The Best Worst Summer by Elizabeth Eulberg is a fun, engaging mystery that centers around friendship and family troubles. Peyton recently moved to a new town, far from her best friend Lily. While bored and lonely, she weeds the garden in the backyard finding a box filled with mementos from a summer back in 1989--a time capsule. In the box, there is a cryptic message "I'm so sorry. Please forgive me". Peyton is determined to track down the buriers of the box and solve the mystery of the cryptic message.

I really connected to Peyton and Lily's struggling friendship when Peyton moved away and I got sucked into solving the mystery of what happened that summer in 1989 that tore apart Jess and Melissa's friendship. I also loved returning back to 1989, the snippets of songs and turns of phrase brought back many memories (although young readers will not get those references). Finally, I loved that Peyton's new friend, Lucas, is in a wheel chair but it's not the main focus of the book or even his character personality. It's just a small part of who he is.

Thanks to NetGalley for the eARC.

Told in alternating timelines in 1989 and 2021, this adorable book about two sets of best friends hit the mark for me. It is the best summer for Jessica and Melissa who are BFFs in 1989, and the worst summer for Peyton, who has just moved four hours away (which might as well be 100 hours away) from her own best friend. She is very bummed out until she finds a time capsule that Melissa and Jessica buried when they were kids in the 80s, and explores it, and history, with her new friend Lucas. Eulberg takes readers on an adventure they won't soon forget.