THAT SUMMER is just the kind of summer/beach read I like—there’s a beach setting, interesting characters, and a propulsive plot, but it has depth, too! this book tackles some really difficult subject matter; painful pasts, sexual assault, and the #MeToo movement are central to this story. @jenniferweinerwrites addresses cancel culture, what justice looks like, and who should atone for their transgressions, all without being heavy-handed in any way. I think this would make for a great book club read: there are so many important issues to discuss yet it’s packaged in a way that is accessible and readable. this is my favorite book of hers so far! 4.5/5⭐️—I really liked it!

3.5 stars

That Summer. That fateful, life changing Summer.

Daisy Shoemaker is mother living on the Main Line in Philadelphia. Her teenage daughter who is a handful and a successful husband who is distant. Life should be great, but she has insomnia and is intrigued by emails she has been receiving. Emails that belong to Diana Starling who has an almost similar email address. Soon the two women begin emailing each other and decide to meet.

One meeting. One fateful, life changing meeting.

Jennifer Weiner takes readers on a journey showing how two women have a connection. How they form a relationship and how it plays out in both of their lives. I do not want to give too much away but this book is about power, manipulation, lies, hurt, accountability, friendship, starting over, truth, and examines why people do what they do. This book is timely and has themes relating to the #MeToo movement. Do not let the title fool you, this is not about beach living or gazing at summer sunsets on the beach. This book deals with serious subject matter.

The book is told in two timelines and it took me a little time to get the flow of it. But soon, I did not mind, and the second half of the book flew by.

Compelling, thought provoking and timely.

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.

What's the connection between Daisy and Diana? Diana is thrilled to work as a summer helper on Cape Cod until, on her next to last night there, something awful happens which colors the rest of her life. Daisy, whose real name is Diana, lives in Pennsylvania with her husband Hal and daughter Beatrice. She's been getting email for another Diana and one night she impulsively reaches out to her. This sets up a dance by Diana, whose true purpose in arranging to meet is not at all clear to Daisy. What Diana has to reveal, however, blows up Daisy's whole world, right down to why her husband calls her Daisy. I love the characters in this novel not just Diana and Daisy but also, and especially, Beatrice. The topical plot zips along and the settings, especially on the Cape are terrific. Anyone who has spent time there will recognize it (those from Baltimore might scratch their heads about how someone could cross the yellow line on Roland Avenue in Roland Park). As always with a Weiner novel, the food is almost a character, although here it's even more high profile because Daisy teaches others to cook. Weiner has a terrific storytelling style and her writing flows nicely. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is a page turner that resonated. Highly recommend.

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner touched me to the core with its heartwarming story of female friendship, marriage and deeply buried pain. This was my first Jennifer Weiner read and the book kept me hooked from the beginning!! I am looking forward to pick up her another novel, Big Summer!!

It’s a story about two Diana’s who share same email address with a minor difference and end up meeting each other and becoming close friends. As the story unfolds, it peels a layer after layer revealing ugly truth, about a incident that had happened a long time ago and how it shatters first and rebuilds everyone’s life!

Daina, now called Daisy by her lawyer husband Hal has given up her dream of making her mark in food industry to be a home maker taking care of her teenage daughter Beatrice and her family. Her path crosses with this ambitious Diana who is a admiration to Daisy and reminds her of dreams she has given up in life. They develop very strong transformative friendship over time. She eventually learns some ugly secret that reveals that her friendship with Diana was not accidental!!

I devoured author’s narration with the intricacy of the character build and their stories! That Summer releases on May 11th, so don’t forget to pack this copy on your next summer vacation!!

Thank you atriabooks and netgalley for the advance copy of this beauty in exchange of my honest review!

