Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Summer Reading Challenge: Summer Secrets by Jane Green






This summer, members of the Vise Library are participating in a Summer Reading Challenge. We have received copies of several books from publishers for honest reviews. We hope that you enjoy these reviews (and books)!



This week's book is Summer Secrets by Jane Green.



About the book:

"Gripping and powerful."-Emily Giffin
When a shocking family secret is revealed, twenty-something journalist Cat Coombs finds herself falling into a dark spiral. Wild, glamorous nights out in London and raging hangovers the next day become her norm, leading to a terrible mistake one night while visiting family in America, on the island of Nantucket. It's a mistake for which she can't forgive herself. When she returns home, she confronts the unavoidable reality of her life and knows it's time to grow up. But she doesn't know if she'll ever be able to earn the forgiveness of the people she hurt.
As the years pass, Cat grows into her forties, a struggling single mother, coping with a new-found sobriety and determined to finally make amends. Traveling back to her past, to the family she left behind on Nantucket all those years ago, she may be able to earn their forgiveness, but in doing so she may risk losing the very people she loves the most.
Told with Jane Green's keen eye for detailing the emotional landscape of the heart, Summer Secrets is at once a compelling drama and a beautifully rendered portrait of relationships, betrayals, and forgiveness; about accepting the things we cannot change, finding the courage to change the things we can, and being strong enough to weather the storms.
There are a couple of Summer Secrets in this book.  This book covers the past and present of a few characters.  However, the main character of this book, Cat is having a bit of a rough time at the moment.  You find out she has been recently divorced and is a recovering alcoholic.  You read about her past that has led to her husband leaving and how she is struggling with her feelings for him and his absence.  Cat has to look at past wrongs she has committed in order to move forward with her life.  She finally realizes that in order to succeed she has to do things for her and not for someone else. 

I think this is by far Jane Green's best book to date.  This book made me laugh and broke my heart a few times.  There were some twists which make for a very entertaining book.  This book shows that some people can hide who they really are without having a clue to their true nature.  There is something that happens at the very end that makes me so sad for Cat.  Cat matures through the entire book and even though at times she may not handle situations very well, she overall makes an effort to be her best self.  She cracked me up with some of the things she found funny (someone's story at an AA meeting comes to mind) and I laughed right along with her.  I read this book over a week ago and I am still thinking about it.  I think that is a sign of a great book.  Our copy of Summer Secrets will be available for checkout soon.  Make sure you get your hands on it for a great summer read!

PS Jane Green wrote a short FREE story featuring Cat and Jemima J (Green's probably most well-known character) available for download.  Make sure to check that one out too!
Buy the book:
     Amazon
       Barnes and Noble
      Parnassus Books








About the author:

Jane Green is a bestselling author of popular novels. She has been featured in People, Newsweek, USA Today, Glamour, and Cosmopolitan. She lives in Connecticut with her family.


Connect with the author:
   Twitter
   Website

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