The Summer Pact is the latest novel from Emily Giffin and I’m not going to lie, it’s a tough read in that it covers heavy topics like suicide and addiction. It’s a story about friends coming together after an unthinkable tragedy. It’s dark at times, which I found somewhat at odds with the bright, summery cover, but once I got past that, I appreciated it for what it is, a story that explores the bonds of friendship and found family.

The story starts out on a college campus where four students from four different walks of life meet and become the best of friends. When tragedy strikes, three friends are left reeling from the loss and make a pact to always be there for each other no matter what. Ten years later, one of them makes good on the pact which leads them all on the most surprising, healing, and life changing journeys.

I really enjoyed the travel aspect of this book as the three remaining friends each choose a destination they’ve always wanted to visit, and one of them chooses Capri, a place their lost friend always dreamed of visiting, as a way to keep her with them.

Even though I enjoyed the book overall, it wasn’t quite as much of a hit with me as Giffin’s books usually are. It felt a little off, like too heavy but not heavy enough at the same time, if that makes sense. 3 1/2 STARS

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC for review.

This is a coming-of-age, college-friends novel. Trigger warning for suicide, as one of the four friends takes her own life, and this reverberates with the group for years to come. The remaining friends make a pact to be there for each other, so when one calls on them, they get together despite having a lot going on in their lives. I liked that the group came together and that they traveled. The drama throughout the novel is BIG, lots of family strife, narcissistic relatives, and romantic complications. It felt like it wrapped up a little too quickly at the end. I would have liked to see more travel and go a bit deeper into their relationships moving forward.

This is the first book I have read by this author. Many of my reader friends have recommended her books. I liked the author’s writing in this book. It captured my interest right away.

This is a story of four friends who meet at the start of their freshman year in college. They become fast friends and support each other throughout their college years. A tragedy leads them to make a pact to support each other, especially when one hits rock bottom. Their pact is called into play years later when they are in their 30’s. I liked that their friendship was so strong that each was willing to sacrifice and put their lives on hold to come together for each other.

The premise of this book is very similar to The Celebrants. There are three narrators in this book. A few times I had to check who was narrating the chapter. Their voices were not often distinct.

This is a story of true friendship and having the courage to change the direction of your life to find true happiness.

“That life is short - way too short… And you never know what can happen.”

The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin was a book I was really looking forward to reading. I always have thoroughly enjoyed Emily Giffin books, but this one was by far my least favorite. To start, the cover is super cute and the title has the word summer in it, those things spell fun to me, but that's not what is found in this book. The book title is actually pretty deep and refers to a pact the three friends made when something terrible happened to the fourth in their college bestie group. I also felt semi-lectured to regarding hot topic cultural issues, something that I do not like in books I read for enjoyment.

Rating: ★★★☆☆
The Summer Pact by Emily Griffin is a pleasant, somewhat predictable, summer read. As their college years fly by, their bond intensifies and the four become inseparable. But as graduation nears, their lives are forever changed after a desperate act leads to tragic consequences. Stunned and heartbroken, they make a pact, promising to always be there for one another, no matter how separated they may become by circumstances or distance.

Fast-forward to 10 years later when Hannah’s world is rocked and she needs her best friends — more than ever. The value of friendship throughout this book is intense — you know that they are the true ride or die, friends- through it all. However, they often are reflecting on the loss of their one friend and where she thought they would be, where they thought they would be with her.

The first half of this book was very well paced for me - I loved guessing and seeing where the story was going to lead, however, I felt the back half - when they got to Europe dragged just a bit for me. I kept getting lost in POV’s — who’s was who’s? I didn’t know sometimes and felt that the epilogue actually should have been throughout the entire back half of the book because it had so much information about the characters and where their lives led!

Overall, this was a great summer, quick read! It just isn’t one that I will be remembering and noting for the rest of the summer!

A huge thank you to #netgalley and for my #arc copy of this book!

2.75 stars rounded up

I really love Emily Giffin's book and had high hopes for this one, but unfortunately it didn't do it for me. I liked the premise (honoring a friend who died by suicide) but I wanted a bit more from it. And without ruining the ending, I was a little disappointed at how it all wrapped up. Also, very strong content warnings with this book, including suicide, addiction, self harm.

Emily Giffin has been my favorite author for so many years. I loved this book. She does not disappoint!! Will recommend! 5 stars!

Four strangers meet as freshman in college and form a bond that will last a lifetime. What they don't know is that one of their lives will be cut short and change the trajectory of their futures and the remaining threes relationship with each other. Good character development and story line.

Such a fun book! I didn’t love it as much as her last book but that don’t take away from how great this books is! I loved the friendships in this book and how this book made me feel. I love when the author can create a realistic world and story…and that’s exactly what this books gives you!

Four very different young adults meet in college and from that moment they are bonded. Readying for graduation, their quad is forever changed when one of them takes her life. This happens early on and is the basis of the rest of the storyline, so not giving away much here. They’re all changed forever and yet, still inseparable as they go their own way. They made a pact to always be there for each other no matter what, but especially in anyones time of need. We join them over the next years while their trying to find their way in the world. I found the characters got stuck post graduation and none of them matured much. I did find their experiences quite emotional and yet in some ways flat. Love this author, this was good, but not my favorite.