Jennifer takes a solemn turn with her new beach read by dealing with the sensitive subject of rape. Exposing the long-term damage, emotional toll, and heartbreaking loss that one act of selfish and vile behavior can do, Jennifer handles the topic with deep compassion and respect for the victim. Don’t let this solemn subject turn you away from the book, though. It’s written with such care; the setting is beautiful, and you’ll meet some wonderful characters along the way. It’s definitely something that needs to be talked about in the open, and this book does that in such a tasteful way.
Daisy gave up her degree and career when she met her perfect mate, but after years of being a homemaker, she feels like she’s missing something valuable in her life. By coincidence, she meets a talented and successful woman, and they become instant friends. But the Diana she gets to know has a secret life, one that seems picture-perfect, married to an absolute teddy bear sweetheart of a husband, so why does she hide it?
As the past rushes forward to mesh with the present, it’s inevitable that a painful reckoning must happen. How can a talented writer, even one as eloquent as Jennifer Weiner, take the jagged edges and the horrible truths, and shape them into something salvageable for a future? How can her characters rise above the anger and shame? This story and how it’s written will stay with you long after the last page.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date was May 11, 2021.

Weiner has become queen of the summer beach reads. She's one of the few authors I have continued to read over the years. While you can feel the writing is Weiner she does a good job of not making her books not formula-ish. While I enjoyed this one I did like it as much as Big Summer. This one was surprisingly more serious than I had exepcted. and touches on the topic of rape. Not quite the light hearted beach read I was expecting. The story follows two Diana's and it doesn't become clear until the middle how they connected. I'd say this one is a bit more contemporary lit than women's lit and exlpores trauma, mother/daughter relationships, and a bit of the metoo movement.

*Thank you to Attria and NetGalley for arc in exchange for an honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for gifting me a digital ARC of the latest book by Jennifer Weiner - 4.5 stars rounded up for a book that is much more than a beach read.

Daisy is married to Hal, a wealthy lawyer, and mother to teenage non-conformist, Beatrice, and they are living in a suburb of Philadelphia. Although Daisy has a business teaching people how to cook, she has begun to feel dissatisfied with her life and the way she is being treated by her husband as someone there just to keep things going in the household. She begins receiving emails addressed to another Diana S (her real name) - this Diana seems to have a much more fulfilling and exciting life. The two decide to meet and become friends. However, her new friend might not be telling her the whole truth.

I loved this book - besides the wonderful setting of Cape Cod, these are real characters with real, deep, painful emotions. Told in the voices of both Diana and Daisy, along with Beatrice, this is a story of coming to grips with the past and how it changes how we see ourselves, as well as how others see us. This is a #MeToo story but really makes you think about how we've let boys be boys and how our daughters may absorb all that. This is Jennifer Weiner at her best - giving us a story that transports us to summer but makes us really think about some tough issues.

What a great concept for a book. Daisy Shoemaker, is discontented with her life. She shouldn’t be but its keeping her up at night. Misdirected emails are sent to Daisy. These emails meant for Diana Starling, shows Diana to have a far more eventful and fulfilling life. When she responds to a invitation meant for Diana, Daisy is immediately contacted by Diana. Could it be phishing? The book falls apart for me, and the character I like best is Daisy’s defiant daughter. But what started out as an interesting plot turned into a story filled with stereotypical characters.

I was very excited to receive a copy of this book and I absolutely loved it!
Daisy and Diana have nearly identical email addresses, and Daisy forwards exciting-sounding emails meant for Diana. A friendship forms by email, and they decide to meet in New York for a drink. So begins a story that visits the Main Line suburbs, the Outer Cape, and a prep school in New Hampshire.
I've been a huge Jennifer Weiner's fan for years and I've been impressed with her recent books, not staying with her normal format. This is defiantly not a light "beach read" - it's a serious look at the life-long effects of one woman being sexually assaulted at such a young impressionable age - 15. Weiner explores different generational responses to the #metoo movement, partner dynamics, and it home for where I am in my life right now and having a 15-year old daughter.
Highly recommended it - Beatrice with confidence said to the boy, "Maybe later, but right now, I'm just getting started."
Thank you to #NetGalley and #Atria Books for an ARC of #ThatSummer in exchange for my honest opinion, book comes out #May11th,2021.

