(43)All the Summer Girls by Meg Donohue

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

All the Summer Girls 

Pages: 288
Publication Date: May 21, 2013


Kate, Dani, and Vanessa have been best friends ever since they attended grade school at the local Quaker private school in Philadelphia.  Their friendship has stood the test of time, through high school, summers on the beach,  college, and beyond.  From boys, to the loss of Kate's twin brother, and so much more, their friendship has been the one constant in all of their lives.  

Now all three women are on the verge of turning thirty. Vanessa's marriage is on the rocks, Dani is a failed author who just got fired, and on the day Kate's fiance dumps her, she discovers that she is pregnant.  What do old friends do when their lives are falling apart?  They lean on each other.  They decide to meet up once again at Dani's Father's beach house on the Jersey Shore.  The same beach house where they spent the summer that Kate's brother died.  Will their time together heal both their past and their present?  Or will the truths that come out at the beach house destroy their friendship forever?

Can you believe that the first wave of "beach reads" are hitting the shelves? It seems like just yesterday it was snowing.  Oh wait.  It was.  :)  (Quite heavily in the Utah mountains) I just find it so hard to believe that 2013 is almost half over already.   ANYWAY.... beach reads are always fun to read, I have my favorite "regulars" that write an annual beach read novel, but now I can add Meg Donohue to the list.  All The Summer Girls was a really quick read and it certainly transported me from cold, rainy Utah to the beaches of the Jersey shore.   All three characters had their strengths and their weaknesses, very obviously flawed.  Kate is a control freak, Vanessa is contemplating adultery, and Dani has a problem with over indulging on pills and booze. But, despite their flaws, they are good women who will be there for each other no matter what.  It is something that all women can relate to in one way or another. 

Bottom line, if you are looking for a good beach read to kick off the Summer season, then you must start with All the Summer Girls.  A well written novel set on the beach, but with a little more substance to it than similar books in the genre.  Give it a shot and let me know what you think!


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