I've been reading Jennifer Weiner's books since she started writing them. As her life has changed so have the themes of her novels, but at the heart of it, her books are always true to who she is as a writer- which is an incredible storyteller.
Big Summer was a delightful read with a combination of self-discovery & acceptance...with a twist. Jennifer totally tapped into the influencer culture and the pressures to "live the life you’ve curated" while trying to accept the person that you are in real life.
Daphne and Drew were high school friends until one night changes everything. They two have not spoken in six years when Drew, a prominent influencer, suddenly reappears in Daphne's life asking her to be the maid of honor at her upcoming Cape Cod society wedding. Daphne, a plus-size influencer herself, is lured by the idea of a glamorous summer weekend wedding at a beautiful beach home and agrees to put the past behind her, and says yes.
From there, our plot takes a wild ride. (Side note: this book is best to read going in slightly blind- so stay away from spoiler reviews! I had no idea what was coming and it was worth the surprise!) Big Summer explores friendship, body image, social media, and romance all while diving into an unexpected mystery that shakes up the plot in a way you never see coming. In our influencer obsessed society, this is the perfect, juicy, summer (or spring!) read. I'm thrilled the publication date was pushed up because a little escapism is exactly what we need right now and Big Summer is the solution!
Thank you AtriaBooks, NetGalley and Jennifer Weiner for an ARC of this fabulous read! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Last summer I read Mrs. Everything and really enjoyed the journey it took on between two sisters and their lives.
This year, Jennifer Weiner is back with another engaging read, but this time, about friendship. The book follows Daphne Berg as she navigates learning to love her body and finding confidence in who she is. Daphne meets Drue Cavanaugh who is gorgeous, rich, and ever so confident when they are in sixth grade and while Drue is not a kind or loyal friend, Daphne sticks by her until she feels betrayed enough. After a hiatus of friendship, Drue enters back into Daphne's life asking her to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. This story is about friendship and how well we may or may not know others. It is solidifying the age old lesson that just because someone looks happy and successful, does not mean they always feel that inside.
There is a twist to this story that I did not see coming and was happy to go on the ride that the author took us on. It was fun and engaging and had me guessing until the end.


So thankful to netgalley for allowing me to have access to read an advanced readers copy.

This was my first Jennifer Weiner book. I heard wonderful things about Mrs. Everything so I was excited to receive an ARC of Big Summer, I enjoyed the Prologue about Christine and how she was making it on her own with her little boy. Then we get introduced to Daphne, who has overweight body issues and Drue her best friend who has everything. They have the ultimate friend-enemy relationship. After high school days, Daphne becomes a popular and lucrative career as a social media influencer, Drue invites Daphne to be in her society wedding. The book changes course to solve a murder. This book just did not work for me. It feels like the author is trying to figure out what she really wants to write about. I do think I will read Mrs, Everything to see if I have a different opinion about Weiner’s writing. My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Jennifer Weiner definitely changed things up a bit in her new book Big Summer. Starting out a little slow, but enticing, the novel soon switches story lines to Include many heavy issues such as body image, social media influencing and female relationships. While this was different than her previous novels as it included many plot twists and a murder mystery it all came together in a fun and entertaining read. I recommend this book for a great summer beach read.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC for my honest review.

I want to talk to the person who wrote the teaser for this book. I almost feel like they didn't read the whole thing or read an entirely different book. (Their loss) They missed a huge chunk of the book. Sure there is a questionable friendship between Daphne and Drue. The later who is great at taking advantage of others and the former who struggles so much with her own self-esteem that she allows herself to be taken advantage of. Twists, lies uncovered, and truths learned make what I had expected to be a casual light summer read into something much more. The first half of the book lulls the reader into thinking they are reading a book about friendships and loyalty. Well, they are and they aren't. Then the book gets deeper and really surprises the reader. Even stating this ahead of time will not ruin the story. This book is a lot more than summer fluff. If you want a read that is a fun and easy read, this is a good choice. If you want to read a book with a bit more depth to it, this is a good choice. I guess no matter how you look at it, this is a good book to read. The only thing I didn't like about this book was the lack of diversity in characters' names. The three main female characters' names all started with Ds, three secondary characters' names started with As. Why? It is difficult enough meeting several new characters without all of them having names that are all similar.

