This was a sweet friendship story about grief and being there for each other through life’s hardships. I loved the multiple points of view. Although this book covered some serious topics, it was still a light hearted read.

This book is about 4 close friends who come together 10 years later. My how their lives have changed! College was a time that cemented their friendships. But, a tragedy changes the course of their lives. Lainey is from California and has realized her dream of becoming an actress. Tyson is a young black man who is a scholar, an attorney by default. Hannah is getting married, that is, until she discovers the truth about her fiancé' which creates much upheaval.
The weeks they spend together resolves many issues in their lives and creates others. The relationships between the 4 main characters in this book makes this novel. The reader feels like you could just jump into a conversation with them. This is a great summer beach read, or a read for the lazy days of summer.

Emily Giffin has written some great books so statistically she was bound to write a book that is so meh. This is the third book I've read this week that I've read that I've felt this way about, so maybe it's just me. (Hi, I'm the problem, it's me.) The characters seem too immature for their age, and I feel like there were just some storylines included just to check boxes of what the author and/or publishers feel would help sales. At the start of the book I felt it could've have been a good book, but ultimately it failed to hit the mark for me.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC of The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin. This story is about friendship, grief, coping, and always being there for each other. It's about four college freshmen that meet in the student lounge and become the very best of friends, for life! It shows the importance of being there for your friends. The action starts in the first chapter with the suicide of one friend - Summer, the Pre Med student who has a cross country scholarship, this happens just days before their college graduation. The three remaining friends, grieving from their friend's suicide, make a pact, The Summer Pact, to always be there for each other, no matter where they are or what is going on in their lives. Ten years later, when one of the three, Hannah, finds her fiancé is cheating, she is at a total loss. Her two college friends come to support her, even at pretty personal cost to their own lives. I really enjoyed this book and cant wait to read more by Emily Giffin.

The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin is about a foursome of college freshmen who meet one night and quickly form a tight-knit circle. Sadly, they lose one member of this group unexpectedly. This leads them to form what they refer to as the summer pact. They promise to drop everything at a moment's notice if any of their group needs them. This pact plays out over the course of the book as each friend struggles at separate times. This pact also has ramifications for each friend's loved ones. Read and enjoy!

Excellent book by Emily Giffin. I loved this book. Her characters were well developed and so very relatable. I will be recommending this book to others without a doubt.

Be fair warned that this is NOT a summer beach read. Topics of suicide, grief, racial discrimination, depression, dysfunctional families, and LBGTQ relationships are mentioned. I did feel that the author handled them well in her presentation. This is a story of four young people finding their best friends while in college and forming such a bond that they become a chosen family. However, this is not a feel good book even though the basis is the strength of true friendship will help you overcome your darkest moments as the author aims to tie it all up in a bow at the end with an optimistic ending. Told in multiple POV from each character, you get to know them beyond the surface and I did like that. But, not my favorite of books written by this author. many thanks to #netgalley #emilygiffin #thesummerpact for the opportunity to read and review this book.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The Summer Pact
Author: Emily Giffin
Contemporary

Thank you so much Netgalley and Ballantine Books for this ARC! This is my first book by this author and it was such a beautiful read. Four best friends, and one passes away tragically. In the wake of her death, the three friends Laine, Tyson and Hannah make a pact to each other to always be there in their times of desperate need. Now years later, Hannah is about to get married and she catches her fiancee cheating. She calls on her two friends and they drop everything immediately. They decide to go on a trip to three destinations each chosen by one of them, and I must say I love books where they go on trips because it makes me feel like I’m on one myself. I loved that we got to read through each of the friends POVs. The story flowed, and I found myself eagerly turning the pages for more with no slumps even though it wasn’t necessarily fast paced. Some may want to check the triggers first since there is heavy talk of suicide, cheating, and grief. Overall I really enjoyed this read!

This book was so enjoyable. I started it thinking it would be about one thing and it was so much more. The friendship and the adventure was amazing. I personally didn’t love the very end and who she ended up with but that’s just me. I also would have liked to have known why the first character did what she did.

I started this book thinking I would only read for about 20 minutes. A couple hours later I put down the finished book! In true Emily Giffin fashion, she wrote a book I just couldn’t put down. She has a way of making her characters feel like people I know in real life. This book deals with some very tough topics, but it does it in a way that truly made me reflect on suicide and how someone might not appear sad or depressed before taking that action. The friendships in this novel felt real and imperfect, which made me think about the relationships in my life. I would highly recommend that everyone read The Summer Pact.

I am a fan of Emily Giffin’s Something Borrowed books and was excited to read her latest book. I was hoping for romance but instead got a story about 3 friends who make a pact to be there for each other through thick and thin. The friendship aspect of the book kept me reading to the end, but in all honesty I didn’t love any of the three characters. Wish I loved this more. Three stars for me.

I found this book a lovely summer read. Friends and drama, when 4 college friends make a pact to be there for each other in times of trouble makes for a wonderful story. Leave it to Emily Giffin to be the artist she is and create this wonderful story line.

Thank you Emily! I read this book in 2 days while sitting on a boat and it was very intense, loved it! I recommend this book to anyone that loves a good summer read.

Thank you NetGalley for the advanced digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a very engaging novel about friendship. Even though the characters in the story are not perfect, they and the depth of their friendship sometimes seem too good to be true. However, Giffin's skill at crafting these characters, the situations they find themselves in, and the dialogue makes the story so believable that we can't help getting invested. We can only wish that we had friends as true as these.

