lot with.

I enjoyed the first part of the novel but when the story changes directions/genres I lost interest in it. I was hoping for a romance/summer read and did not get that. I found the last half of the story a bit too predictable.

I will be checking out more from Jennifer Weiner in the future. I liked the way she crafted her characters and her writing style.

Rating:

3.5 Stars Out of 5 Stars

I was actually really surprised with Big Summer.

This book tackles some deeper issues than I expected. Jennifer Wiener addresses body image, social media shaming, and how society expects women to behave.

Weiner weaves a story about the reality of social media with friendships, romance, and mystery all in the perfect summer tale. This is a perfect beach read. Light, but completely relatable..

The book starts when the main character of Big Summer, Daphne Berg, has a meeting in Manhattan with what it seems a fashion designer to see if they can do a collaboration for Daphne's Instagram account.
This because she walked in on someone she had a fight with years ago; Drue Cavanaugh. Drue was everything in high school that Daphne felt she wasn't; pretty and rich. Daphne is struggling with her self image, as she is on the curvy side. Drue invites Daphne to attend her lavish Cape Cod wedding in a few weeks, as it seems she has no real friends left to invite, and maybe this is a good opportunity for Daphne to show on her Insta how fabulous the wedding is and tag Drue in it?

To her own surprise, Daphne says yes. What does she have to lose? At the day before the wedding, she arrives at the grand wedding location at Cape Cod, which is located at different beach house estates. She meets up with a friend of Drue, Nick, and this leads to the romance of the story.

But from there on, things turn sour pretty quickly the day after, when the wedding is about to happen. In the hot tub that Daphne had a quite a romantic evening with Nick the night before, she finds Drue facedown and dead in the water. Daphne is the first to be investigated by the police, as the working hot tub was located outside her room, the room where Nick is nowhere to be found now..why did he run away right now? Daphne starts to investigate on her own what happened to Drue and if Nick might have something to do with it. But during her investigation she finds out there is a wide range of people who where not on good terms with Drue for one reason or another, so it is hard to find the suspect, until one day she finds the lead...

When you start reading the book, you have no idea that this book will turn into a true mystery book. The story starts a bit slow and with some not so strong story points here and there, but it really takes a turn for the better when the drama with Drue starts. Then the story gets really really good! The sleuthing and investigation to find the murderer of Drue is a true page turner, and Jennifer Weiner does a great job to not reveal to much and keeping the reader guessing untill the last part. The book reminded me in someway of Meg Cabot's '' Heather Wells '' mysteries ( Size 12 is not Fat, Size 14 Isn't fat either etc) as it had the same kind of storyline and buildup and conclusion of the murder mystery.
Anyhow, this is just one of the new amazing books by bestselling author Jennifer Weiner, it totally surprised me and I hope it will surprise many other readers too!!

Great beach read! Another fun title from Jennifer Weiner. A definite addition to summer read lists!

At first, Big Summer feels like a women’s literature. Within the quintessential beach read set in Cape Cod, author Jennifer Weiner adds some social messages. However, a shocking twist in the middle of the book takes the story in a much different direction.

I loved the characters. Daphne, the plus-sized heroine, who has struggled with self-esteem issues her entire life, is absolutely engaging. Her parents are a bit quirky, but loving, kind, and supportive. It takes most of the book for Daphne to realize that <i>they</i> are a treasure that many of her acquaintances envy. Darshi, the roommate and best friend, is my kind of people. She holds no punches, and she is a fiercely loyal friend. Drue, the seemingly confident, wealthy, queen bee presents a persona that everyone envies but few like.

The beginning of the book takes readers through Daphne’s journey toward acceptance and actualization. While her social media posts make her look like she is confident and brave, she continues to have the same doubts of self-worth that she has always had. Evidence of this comes in Daphne’s inability to address a blog question from a teenage girl about being brave. Body shaming, self-image, and the falsity of social media posts weigh heavy in Big Summer. Ms. Weiner warns, as many authors have lately, that all that glitters is not gold on Instagram. Beware of the Trojan horse that is a social media influencer!