I always loved vacationing in Cape Cod as a teenager, so the setting of this story immediately drew me in. However for Diana, it wasn’t quite the happy summer she had been looking forward to.

Years later, Daisy crosses paths with Diana after mistakenly receiving emails that were intended for her. When the two meet, a friendship begins to blossom, but Diana has ulterior motives for getting close to Daisy and it all leads back to that summer in Cape Cod.

I enjoyed reading this and thought it was perfect for summer, but I didn’t like it as much as Jennifer Weiner’s previous books. I felt like there wasn’t enough subtlety as far as alluding to certain details that would leave the reader guessing. It seemed like for a good portion of the book I was just waiting for the other characters to find out the truth while I already knew what had happened.

It was a good summer read, I just wish there had been a bit more mystery spread out through the story.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3970302214

I have always been a fan of Jennifer Weiner's writing, so I go into her novels expecting something great. With That Summer, I was, once again, not disappointed by my expectations.

The story is well told and interesting throughout. I liked both Daisy and Diana, but I really liked seeing Diana's story progress through the years. While foreshadowing made the story feel predictable in parts, I also wanted to see how things would go from point A to point B and what the outcome would be. I liked seeing Beatrice's perspective, as well. Her fashion choices sounded so creative. Jennifer has a good grasp of the teenage point-of-view and should try her hand at a young adult novel sometime. (I know she has written middle grade novels.)

The food descriptions made me hungry and Jennifer, as usual, wrote a really steamy bedroom scene that I enjoyed. I felt like there were too many location descriptions though. A large amount of the story was telling us what a room looked like. I also didn't feel like Hal's perspective was necessary and it didn't make him a sympathetic character.

What I liked the most was that this novel covered a relevant topic in a sensitive and thoughtful way. I like how Jennifer weaved in some current events without naming names.

There's a spoiler for Big Summer toward the beginning of this novel, so be sure to read that one first! Afterward, you'll want to devour this one for sure!

Movie casting ideas:
Daisy: Zoe Kazan
Diana (present): Elizabeth Berkley
Diana (past): Elizabeth Lail
Hal: Michael Vartan
Beatrice: Jessica Cherniak
Michael (past): Paul Walter Hauser
Michael (present): John DiMaggio

I have to say this book was a little confusing for me. The book took a while to get into and although the two Diane's would make sense later on in the book, it was hard to follow in the beginning. I also think the cover is misleading. I was expecting a fun summer beach read but the story line has a much more serious undertone.

With that said, I still enjoyed the book. This book talks about rape and holding men accountable for their actions. I’m sure many people can relate to the #metoo movement and the feelings Diane had throughout the story. I would rate this book 3.5.

I really enjoyed the author's last novel, Big Summer, and was hoping this one would be the same. However, I wouldn’t compare this one to the other because they are a good deal different. While this novel had me glued and guessing from the beginning, Diana’s emotions got to be more than I wanted to handle by the end of the novel. I did enjoy the storylines of both Daisy and Beatrice, despite this fact. The author did a nice job of writing these perspectives as they related to Diana’s storyline. You might enjoy this one if you like multiple perspectives or a novel that twists with revolutions throughout.

First off, I love the premise of realizing you can be married to someone for years and have them suddenly become a stranger to you, an idea which underlies a lot of women's fiction and domestic thrillers.

Last Summer is the story of three women (Diana, Daisy and Beatrice) whose lives are interconnected. I loved Diana. I found her journey really moving and thought it was by far the best part of the story. Jennifer Weiner excels at creating relatable (white upper middle class) characters that, to that demographic of women's fiction readers, feel completely familiar. Diana could be their sister, their best friend, even themselves.

