Genre Fiction
![Judy Blume - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B000AQ1K5I.jpg)
Summer Sisters: A Novel
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • "Summer Sisters is a book to return to again and again."-Colleen Hoover
"As warm as a summer breeze blowing through your hair, as nostalgic as James Taylor singing ‘How Sweet It Is.' You remember. So does Judy Blume. How sweet it was."-Chicago Tribune
In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard's world changes forever when Caitlin Somers chooses her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomes Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha's Vineyard, an enchanting place where the two friends become "summer sisters."
Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin begs Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go-because she wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend-her summer sister-still has the power to break her heart.
"As warm as a summer breeze blowing through your hair, as nostalgic as James Taylor singing ‘How Sweet It Is.' You remember. So does Judy Blume. How sweet it was."-Chicago Tribune
In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard's world changes forever when Caitlin Somers chooses her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomes Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha's Vineyard, an enchanting place where the two friends become "summer sisters."
Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin begs Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go-because she wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend-her summer sister-still has the power to break her heart.
Editorial Reviews
"Compulsively readable . . . [Blume's] powers are prodigious."-The New York Times Book Review
"Summer Sisters is a book to return to again and again."-Colleen Hoover
"An exceptionally moving story that can leave the reader laughing and crying . . . sometimes at the same time . . . Blume creates a rich tapestry of characters."-The Denver Post
"Blume's characters still tend to hover after the book is set aside. . . . She catches perfectly the well-armored love between longtime female friends."-The Seattle Times
"Summer Sisters is a book to return to again and again."-Colleen Hoover
"An exceptionally moving story that can leave the reader laughing and crying . . . sometimes at the same time . . . Blume creates a rich tapestry of characters."-The Denver Post
"Blume's characters still tend to hover after the book is set aside. . . . She catches perfectly the well-armored love between longtime female friends."-The Seattle Times
Readers Top Reviews
RELUCTANT BOOMERT
What could be just another summer novel - a light read for the beach - is a profound study of two women who become best friends. It is the story of class, intelligence, narcissism, Harvard and suicide. It covers the best moments of being a teenager and the very painful moments that haunt people forever. These two friends are seemingly inseparable, loving, supportive and happy to be together. Underneath this abundance of attachment are feelings that don't bear the light of day. They are too hidden, too embarrassing and too shameful to share - and this beautiful friendship has a very dark side. To be friends, to be loyal, takes a good deal of self knowingness. This is no small thing and the lack of ability to love oneself turns out to be a real detriment to loving another. A wonderful book - raw, honest, delicate and bold - memorable and beautiful.
SusanRELUCTANT BO
I admit to being one of the few people on the planet who had never read a Judy Blume book and now wonder why she is called out in an adult book for writing explicit sex scenes. I knew she had similar issues with her young adult books from parents who deemed her books too obscene for the sensitivities of their children, but I can find even more explicit sex scenes in <gasp> the Old Testament of the Bible, having read every word as part of a challenge issued by my Episcopal Church. I laughed out loud when I read several reviews of Summer Sisters. Is there a Judy Blume Monitoring Club, whose sole purpose is to merely scour her books for a hint of sex and unsuitable language without reading a good story? If parents are so concerned about Summer Sisters, I wonder why their children are reading it. And wake up, folks, to the age of the Internet, where everything is fair game! Parental controls have been written to be broken. Ask any budding hacker. Stepping carefully from soapbox now... I enjoyed the story of Caitlin and Vix because it perfectly reflected that period of my life. I too came of age in the late fifties and early sixties - the end of the age of innocence - before free love, drugs, Woodstock and anti-war protests became the hidden norm for the Caitlins and Victorias of the country. Few parents who had put a child through the Ivy League or Seven Sisters would have embraced their personal participants! Caitlin, the daughter of a wealthy yet eccentric family invites Victoria (Vix) to her summer home on Martha's Vineyard. Vix, the daughter of a working class family in Santa Fe, New Mexico, can not believe her ears! Her popular classmate chooses HER? After some cajoling by Vix, her family allows her to go, despite legitimate concerns that she will be influenced by the trappings of the rich. Vix revels on the Vineyard, meeting island boys and the Chicago Boys. She finds herself growing close to Caitlin's father, Lamb, and her stepmother, Abby. Lamb seems to have a case of arrested development, but Abby, in Vix's eyes, is a better mother than her own. She does her best to keep the fourteen-year-old girls grounded. But she is unaware of the girl's favorite subject: sex. To her shock, Vix is invited back the next summer. She sets her sights on one of the island boys, and as it turns out, he has been interested in her. Thus begins a summer romance that, like all such relationships, is intense. All Vix can think about is losing her virginity. She and Caitlin analyze the pros and cons every night. Just as she has made the monumental decision, Caitlin rushes into their room and proudly boasts that has done "it". A pattern begins, which eventually spirals out of control for Caitlin. When the time comes to apply to college, Lamb insists that Vix go to Harvard because by now she has become part of the family. Vix and her rea...
