If you’re like me and thought maybe The Summer We Forgot would be kind of like Caroline’s George’s previous novel, Dearest Josephine let me tell you right off the bat, it is not like it at all.

The Summer We Forgot is located in Florida’s panhandle, on a strip of highway known as Highway 30A, or as most of the characters call it, 30A. I was kind of confused at the beginning, I thought they were speaking about an apartment building, oops! 30A caters to the rich, renters, part-timers, and retirees. It opens up with Darby speaking with the police but then switches to her telling us about her family life, her friendship with Eliza Becker, and her former best friend Morgan who she is trying to convince herself that she is now over.

Darby and Eliza go to Kip DiMarco’s party, they don’t plan on staying that long, she doesn’t want to see Morgan but invariably she does. They haven’t seen a lot of their friends like Morgan, Cyrus, or Spooner but at this party they do. The party is the catalyst for the summer none of them remember.

The next day, a body is discovered and it’s the body of their science teacher Dr. Horowitz, and it’s obvious he has been murdered. The thing is no one remembers that summer they were all camp counselors at Camp Choctawhatchee.

I tried to like this The Summer We Forgot but I just didn't connect with the story or the characters, and I did want to. I've read plenty of YA, but this was just too cheesy for me. I felt as if I had watched this as a movie, which I haven't because I am not that kind of movie watcher. I even figured out who was anonymously texting some of the characters, and who was ultimately willing to kill for his purposes. This just wasn't my jam, but will I check out future Caroline George novels, you bet!
My Gratitude to Thomas Nelson and Netgalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

"The Summer We Forgot" by Caroline George is about a group of teenage friends that have grown apart, but a murder brings them together. I really wanted to like this book, but I had a hard time getting into it. Maybe because it is a young adult novel?

I received this book from the publisher for my honest opinion.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

It is about a group of friends who are not friends anymore due to some event which happened a couple of years ago. I really wanted to like this book but the writing style didn't let me. I read 80 pages in hope of feeling something about characters but couldn't. so DNFed it after 80 pages.

A group of camp counselor friends had lost touch over the last few years, but when one of their teachers body’s is discovered in the lake near the camp they attended, they're pulled back together by the police investigation. The only problem is, none of them can remember anything about the summer they spent at the camp. As they try to piece together scraps of memory, it seems someone really doesn’t want them to remember what happened.

The Summer We Forgot was fun but ultimately a difficult plot to believe. The story is told in two points of view: Darby and Morgan’s. The ‘huge issue’ that happened to cause Darby and Morgan to not speak for two years was....lame at best, even when I tried to view it through teenage eyes. The story was also a bit disjointed and seemed to move far too slowly for a murder mystery.

Other than one scene, the ‘scare factor’ was quite lacking. The messages the friends received from the suspected blackmailer were lackluster and the videos they were so terrified of the blackmailer revealing were ridiculously tame.

I think this one will be enjoyed by teens just getting into the murder mystery genre, or who can relate to the characters in this story a little better

Best friends and childhood sweethearts Darby and Morgan were camp counselors 2 summers ago. And that's all they can rememer, Since then, they haven't been friends. And the guy in charge of the camp disappeared. So what happened to him? And what happened at that camp that made all of the camp counselors forget the whole summer? This was a fun mystery that I think my students will enjoy, as long as they can get past the first little part which drags a bit. No bad language, no sex scenes, just a mystery and the teens involved in it.

This was my first book to read by this author but I hope to read more soon! The characters and the story stay with you long after you finish it. Good, fast read. Highly recommend!!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. All of the opinions given are my own and have been given nothing for my review.

This book is a slow burn that will keep you up all night flipping pages.
It is a bit slower than I usually like my books to be.

The Summer We Forgot by Caroline George is a teen mystery. Darby and Morgan haven’t to each other for 2 years. However, when their former teacher’s body is discovered at the summer camp they attended, they realize that they have no idea what transpired. They cannot remember, and neither can any of their other friends. They begin to investigate that summer and what transpired. They are drawn into secrets forgotten or buried. I found this book confusing and slow paced. It was difficult for me to keep up with the characters. I didn’t really enjoy this book, which is surprising because I do enjoy this author. I have received an advance review copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

Even as an adult this coming of age book really resonated with me. I had many moments of reflection during this book. Thinking of young love and friendship. The great times and the times of loss. This book really did a great job of exploring all the things that come with a transition into adulthood. The people who we miss and how they change us, and how those that we think we will hold on to forever have a way of drifting away. A great book!

Somehow a group of teenagers, best friends, have all forgotten a whole summer. That is until a body turns up in the swamps and forces them to deal with the past and the things they have forgotten. Everyone has lies and no one is perfect so everyone becomes a suspect. At times the language felt overly flowery and unnecessary and repetitive. It was also too long at almost 400 pages but in places it was an engaging read.

I fell in love with Caroline George’s writing when I read “Dearest Josephine.” This book has such a different feel from that one, but it’s just as powerful and I love the writing just as much.

This coming-of-age murder mystery kept me guessing until the very end. The suspense slowly builds from page one and ramps up faster and faster with every page turned. Mysteries tangle as suspects trip over each other and just when you think it can’t get any worse - it does. I loved it!