Really enjoyed! This is so different from her other books! Murder, intrigue, and lots of suspense! As a true fan of Jennifer Weiner's work, I really enjoyed that she went outside her usual genre and added an interesting cast of characters who lend their unique personalities to the tale. She really delves into the main characters, Drue and Daphne and their specific personality characteristics and how they were shaped by their life circumstances. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for sharing this ARC with me in exchange my honest review. I always love getting advanced copies from my favorite authors!

This book has so many relevant topics for today’s society to make it plausible: fat-shaming, dangers of social media, and frenemies. This book was entertaining with a well-developed plot and great character development. It is another wonderful book by Jennifer Weiner!

The main character, Daphne, is being used and humiliated by her so called best friend all through her school years. One night in college it all comes out…plus filmed and posted on YouTube. This starts a path of self-rediscovery and being an unintended advocate for plus sized women as an Instagram Influencer. So, what happens when the cause of this change walks back into her life? Daphne succumbs to Drue’s charms once again. But has Drue changed? Drue’s wedding weekend in Cape Cod sends Daphne onto yet another path.

I felt this book was going to be more about Daphne’s life as an influencer and all she has overcome to get to this point. Maybe I misread or didn’t fully read the book description, but this book took a turn I wasn’t expecting. Not saying it was bad, just different. It didn’t change how I felt while reading the book. I still loved it.

I definitely recommended this book be added to be at your beach bag this summer!

I love when I go into a book with minimal expectations and a vague recollection of the synopsis, only to be pleasantly surprised. That is how I felt while reading Jennifer Weiner's newest novel, Big Summer. This book was just that, a pleasant and unexpected surprise. The plot twist made me do a double take and you had to pry my Kindle out of my hand, because I could not put this one down. Big Summer, true to it's title, is a perfect summer read. It pairs nicely with a glass of rose, a comfy hammock or patio chair, and a warm summer day.

Daphne is an Instagram influencer who established a presence in the plus-size community. One afternoon, she is shocked to find her former best friend, Drue, asking her to be a bridesmaid in her wedding. Daphne and Drue have not spoken since a fateful night six years ago, that catapulted Daphne's influencer career, but left her feeling backstabbed by Drue.

Drue seems to have it all, money, affluent family, looks, and an upcoming wedding that will rival the royal wedding. Daphne has a hard time not being entranced with Drue, but she is not the girl she was six years ago. An event rocks the wedding that sends Daphne down a rabbit hole to discover who her former best friend really was, underneath all the smoke and mirrors.

This book started off cute. "Cute" is how I describe many of Jennifer Weiner's books, but this one kept my attention. Mid way through, the plot took a turn that I was not expecting. If you know me, you know that this plot twist got me hook, line, and sinker. I had to keep reading to figure out what happened. Weiner is fabulous at writing novels with topics and issues that all women can relate to. The themes of body image were woven throughout the text and a major part of Daphne's storyline. Daphne grabbled with her body image from a young age, but found a community that accepted her for who she was and looked up to her for advice and guidance. While I loved this sense of community, I also appreciated the reflection on social media. So many of us share the "best of" reel of our lives on social media. It feels so surface level and shallow, that it is easy to miss the real, authentic connection we are all craving. I appreciated Weiner's take on social media and the pressure it adds on us and society, but I also think communities like #bookstagram are a haven for many of us and provide (mostly) positive and authentic content.

If you are looking for an enjoyable page turner, look no more than Jennifer Weiner's Big Summer, out tomorrow: 5/5!