I enjoyed the character set up in the first half of the book, but it is in the second half of the book that the action really starts. I don’t want to give away the big twist, but all that set up provides juicy detail to unravel in the latter half of the story. In addition to a fun read, the big takeaways of Big Summer are regarding friendship and envy. I finished the book feeling happy for Daphne’s discovery of just how envious she is and feeling grateful for all that I have in my own life.

4.5 stars

This is such a hard one to review because I really did enjoy it but found it a bit difficult to read. I agree with everyone’s comments - Weiner has tried to do too much within one book and it was a bit too busy for me. Overall, I did enjoy it but wouldn’t be in a rush to recommend.

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner is a novel about the ins and outs of female relationships. Daphne Berg and Drue Cavanaugh became friends in school until one day, a fight ended their relationship. Six years later, Daphne is a social media influencer for plus sized women and enjoys her life. She is shocked when Drue shows up in her life again with a huge favor. She asks Daphne to be her maid-of-honor at her society wedding the following summer. Daphne is speechless and has a hard time saying no despite her reservation and her friend and roommate, Darshi’s warning. When the weekend of the wedding arrives, Daphne is swept up in the glamour of the Cape Cod waterfront mansion and the drama that always seems to be involved with a wedding. Tragedy strikes and Daphne finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and finds herself determined to find out the truth. Will she be able to discover the truth? Will she be able to move forward?
Big Summer was hard to get through. Told in three parts, the story opens with a prologue about a mother and her son that does not seem to connect with the story of Daphne and Drue. When the connection is revealed, I thought “okay….?” The first part is super slow as the history and complexity of Daphne’s friendship with Drue and her own battle with her weight is the made focus. The second and third parts were much more fast paced as the murder investigation occurs and Daphne chases clues to who the killer could be. The book is marketed as “A sparkling novel about the complexities of females relationships, the pitfalls of living loud and online, and the resilience of the human heart.” In a way, the book is about these factors, however, I expected a more powerful commentary than what is featured. It was hard to sympathize with adult Daphne as she fell into the same patterns with Drue. And Drue was the stereotypical mean girl who seems to have it all but is jealous of the fat girl who has everything that matters. I even expected the death to be a fake and another ploy for attention or sympathy. Overall, the book was okay. I did not genuinely care about the characters, the resolution or the author’s commentary on fat shaming, social media, and relationships. If you are a fan of Jennifer Weiner, you may enjoy Big Summer.


Big Summer
is available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook

I thought this was going to be a light read and didn't expect the mystery total storyline 180 that happened in Part 2. In that respect, this one was great. However, I didn't love it, I read someone else's comment on instagram that said it was trying to be too many things at once and I agree. It was trying to include a plus-sized character (but her plus-sizeness was discussed toooo much), an instagram influencer (the newest trope for books), and then a murder mystery. A lot was happening and I read through it quickly, but I think it could have been more interesting, a faster pace, or characters that meshed better. It just seemed to be lacking.

A plus sized insta-influencer gets drug back into her previous friendship with a controlling Richie rich. She knows better. But does it anyway. All the drama ensues that you would expect. Engaging

Big Summer by Jenifer Weiner || ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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Daphne and Drue went to high school together but had a nasty falling out that sent Daphne to become a plus size influencer. Now, 6 years later, Drue asks Daphne to be her maid of honor at her wedding. While Drue was always the one that seemed to have everything and treat Daphne as her sidekick, Daphne has learned incredible strength in those 6 years and has a different view of things. ⁣
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Wow. This book was a ride. Let me tell you: there are so many unexpected parts of this book!! I refuse to give anything away because I was shocked when reading it but I know this is the perfect read to distract during quarantine. I devoured it in two sittings! Daphne is so relatable for any girl who has ever felt like an outsider secretly hoping to be a part of the inner circle. This book is witty while also inspirational and I can’t recommend it enough! I read it in two sitting because I could wait to find out what was going to happen! It’s the perfect summer read that actually has depth to it!

Big Summer was a really captivating and thought-provoking story. It immediately captured my attention, not only with it’s content, but also its accessible, easy writing style.

The story delves into some weightier topics with humor, grace and insight, though it does become a bit repetitive at times. We start with a mystery, then leave it and follow the life of Daphne, a plus-size Instagram influencer. She has built a fairly successful life for herself in spite of, or because of, her rocky relationship with an old friend, after a personally traumatic event, and has turned her obstacles into virtual successes.