I also appreciated how the author incorporates past trauma and healing into the mystery. The friend group realizes trauma can’t be forgotten but needs to be brought into the light and worked through for true healing to occur. The theme of identity carries through the book as each friend struggles with what they may have done, who they are, and what defines them.

I have no doubt this book will resonate with young adults who are figuring out who they are and what their impact on the world will be. I think it will also help some older readers find the courage to address their past and find true healing at last. As George states in her author note at the end, “You’re not what people have done to you. You’re not what you’ve done to yourself. You’re not the past. You’re the future. Not what’s been done. What you’ll do.”

Thanks to the publisher for providing an eARC of The Summer We Forgot in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I'm genuinely stunned this author also wrote Dearest Josephine? While I do think Caroline George's narration style is a tad stronger there, I can't imagine being able to jump genres and styles this well and she deserves serious props for that.

This was a pretty good teen mystery which is saying a lot because I tend to find teen mysteries lacking in the actual mystery department. I do think it lags a bit in the middle but all in all, I quickly became invested in finding out what and why our MC couldn't remember and remained invested until the end.

Well. I can officially say that Caroline George is one of my favorite authors. I fell madly in love with Dearest Josephine at the beginning of 2021, and the minute I heard the pitch for The Summer We Forgot, I knew I needed it in my life. A murder mystery with a second-chance romance and all the Florida vibes? Yes please!

Happy to report, it did not disappoint.

First of all I need to say that Caroline George's writing style is everything (to me, at least, lol), and the fact that she wrote two entirely different books with entirely different vibes and settings, but both felt so Caroline George to me? iconic.

I was invested in the entire 30A gang immediately, in all their broken pieces and all the things they'd buried deep inside. The feeling of being in a Florida coast town were perfection. I was rooting for Darby and Morgan the whole time. Each twist of the plot kept me on my toes as layers of the mystery were peeled away and memories slowly returned.

Where DJ is about how we feel when people leave our lives abruptly and too soon, TSWF is about the relationships we don't necessarily intend to lose, the people who just drift out of our lives over time until they're strangers you share memories with. It was bittersweet and beautiful and I loved every second of it. I already can't wait to read it again when it properly releases.

((also yes Morgan is prime book boyfriend material... just sayin'))

Content-wise, there are obviously some kinda gruesome murder details, a few kisses, the mention of attempted sexual assault, some scary kidnapping scenarios, but all handled with tact and grace.

Five stars from me!

**I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. A positive review was not required. All opinions are my own.**

This. Book. Y’all. I am...genuinely shooketh. I LOVED Dearest Josephine, but this is my favorite novel from her so far. The voice is strong, characters relatable, and so utterly YA...it’s not fair how good of a writer she is. The mystery is an added bonus to an already vivid story with relatable characters and haunting emotional beats.

I DNFed this at 5%. It feels like I’m missing something and reading a different book then everyone else. I just could not get into the writing style and was absolutely confused by it. The pacing was just so weird. I usually love YA mystery/thrillers, Karen M. McManus is one of my favorite YA authors. This one just wasn’t for me. All views and opinions expressed in this review are fully my own. Thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for a copy of the arc in return for an honest review!

This was a decent teenage mystery book! A very typical YA with Angst and heightened drama that you have worked hard to forget as an adult.

In The Summer We Forgot, we meet Darby and Morgan -- they haven’t spoken in years years and don't plan too. But when their science teacher is found where they attended camp they realize they need to work together to uncover the murderer. Both of the character's POV's make up this twisty book.

There is enough background on each character to feel invested and to root for them. and you won't guess the whole complete mystery until the end. If you want to revisit those days of frenemies and summer camp - The Summer We Forgot is the book for you!

I did not realize this book was a YA thriller when I requested it. I don't typically read YA novels. This was a decent murder mystery book, and I enjoyed the author's writing style. It took me a while to get into this book, as it was just very slow paced. A YA fan would really love this novel, but it was just not for me.

I’m clearly in the minority when it comes to reviewing this book and I think the main reason I couldn’t get on with this book was because of the pace.
This book was slower than my grandma.
It took me a million years to reach the 50% mark and even then, nothing had really happened.

I didn’t really enjoy Caroline’s other book so maybe it’s her writing which isn’t for me but I can understand how some readers would have enjoyed this story.
Besides the pacing, it took me ages to work out who was who. The book is split between Darby and Morgan’s chapters and for a long time I thought they were both boys. A lot of things weren’t clear and I was very confused.
I also thought the messages they were getting were sort of…pathetic? I don’t know the right word for it but it just seemed a bit eye-roll worthy to me.
I also think there was a whole lot of build up about a dead science teacher for a whole lot of nothing in the end. But that’s just my thoughts.

<i>I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

The blurb was interesting. I enjoyed the multiple POV's, and the author did a good job making Darby and Morgan distinct. The mystery was interesting. I didn't get as invested in the characters as I would've liked. I liked the unique format which included interviews with the counselors and detectives. There were a few unexpected twists, and I enjoyed the latter half more than the first part.