K. MoyerSusanRELU
This book is a great read! Glad I picked it up! Anything by Judy Blume is always great though! Quick read!
Alain SuarezK. Mo
Really enjoyed this book. Love stories about relationships. Loves Judy B as a child and how nice to read her again. Easy read. Easy to follow. Made me laugh made me cry. Hated putting it down. Looked forward to picking up where I left off.
KathyAlain Suarez
I watched Judy’s masterclass om writing and decided to read Summer Sisters. It’s not what I normally read but it’s so real and captivating…Well done!
Short Excerpt Teaser
Prologue
Summer 1990
The city is broiling in an early summer heat wave and for the third day in a row Victoria buys a salad from the Korean market around the corner and has lunch at her desk. Her roommate, Maia, tells her she's risking her life eating from a salad bar. If the bacteria don't get you, the preservatives will. Victoria considers this as she chomps on a carrot and scribbles notes to herself on an upcoming meeting with a client who's looking for a PR firm with an edge. Everyone wants edge these days. You tell them it's edgy, they love it.
When the phone rings she grabs it, expecting a call from the segment producer at Regis and Kathie Lee. "This is Victoria Leonard," she says, sounding solid and professional.
"Vix?"
She's surprised to hear Caitlin's voice on the other end and worries for a minute it's bad news, because Caitlin calls only at night, usually late, often waking her from a deep sleep. Besides, it's been a couple of months since they've talked at all.
"You have to come up," Caitlin says. She's using her breathy princess voice, the one she's picked up in Europe, halfway between Jackie O's and Princess Di's. "I'm getting married at Lamb's house on the Vineyard."
"Married?"
"Yes. And you have to be my Maid of Honor. It's only appropriate, don't you think?"
"I guess that depends on who you're marrying."
"Bru," Caitlin answers, and suddenly she sounds like herself again. "I'm marrying Bru. I thought you knew."
Victoria forces herself to swallow, to breathe, but she feels clammy and weak anyway. She grabs the cold can of Diet Coke from the corner of her desk and holds it against her forehead, then moves it to her neck, as she jots down the date and time of the wedding. She doodles all around it while Caitlin chats, until the whole page is filled with arrows, crescent moons, and triangles, as if she's back in sixth grade.
"Vix?" Caitlin says. "Are you still there? Do we have a bad connection or what?"
"No, it's okay."
"So you'll come?"
"Yes." The second she hangs up she makes a mad dash for the women's room where she pukes her guts out in the stall. She has to call Caitlin back, tell her there's no way she can do this. What can Caitlin be thinking? What was she thinking when she agreed?
Four weeks later Caitlin, her hair flying in the wind, meets Victoria at the tiny Vineyard airport. Victoria is the last one to step out of the commuter from LaGuardia. She'd spotted Caitlin from her window as soon as they'd landed but felt glued to her seat. It's been more than two years since they've seen each other, and three since Victoria graduated from college and got caught up in real life--a job, with just two weeks vacation a year. No money to fly around. Bummer, as Lamb would say when they were kids.
