On the surface, Daisy Shoemaker has the perfect life: a doting lawyer husband, a loving daughter, and her own cooking business. But underneath, she's full of doubts. Her husband is distant, her teenage daughter resentful, and her business--just something to keep her "occupied." Daisy's been receiving emails lately, meant for another woman named Diana, Daisy's given name. This Diana, a business consultant, seems glamorous and wealthy. When Diana invites Daisy to lunch, she impulsively says yes. But as the two form a friendship, Daisy starts to wonder if their connection was purely accidental. What exactly does Diana want from Daisy?

"For the last six months, Daisy had been receiving emails that she realized were intended not for her, but for the other Diana."

This is not a light and airy beach read, but a serious book that focuses in on the recent #MeToo topic. Much of the book doesn't even take place on the promised Cape setting. Does that mean it's not worth a read? Not at all. Weiner's constructed a compelling and heartfelt tale, with characters that pull you into the story. It feels a little reminiscent of some other #MeToo stories I've read recently, but I was still glued to the pages, wondering what had happened in Diana's past and how things would turn out for everyone.

There's a bit of a mystery here, but it's not too hard to figure out how everything pieces together. The real focus is the characters. We have Daisy, insecure and struggling in her marriage to Hal, a wealthy and arrogant man more than a decade older than her. It's clear Hal takes Daisy for granted--and that may be letting him off easy. Their daughter, Beatrice, was a favorite of mine: an original teen, with her own unique way of living her life. Beatrice's scenes stood out; she's a character I won't soon easily forget. We also have Daisy's brother, Danny, and his husband Jesse. And then there's the "other" Diana, who worms her way into Daisy's life. Can we trust her? Diana was a memorable character to me as well, along with someone close to her. (I don't want to say much more for spoilers.)

The book is told mainly from Daisy, Diana, and Beatrice's perspectives. It goes back and forth in time. It's a little confusing in the beginning, getting the timeline straight and how all the characters relate. Once I got that down, it was a fast read. Some of it may be a little predictable, but it's in turns sad, heartwarming, and funny. I loved Beatrice, as mentioned, and the dynamic between Daisy and Diana was well-written. Weiner does a good job of exploring how class and privilege relate to sexual assault (a definite trigger warning for rape in this story) and the repercussions of rape across individuals, families, and friends. She focuses, too, on the importance of accepting those you love for who they are, no strings attached.

Overall, I'm quite glad I picked this one up. Despite some of the vague familiarity to other #MeToo books, for the most part, it felt refreshing and interesting. It certainly held my attention and brought to light the important topic of rape and its aftermath. The characters here are well-drawn, and I'll always have a place in my heart for dear Beatrice.

Jennifer Weiner is an automatic read author for me, especially since I've really enjoyed her last few books. I have very mixed feelings about this one though.
Daisy is a suburban wife who is satisfied as long as she doesn't think too much about her life. She is mysteriously contacted by Diana and strikes up a friendship. But Diana has ulterior motives for getting into Daisy's life.
I didn't like this book, although I don't think you're supposed to "like" it. Weiner writes about a heavier topic here and shows a woman looking for her own type of revenge. I admire what she was writing about but I'm not sure I would read this again if I'd known what it was about or if I would ever suggest this book to anyone. Not a total miss but not a light and cheery summer book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reader copy.

Important, poignant and intense. This novel needs to be read. Loved the characters. Cried laughed cheered and hoped for redemption.

I really enjoyed this one! It felt a little slow at times but I loved how well both daisy and Diana’s perspectives were written. My favorite was Beatrice but the author did a phenomenal job tackling the delicate subject of sexual assault.

That Summer by Jennifer Weiner is an engrossing and relevant book. She tackles s subject that in one way or another affects most women at some point in their lives.

This is a tough review to write, for several reasons. First, it’s hard to describe much of the plot without spoiling it. Basically, a tragic incident occurs during “That Summer” when one character was young, and two women with the same name meet up as adults, with one seeking resolution for her trauma. But second, while I know this probably makes me a terrible / unempathetic person, I found the main characters so weak and unlikeable – one unwilling to take responsibility for moving past her trauma and willfully choosing to wallow in it for decades, and the other unwilling to stand up for herself in even the smallest of ways and having a completely miserable life as a result. The assault in “That Summer” is of course horrific and deserves retribution; by no means do I blame the victim for it happening. But it really bothered me that the victim let it rule her entire life, not even seeking counseling for years afterward. (And whatever mental health professional she ended up seeing seemed to not be very good, given that she seemed to be encouraged to get revenge rather than dealing with her pain in a healthy way.) Having unfortunately suffered a similar trauma when I was a naive college student, I couldn’t relate to a woman who chose to allow it to define and destroy her life rather than moving on. While it was interesting to see the twists and turns as more information was revealed, the beginning was very slow and the initial mystery of who suffered “That Summer” too contrived – it didn’t add all that much to the story to slowly mix in the past, rather than leading with it to remove the reader’s (clearly intentional) confusion. Overall, this book was mildly thought-provoking, but fairly depressing.