Like its companion book, Big Summer, That Summer straddles genres in a way that at times felt confusing and confounding. For a long time, the book felt like it was going in the direction of a thriller/revenge story, but then it suddenly veered away from that. The plot seemed to be building to something dramatic, but then didn't go in that direction. The treatment of the issues raised (don't want to say more due to spoilers) was sometimes interesting but then other times felt stilted.

Last Summer would make a good book club book as there's a lot to talk about. It does raise interesting questions even if I wasn't always completely satisfied with the way it did that.

I have read every one of Jennifer Weiner's books ever since I fell in love with her debut Good In Bed published 20 yrs ago. To say I am a fan is an understatement. Ms Weiner is a genius at writing feel good books about feel good heroines who are average women. Women that anyone can relate to & fall in love with. I highly recommend this book to everyone

That Summer, by Jennifer Weiner, is a powerful story about family, friendship, and responsibility. This story seemed like it was going to be a light beach read, but it turned into so much more. There were multiple storylines throughout the book, but I enjoyed them all and was never disappointed when it was time to jump to a new one.

I don't want to give too much away, but please DM me if you are interested in trigger warnings.

The ending to this story was a bit disappointing in my opinion. I wish she had dedicated more time and more pages to wrapping up the book.

Overall, I definitely recommend this book for a light read on a heavy topic.

Somehow, That Summer is only my third book by Jennifer Weiner, but I definitely need to dive into her backlist because I devoured this novel. I could NOT put it down. It’s (1) a great summer read (and it’s finally feeling like summer!); (2) a book with an important social issue at its core; (3) a suspenseful revenge story; and (4) a sweet, sincere romance.

That Summer is the story of three women: Diana, Daisy (whose real name is Diana), and Daisy’s daughter Beatrice. The novel opens with Diana, a fifteen-year-old girl working as a mother’s helper for the summer at Truro. She loves the job and is gaining confidence in who she is and who she wants to be, thrilled to have found friends with whom to bond and older boys with whom to flirt.

The book then moves to Daisy, who is realizing that something is not quite right with her life. She loves her husband Hal and her daughter Beatrice, but she’s lonely—Beatrice is away at boarding school, and Hal is busy with his job. Daisy loves her own work, teaching people to cook, but she’s lonely. Her best friend just died, and her casual acquaintances just aren’t the same. So, when she starts receiving emails for another woman at her address by mistake, she can’t help but be drawn in by that woman’s glamorous, busy life. She forwards the messages to this other woman, and they strike up a conversation that seems as if it could lead to true friendship.

I’ll say little more because the way this novel unwinds, the way it weaves through Daisy’s story and Diana’s history and then loops in Beatrice, is just a joy. Yes, there were elements that I saw coming, but this isn’t a book whose success lies in shock and surprise. Instead, it’s a book whose brilliance lies in these characters, these women who seem all too real. I just loved it.

Note: There are elements that may be triggering for some readers.

I REALLY wanted to love this book, but I found it to be slow, repetitive and wordy. To be honest, I could have skipped chapters and not missed out on any part of the book.

Daisy Shoemaker lives a life of privilege in the Philadelphia suburbs, however she is not fulfilled. Her husband is distant, her daughter is difficult and her work can feel flat. When she starts to accidentally receive emails from Diana Starling, the two strike up a friendship, despite their outward differences. Diana is a sophisticated, single, woman with a high powered career. As time goes on, we learn that there is more to both of these women than meets the eye. And they are more connected and similar that they originally let on to. Who is Diana, really? And Why is she so interested in Daisy and her life?

These are two women connected to each other because of ugly life events. There are moments of weakness and strength between both of them. The character development was slow - their connection took a long time to be made, making for a very slow and at times confusing start to the book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for my advanced reader copy!

At first I thought I was reading a different book, since it started with a teenage summer. Then it propelled forward to what the summary describes, two women who have a supposedly happenstance meeting through email. A very good book. I feel like Weiner has come far from her earlier days of chick lit fluff, which I also enjoyed.

A story of friendship between two Diana's. Or so it seems until some dark secrets surface. A little too drawn out but a good summer read.