"Big Summer" is big fun! You get the fabulously complicated characters you've come to expect from Jennifer Weiner (almost 20 years later, I still think about Cannie Shapiro from "Good in Bed"!) mixed with an exploration of topical themes like female relationships, body image and life on social media, and a few plot twists you really won't see coming!

I won't dive too deeply into the plot because you can't do it justice without spoilers, but the book centers on Daphne, a plus-sized influencer. and her high-school best friend/frenemy, glamorous rich girl Drue. They've been estranged for years but when Drue re-enters Daphne's life with a hard-to-deny plea, Daphne's decision to do as Drue asks has implications she could have never imagined.

I loved the way Weiner depicts Daphne's life as an influencer and how she's always on the hunt for the shot or the quote that will make her look more authentic to her audience even though none of it is truly real. The book also explores toxic relationships and, of course, body-shaming and societal expectations of women in a way that's not preachy. While Daphne and Drue's friendship is central to the story, Daphne's relationships with other characters - her parents, her roommate Darshi, her grandmother, her friend/employer Leela, and the mysterious Nick - are also really compelling and I enjoyed that they were all multi-dimensional with their own issues, not just there in service of the main character. You become as invested in their stories as you do in Daphne's and Drue's.

"Big Summer" is the perfect beach (or quarantine) read - it's filled with romance, mystery, drama, and secrets, and I couldn't put it down until I'd found out each one.

Thank you to Atria Books for the advanced copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The perfect escape I needed this weekend! I love Jennifer Weiner's contemporary, female focused story lines. I will be recommending this book all summer long.

I received an advanced copy free of charge from Netgalley.

Do mean girls ever stop being mean? Daphne Berg is asked to be the maid of honor in her childhood Ex- best frenemy, Drue Cavanaugh’s wedding. As the glitzy wedding draws near, Daphne gets glimpses of both Drue’s prickly outside, but perhaps a softer inside as well.

Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner is a decent summer read- light and fluffy. The beginning of the book was delightful, but detailed around the middle for me. Split into two different genres, neither was done as well as it could have been.

Big Summer is one of the most buzzed about books of 2020 and for good reason. After years or dieting and feeling not good enough, Daphne has embraced her size and has become a social media influencer and role model. She has tried to forget about her former high school best friend, Dru, who humiliated her and hadn’t ever actually been a good friend to her. Then Dru shows up one day claiming to have changed and wants Daphne to be a bridesmaid in her upcoming wedding. The wedding weekend seems perfect, Daphne even meets a handsome man, but things soon come crashing down after a tragedy occurs.

The story is engrossing, the characters are interesting, and I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of it that I hadn’t expected. It reminds us that most people aren’t living the lives they display on social media. This book definitely lives up to the hype!

3.5 stars

Reviewing this book is going to be almost like talking about two separate stories. I adored the first part (49% since I read an e-book version)! It was quintessential Weiner at her finest, with a story about a plus size social media influencer who is just starting to accept herself and her life for who she is. We start to get a glimpse of how hard this has been when a blast from her school age past enters the picture. This brings back all sorts of memories of insecurities and wanting to belong no matter the cost to ones' self esteem. It was fabulous! I loved the character of Daphne, the description of her job, her parents, her roommate, and her newfound confidence. Then we move on to the second half of the book which ends up being a murder mystery. HUH?? The story was okay I guess, there wasn't a dropoff in the writing quality, but I just found myself saying "why did we have to go there?" I'm getting tired of writers feeling like they have to include some sort of mystery with a big twist in order to sell books. Have we really resorted to readers only having attention spans so short that we have to have something exciting happen to like a book? Anyway, you get the idea here, I'll get off my soapbox now :)

I recommend you read this one with the following in mind. If you love the first half, just know that you may feel a bit letdown by the direction it takes. If you are not a fan of the first half, skip over to part two and you'll hopefully find more of what you are looking for.