This is the story about two women at crossroads, uncertain about the direction of their lives. And how their unusual meeting influences both of their directions going forward.

I learned my lesson from the first book by this author, in that the cover and beginning of the story may not match the overall plot. Like the story Big Summer (which has a loose connection to this one), the beginning of this story is sweet as a young girl has a dream summer on the Cape, serving as au pair for two young friends, and meeting some new friends. However, this book takes a darker turn one tragic night for a young teen named Diana.

The story is told from two POVs both told in the third person.
*** Diana's story is one of a downward spiral as she can't recover from the events of "that summer". I couldn't blame her, especially given she decided to keep it a secret, giving her no emotional support to get better. But she is given a new opportunity, one that surprisingly helps her to reestablish a life for herself, and for the first time, think about healing.
***Daisy life is not necessarily in a downward spiral but is stagnant. She's lost enthusiasm for any part of her life and is struggling with her daughter she can't connect with. She has a nice home (thanks to her husband Hal), she has the money (also thanks to Hal). However, it is becoming clear to her that money can't buy happiness.

Both women's lives change when they accidentally connect via email, and for some odd reason, decide to meet. The whole setup seemed strange, and with time, it becomes clear that it wasn't actually an accident. And all the pieces quickly fall into place (which I won't divulge).

I didn't feel any of the revelations in the book were shocking, although it was sad to see how some people justified their actions. While I wasn't on board with Diana's methods of healing, I think in the long run, it suited both women and gave them some peace for once in their lives. Overall, an entertaining read and perfect for the summer.

Oh how I loved every minute of this fantastic book by the incredible author Jennifer Weiner.. This book was pure perfection and I am beyond grateful that I had the pleasure to read it in advance of it being published...

That Summer doesn’t come out for another month, but I keep thinking about the book, so here we are. I enjoyed the story in and of itself—interesting characters and engaging plot. But the book is also such a smart, thoughtful, and balanced commentary on sexual assault.

Of course Weiner paints a sympathetic portrait of the victim, and rightly so—but, in my opinion, that’s the easy part. What I especially appreciate is how she handles the other side. We don’t talk about this much, but sexual assault has a lasting and damaging affect on the aggressor, too. When we are violent against another living being, it poisons us. Maybe some people can hide the fallout better than others, but there is no denying the soul scar that’s left behind. It’s like a scab that never quite heals. A weight that can never be lifted and thrown aside.

I really appreciate Weiner’s ability to show how awful sexual assault is for the victim, as well as how carrying around hate and committing acts of violence against other humans actually robs the aggressor of his power and internal peace. Overall, an affecting, intelligent, and satisfying read.

What childhood memories do we carry with us and how do they determine our actions? Jennifer Weiner has again created a landscape we can all relate to in some way.

Jennifer Weiner has such a wonderful way of weaving character development and fabulous storylines together to make magic. That Summer is a read that will stick with me for quite some time. You almost don't know what to think or where the story is going next, which makes it a more exciting read than I thought it would be.

I'm beginning to think that Jennifer Weiner's writing style just isn't my favorite thing. Don't get me wrong, she is a fantastic author but I definitely prefer dialogue heavy writing and hers is much more sophisticated (yes, I am trying to say I like the easier reads where less thinking is involved, sue me). If I take away my feelings towards the writing style, I can see the great plot development, the character development, and what makes her stories so intriguing to others.

Jennifer Weiner is an auto-read author to me and I could not wait to dive into That Summer. Like with her book, Big Summer, I liked that I wasn't sure what direction this book was going in based off the synopsis and the first few chapters.

For a book that deals with the #MeToo movement and the repercussions for men behaving badly, I think this is an important book and handled the subject matter in a very honest way. I thought Weiner did a great job with the way she portrayed Diana, even if I didn't fully agree with her way of confronting those who hurt her. I'm still mixed on how I feel about Daisy, but I feel like that was sort of the point of the character. At times I wanted to root for her when she started to realize what was going on around her, but at other times I wanted to yell at her to wake up and see what was happening to her. I do wish we got a little more in the end, I would've liked to have seen a little more of the fall out with what Hal did and I felt like he kind of deserved more of a punishment for what he did.