The story then turns into a mystery and the remaining portion of the book is an attempt to resolve the mystery and find justice. In the course of sleuthing for clues, the beginning of the story is brought back to our attention and reveals its purpose in the narrative.

As you can tell, this story is a bit all over the place, but somehow it works. It examines the social media influence we all fall prey to, the ways we view others based upon our concepts of success and how to be happy with ourselves despite what society and the media tells us. There is romance, mystery, social commentary (some of which I did not agree with), and despite the hodgepodge of these various story elements, it’s a cohesive, moving, insightful, enjoyable story. It’s admittedly a bit longer than need be, in my opinion, but I still loved it, nonetheless and definitely recommend it.

I know I say this with every Jennifer Weiner book I read, but this was by far my favorite. I was worried she wouldn't be able to top Mrs. Everything. She did. Big Summer blew me away.

Daphne was loveable, relatable, and real. Her relationship with Drue, though frustrating, is something that I think we can all sympathize/empathize with. I was rooting for both of them.

I will say, the second half of the book blew by. Once I hit part two, I couldn't put it down. I was enthralled and had to finish it. I won't give away the mid-point twist, but DAMN.

It has been a while since I read one of Jennifer Weiner's books and it was no trouble at all to ease back into the comfortable prose, the effortless plot lines, and the relatable characters.

I loved Daphne! She is the epitome of the modern woman and feels like someone who is approachable and magnetic. Her friend Drue is almost the opposite. Not very relatable, over the top, and a bit inaccessible as a social climber and status seeker. These two could not be more different.

Although they had been estranged, it's pretty obvious that when Drue begs Daphne to be in her lavish storybook celebrity wedding, that Daphne would agree. Drue always gets her way, no matter how awful she's been to Daphne in the past. But when the wedding day comes and the most SHOCKING THING EVER happens... I was like WHO IS THIS NEW JENNIFER WEINER AND WHERE HAS SHE BEEN HIDING ALL MY LIFE?!?

The first half felt a tiny bit disjointed from the second half - almost like two separate books. Two separate genres? But I enjoyed the direction it turned, and it was a unique way to shake up the story. It did confuse me for a hot minute, but only unsettled me for the tiniest bit because it was something I'd never experienced before while reading.

Totally unexpected, and a fun spin that changed the basic model and criteria of storytelling I've known my entire life. And I liked it.

I can’t remember the last time a book made me say “WTF?!” (in the best way) all the way until the end, but Jennifer Weiner’s “Big Summer” (out today) made me say that aloud multiple times, briefly pause after each exclamation, and then quickly devour into the wee hours of the night. It’s best to go into this genre-bending novel blind, reading or rehashing the synopsis on here would only scratch the surface of the multiple layers of this book, but it is a great contender for a summer beach read (when the beaches are safe to go to again, that is).

The Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner

The Big Summer, by Jennifer Weiner, is indeed an excellent beach read. Set primarily on Cape Cod, it focuses on Daphne and Drue, whose fraught relationship will make you cringe when it is bad and when it is good. Lots of relationships are scrutinized including other friendships, romantic involvements, and those between parents and children. Pondering those relationships constituted the novel’s greatest value for me. The major takeaways were the importance of character and resilience combined with the knowledge that you do sow what you reap.

A lot of this book centers on Daphne’s long-standing issues with her size. Although her livelihood now stems from her identity as a “social influencer” for large women, Daphne’s size still undermines her self-value. The emphasis on social media and materialism were a bit over the top for me, but that may be evidence of the generational gap. Both the romance and the mystery lacked authenticity. Nonetheless, they were fun to read.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I love Jennifer Weiner books! This one however was a tad disappointing. It took me quite a while to find my groove with this book as the beginning was extremely slow. Halfway through it picked up for me but unfortunately not enough to love it. I love reading books about vacation spots but this one just didn’t grab me. Still worth a read on the beach in a lounge chair!

When I first started reading this book, I honestly was not a fan. I did not like the two main characters at all. I found Daphane to be a whiner and Drue to be a a spoiled hateful brat. However, I stuck with it and I am glad I did. Somewhere around the half way mark, the book completely changed into something new and interesting.

Thank you Netgalley, Simon and Schuster, and Jennifer Werner for the ARC.