My first book by this author, and I loved it! This was such a binge-worthy book. I had no idea what to expect when going in other than I was looking for a great summer-themed read. The main character, Daphne, is easy to fall in love with. Her best friend from her past named Drue, is not. Their paths are joined again when Drue asks Daphne to be a bridesmaid at her giant Instagram-worthy wedding, and Daphne, an Instagram influencer for plus-sized women, chooses to go. I loved the perspective of Daphne and learning how her life as an influencer is day-to-day. Her experiences as a teenager and young adult did not feel cliche or superficial at all. There was a good amount of everything I love about a book: shocking moments, well-developed characters (there are a lot but she features the main ones perfectly), and a juicy plot. I also thought the author paced the book well, especially with such a shift in genre that I wasn’t expecting! This was a total page-turner and a delight to read. I can’t rave it about it more!

I absolutely loved Big Summer! It addresses fat-shaming, influencer culture, the toxicity of social media, and so much more. Although I can’t talk about my favorite part of the book without spoilers, I loved how everything came together at the end. The plot had me completely hooked from the opening chapter, I couldn’t put this one down. I’d definitely recommend this one if you’re looking for the perfect beach (or pretend beach) read!

*Disclaimer: I received an advance copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I was spellbound from the beginning and finished this in one sitting. When things became twisty in the middle of the book I was completely unprepared for it and found I could not stop reading until I reached the riveting conclusion
Jennifer Weiner explores some heavy issues in this one around social media, societal views on women, and women's body image.

A wonderful summer read

This book was fun and poignant. I love that it considered some "heavy" issues, like body acceptance/positivity, the difficulties that arise in female friendships, and the false narratives of social media while leaning into gorgeous settings like Cape Cod and NYC. Daphne was a complex narrator, and I think anyone could see something of themselves in her.

I was sucked into the mystery, and finished the second half of the book in a breeze. The TWIST was GREAT!

I would and have absolutely already recommended this to friends. It's convinced me I need to read much more by Jennifer Weiner!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you Netgalley and Atria for the gifted copy.

I have been reading Jennifer Weiner's books since she published Good in Bed years ago. I must say that I feel like Big Summer deviated from her normal plot lines, and you know what - it kind of worked for me.

Big Summer is about a girl named Daphne, who is a plus sized social media influencer. She gets asked to be in her former best friend's wedding, which she agrees to because she feels guilty. Plus it's a summer wedding at the Cape - the perfect scenario to showcase the clothes for her new instagram partner. Everything seems to be going fine; the setup is magnificent, and Daphne even meets an interesting man at the rehearsal dinner. But then everything comes crashing to a halt - and I'm not going to tell you why, because #spoilers.

This is where the book fell a little short for me. The first half was similar to the author's past books, but the second half of the book takes an entirely new spin. It just didn't mesh well for me. I liked both parts independently but I felt like it abruptly changed course. The second half of the book moved quickly and kept me entertained, don't get me wrong.

Overall, an entertaining read that's definitely good for the beach or pool! 3.5 stars, rounded to 4.

Big summer is about a plus size influencer Daphne Berg. Drue Cavanuaugh who was a childhood friend but not so much now. She asks Daphne to be in her wedding in Cape Cod. What starts out with wedding preparations ends up a murder mystery. It has some twists and turns and a thoroughly enjoyable book. A great summer read. Thank you NetGalley and Atria books for the early ARC. This is my own opinion.

I'm a huge Jennifer Weiner fan and eagerly looked forward to reading Mrs. Everything. Sadly, this is one book of hers that disappointed me.

Bethie was the favored child, pretty and sweet. Jo was the opposite of Bethie; large and awkward. She was her dad's favorite, although she really wanted and needed her mom's love, which mostly went to Bethie.

I enjoyed the competition between the two sisters, but I didn't enjoy the relationship between Jo and her mom. I also didn't enjoy the various dramas in her extended family, some of which were so bad they were criminal.

My friends really enjoyed Mrs. Everything, but I was the outlier. The author made it up in Big Summer, which I loved. I was so happy to get Jennifer Weiner back!