I was hooked from the first chapter! I couldn't put this book down, I had to keep reading to see what would happen next, I felt such a mix of emotions towards and for each character. Will officially read anything that Jennifer Weiner writes!

The novel opens fairly conventionally but then pivots into something else and as it grows, meanders and blossoms it becomes much like real life: messy, filled with blurred lines and half-truths. I loved the unpredicability of the story arc and I wanted to constantly comfort the three main characters: Daisy, Diana and Beatrice. I love that they all found their paths to happiness but not in ways that the reader could predict. An achingly good read.
#netgalley #jenniferweiner #atriabooks

I love Jennifer Weiner & this book doesn't disappoint. The story of Daisy & Diana is so rich & interesting. I had a hard time putting the book down. Highly recommend reading this book to see how it all comes together.

I was thrilled when Netgalley and the publisher sent me an eARC of Jennifer Weiner's latest novel. I've been reading her books most of my adult life now. It's been nice to see her writing evolve over time. This book, like Big Summer, is not really a light beach read. I think the publisher needs to make that clearer for readers. Weiner has moved on to taking on heavier subject matter and she does it well. It is interesting to me to see other reviewers upset with her change. Growing is a good thing.

That Summer is about two women, Daisy and Diana, with similar email addresses deciding to meet up and they become friends. However, we quickly learn that one has ulterior motives. That Summer refers to an event in Diana's past that has her stuck. Daisy's unaware she is connected to Diana through people in her life. It was clear how they were connected to the reader early on, but I was not expecting one of the characters to have been involved.

It feels wrong to say I enjoyed this book because the subject matter gets a bit dark. But I did enjoy getting to know the women in this book - Diana, Daisy, and Daisy's daughter, Beatrice. Each chapter was told from a different POV from these three women. I did not like the end when Daisy blames Hal for all the things that she has gone along with in her life. I know she married him young, but at some point she was also responsible for the choices she was making. She talks about making the choice to marry him because she knows she'll be taken care of, but then later it seems like she felt tricked into the life they made together. I was glad things weren't tied up in a nice happy ending. It felt more authentic to have all the characters still dealing with the aftermath.

Overall if you enjoy Weiner's writing you will enjoy this book. If you are looking for a light and fluffy beach read this is not it. If you want more of a character driven story with some depth this is the book for you!

Another good Jennifer Weiner book that is perfect for the summer/beach....the story starts out strong and interesting, but towards the end it became a bit preachy and unrealistic.

I so appreciate this early chance to read Jennifer Weiner’s latest book, That Summer. It’s typically easy to root for her characters and become enthralled with the lives of her rich female characters. I absolutely loved Big Summer (last year’s release) and am a bit disappointed to say that for me, That Summer fell short. The central friendship of the book was based entirely on a lie, and truly stretches the reader to suspend all sense of logic to even accept the basic premise of this novel. The time jumping chapters seemed haphazard and the lack of growth in all the characters was quite a bummer and made it hard to root for even the women we were ‘supposed to’ be sympathetic to. It’s hard to express my critiques without giving away main plot points, but suffice to say that just because a book includes heavy issues that are certainly relevant and important, doesn’t mean these issues are handled well or with any nuance. Kept waiting for a big climax or strong ending and instead the story simply drifted off with no real conclusion at all. Truly pained to have to send a review like this about an author who I really respect and enjoy, but I promised an honest review and want that to have meaning.

Diana was a Promising Young Woman until That Summer. As expected, Jennifer Weiner has her pulse on a timely issue-the #MeToo movement amid the avalanche of sexual assault allegations over the last few years. That Summer sounds like it could be a romance novel, but there's no happily ever after here. Miss Weiner has always been a strong literary advocate for women-and she's at the top of her game with That Summer. What sticks with you most is how society has evolved over the last few decades when it comes to sexual harrassment and abuse-thankfully the attitude of "boys will be boys" is (mostly) behind us. That Summer features strong female characters and writing that vibrates with unleashed fury over the actions of males who treat women like possessions they're entitled to claim. The bond of friendship is the anchor of That Summer, demonstrated by the unlikely alliance between Daisy and Diana. There's a clever nod to Miss Weiner's previous novel Big Summer early on-although the two books are not connected. Make it a point to read That Summer this spring-it's time well spent.