I’m not sure why this has so many bad reviews , I thought it was a good easy read. Although I didn’t like Tyson’s character.
Thank you Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and NetGalley for providing an advance copy in exchange for an honest review

One their very first day at UVA, Hannah, Lainey, Summer and Tyson become friends, and despite being incredibly different, the four remain best friends all 4 years. When Summer dies by suicide just days before graduation, the other 3 friends make a pact to truly be there for each other, and show up no questions asked when one of them feels they’ve hit rock bottom. Ten years later, Hannah has hit her rock bottom and her friends come to be with her. Together, they go on an adventure, each navigating their own personal crossroads, their grief, and secrets they’ve been keeping from their friends.

This was an incredibly emotional story from the beginning. I loved that it was written from alternating points of view, it was even more powerful to see how each friend was processing their emotions and to see what they were thinking. I really enjoyed this beautiful and emotional story of friendship and finding your way in life. There are some really difficult topics addressed in this book so please check for any content warnings before reading this.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advance copy.

Having read other books by this author and only looking at the cover, I thought this book was about the summer, but The Summer Pact is really about a girl named Summer who commits suicide. Even though the title is misleading, it was my mistake for not reading the blurb and I was still willing to give this book a chance. The beginning of the book is good, but then the book rushes through at times. The characters never fully realize why Summer killed herself or resolved the issues with Lainey's dad or other sister. This book was a nice light read, but felt like something was missing to elevate it to my favorite book this summer.

Initially, I wasn't sure whether I wanted to read a book about suicide. This book is about so much more, though. It's about the bonds of college and tragedy, about found family, and about finding yourself. I've been a fan of Giffin since Something Borrowed, but this may be her best work yet.

This book was a quick and easy read, but it wasn’t one of the best ones I’ve read this summer. The whole premise of the book is that three friends made a pact to always be there for each other in their time of need after their friend Summer killed herself their final year of college. I thought that was going to have more relevance on the plot of the book, seeing as the book was named after it. But no, we never get any answers or explanations as to what caused Summer to do that. I know that is accurate to real-life, but it just seems strange to have that be the premise of the book and then not explore it whatsoever.

The plot seemed rushed and the pacing all over the place, especially near the end. The friends were supposed to each pick a destination. Half the story took place in one location, one got about two chapters, and the last location only got a couple of pages. The conflicts seemed forced for the sake of drama, and the characters in this story were all completely insufferable in their own ways. They read like young college students, rather than the early-thirties that they were supposed to be. The dialogue was cringy at times, especially Lainey and Tyson. I wished we had gotten to see more interactions between the friends that weren’t them being pissed at each other.

For the positives, I thought that the book started off pretty strong and hooked me enough to get me through the rougher parts. I also know that many people had issues with the romances and how they seemed to come out of nowhere, but I didn’t really mind them, even if they did seem kind of random. When the friends weren’t being awful to and lecturing each other, I liked their different dynamics. Overall, this was a quick read that I had a fun enough time reading. 3/5 stars.

I wish I loved this. It started off so strong for me and I was enthralled by the subject matter. But soon it got kind of annoying and ramble-y. It felt like she tried putting so many hot topics in there that it didn’t make sense for the story.

I've enjoyed Giffin's books before but this one was fairly bland. The characters felt flat and their relationship felt forced. Not sure I'll be grabbing this one off the shelf to recommend to my patrons. Still, and entertaining summer read.

It's interesting to read the polarized reactions to this book.

I enjoyed reading a summer book with a focus on friendship with a smattering of romance (rather than the usual romance forward story.) This is a tight group of friends from college that vowed to be there for each other in their adult lives after losing Summer to suicide just before graduation. Now in their early 30s, Tyson and Lainey make good on that promise to support Hannah when she is blindsided by her cheating fiancee.

I liked that all three friends had a POV. I liked the grown up traveling pants of it all. Through a pretty rotten circumstance they got to spend extended time together and love and support each other as they figured out the next chapters of their lives.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advance reader copy. I am required by law to disclose this.

I am long time Giffin fan and I feel this book reminded me of her earlier books, this is a good thing!
My favorite books from her collection are "Something Borrowed" and "Something Blue" and I felt this book is a good companion to those titles. If you have enjoyed this author's previous books, definitely add this new book to her shelf. If you are new to her books, I highly recommend this for women's fiction fans with a touch of romance. Four stars for this great "Summer" read.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

While I enjoyed the writing, this was not it for me. I didn’t find myself rooting for or connecting with any of the characters. The romance felt forced and weird like it was an afterthought. I wish they would have been more developed and dimensional. I did not enjoy the many political references to current issues. It made it feel like the book was “breaking the fourth wall” and took me out of the story completely. I wish we could have had more time with the 4 at the beginning, would have love to see their relationships form and see those characters developed more.