In this tender portrayal of grief, love, and hope, Emily Giffin asks: When things fall apart, who will be at our sides to help pick up the pieces?

Four college freshman meet and become fast friends and develop a strong bond. But as graduation approaches a tragic event changes everything and they make a pact to support each other through everything!

A decade later, Hannah faces unexpected challenges just as she's about to experience a joyful moment. Reaching out to her closest friends, they realize they're all at pivotal points in their lives. Keeping their earlier promise, they decide to take a break from their current paths and embark on a journey of self-discovery, forgiveness, and acceptance.

I would love to see this as a film! This is a great book!

An outstanding novel relating the journey three longtime friends take to escape the disappointments they experience. Once a foursome, Lainy, Tyson, Hannah, and Summer were closest of friends when tragedy struck. Lainy, Tyson and Hannah make a pact to always be there if anything happens to make then need their friends. Years later, they take a vacation that tests their bonds and their relationships.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"The Summer Pact" is about friendship and support during good and bad times. Summer, Tyson, Lainey, and Hannah meet at college, and despite coming from different backgrounds and personalities, they form a strong bond and become best friends. They make a pact to embark on a summer journey after a tragic event. Throughout this journey, they face challenges, uncover important truths, and grow towards what truly matters.

My Thoughts About the Book:
I had mixed feelings about "Summer Pact." I love the cover, which initially drew me to the book, and I also liked the book's concept. I had heard good things about Emily Giffin's other novels, so I was eager to read this one. While reading, I enjoyed getting to know the characters and had some favorite scenes. However, I found it hard to connect with the characters at times because many details and backstories were left out. The story also felt fast-paced and abrupt with certain events and scenes. Some of the characters were immature for their age. Overall, the story has a good plot, a lot going on in each chapter, interesting characters, and some relatable life experiences.

I also wanted to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this ARC for an honest review.

“Remember there’s a difference between your history and your legacy. Your history is what happened. Your legacy is what you set in motion.”

Emily Giffin will always be a favorite author of mine because her stories always hit that sweet spot of deep and thought-provoking and also fun and uplifting.

When I saw The Summer Pact was being released I knew I needed to get my hands on it as soon as possible and am so glad I did. This story is told from three different perspectives, all friends from college, struggling with their hardships. They come together to support each other and go on a pretty amazing journey. I loved it. While some of the story deals with deeper topics like grief and addiction, there is also grace, humility, and humor, and I found myself so invested in these characters. I binged this one in two days!

While all of the characters really resonated with me, my favorite was Hannah. She has no clue how strong she is, how much what she carries resonates with so many, how brave she is. I really was rooting for all of them and really enjoyed the growth in all of the characters but Hannah the most.

Thank you Emily Giffin for writing another amazing beach read! Please go read this one and then let me know which character was your favorite!

Emily Giffin is one of my auto-read authors and has been for years, so of course I was thrilled to get a copy of her newest release.

The Summer Pact follows a group of college friends as they navigate their friendship in the wake of a tragedy and as they grow into adulthood. This book was definitely a quick read and was entertaining enough, but ultimately, it wasn’t a hit for me.

While it did make it an easy read, the writing felt pretty juvenile and simplistic to me. It’s told in alternating points-of-view from 3 characters but none of them had a discernible voice, so I kept forgetting whose POV I was reading. The characters felt like they could have been much more developed in general.

The plot had a lot of potential to really explore some difficult concepts but it felt like there was too much going on without really my going deep into any of it. Ultimately I just didn’t feel invested in any of the characters or their stories. And the end felt like too much was crammed in at once and it ended in such a tidy bow, it felt overly saccharine and forced.

This book was fine. I didn’t hate it but it left me wanting more and ultimately was pretty forgettable.

Thanks to @netgalley and @ballantinecorp for the free egalley in exchange for an honest review.

I've read all of Emily Giffin's novels and her writing voice has really evolved over time. The Summer Pact is definitely on my list of her top three though!
The story was really engaging the entire time and I loved all of the main characters and cared so much about them. Getting to see each of their perspectives was helpful. There are some heavy topics, but Emily handles them in a sensitive and honest way. I also loved the armchair adventure aspect and felt like I was in Italy with the friends. It was really easy to visualize people and places.

I was constantly surprised by everything that was happening and had no idea what would come up next. I maybe only guessed at a few things but they were hinted at early on. And Hannah's mother made me so angry on Hannah's behalf. Such toxic behavior! She reminded me a bit of Skeeter's mom in The Help(but also with a lot of Hilly's personality).

This is such a great summer (or even year-round) read and it will definitely make you laugh, smile, and even cry! Perfect for fans of Jane Green and Jill Santopolo, as well.

(Trigger warnings below.)

Movie casting suggestions:
Tyson: Lucien Laviscount
Hannah: Elizabeth Lail
Lainey: Meghann Fahy
Summer: Bella Thorne
Grady: Luke Kleintank
Olivia: Adelaide Kane

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TW: suicide, death of parent, alcoholism

The Summer Pact was a great read that intertwined serious topics with happy endings. I loved the theme of friendship and found family that was woven throughout this book but felt that the writing seemed a bit immature. Great message, fun characters but some of the situations and reactions of the main characters seemed juvenile. Still a solid 3.5 star read!

Many thanks to Random House Ballantine and Netgalley for the ARC.