"Going on to Nantucket with us?" the flight attendant asks and suddenly Victoria realizes she's the only passenger still on the plane. Embarrassed, she grabs her bag and hustles down the steps onto the tarmac. Caitlin finds her in the crowd and waves frantically. Victoria heads toward her, shaking her head because Caitlin is wearing a T-shirt that says simplify, simplify, simplify. She's barefoot as usual and Victoria is betting her feet will be as dirty as they were that first summer.
Caitlin holds her at arm's length for a minute. "God, Vix . . ." she says, "you look so . . . grown up!" They both laugh, then Caitlin hugs her. She smells of seawater, suntan lotion, and something else. Victoria closes her eyes, breathing in the familiar scent, and for a moment it's as if they've never been apart. They're still Vixen and Cassandra, summer sisters forever. The rest is a mistake, a crazy joke.
Summer 1990
The city is broiling in an early summer heat wave and for the third day in a row Victoria buys a salad from the Korean market around the corner and has lunch at her desk. Her roommate, Maia, tells her she's risking her life eating from a salad bar. If the bacteria don't get you, the preservatives will. Victoria considers this as she chomps on a carrot and scribbles notes to herself on an upcoming meeting with a client who's looking for a PR firm with an edge. Everyone wants edge these days. You tell them it's edgy, they love it.
When the phone rings she grabs it, expecting a call from the segment producer at Regis and Kathie Lee. "This is Victoria Leonard," she says, sounding solid and professional.
"Vix?"
She's surprised to hear Caitlin's voice on the other end and worries for a minute it's bad news, because Caitlin calls only at night, usually late, often waking her from a deep sleep. Besides, it's been a couple of months since they've talked at all.
"You have to come up," Caitlin says. She's using her breathy princess voice, the one she's picked up in Europe, halfway between Jackie O's and Princess Di's. "I'm getting married at Lamb's house on the Vineyard."
"Married?"
"Yes. And you have to be my Maid of Honor. It's only appropriate, don't you think?"
"I guess that depends on who you're marrying."
"Bru," Caitlin answers, and suddenly she sounds like herself again. "I'm marrying Bru. I thought you knew."
Victoria forces herself to swallow, to breathe, but she feels clammy and weak anyway. She grabs the cold can of Diet Coke from the corner of her desk and holds it against her forehead, then moves it to her neck, as she jots down the date and time of the wedding. She doodles all around it while Caitlin chats, until the whole page is filled with arrows, crescent moons, and triangles, as if she's back in sixth grade.
"Vix?" Caitlin says. "Are you still there? Do we have a bad connection or what?"
"No, it's okay."
"So you'll come?"
"Yes." The second she hangs up she makes a mad dash for the women's room where she pukes her guts out in the stall. She has to call Caitlin back, tell her there's no way she can do this. What can Caitlin be thinking? What was she thinking when she agreed?
Four weeks later Caitlin, her hair flying in the wind, meets Victoria at the tiny Vineyard airport. Victoria is the last one to step out of the commuter from LaGuardia. She'd spotted Caitlin from her window as soon as they'd landed but felt glued to her seat. It's been more than two years since they've seen each other, and three since Victoria graduated from college and got caught up in real life--a job, with just two weeks vacation a year. No money to fly around. Bummer, as Lamb would say when they were kids.
"Going on to Nantucket with us?" the flight attendant asks and suddenly Victoria realizes she's the only passenger still on the plane. Embarrassed, she grabs her bag and hustles down the steps onto the tarmac. Caitlin finds her in the crowd and waves frantically. Victoria heads toward her, shaking her head because Caitlin is wearing a T-shirt that says simplify, simplify, simplify. She's barefoot as usual and Victoria is betting her feet will be as dirty as they were that first summer.
Caitlin holds her at arm's length for a minute. "God, Vix . . ." she says, "you look so . . . grown up!" They both laugh, then Caitlin hugs her. She smells of seawater, suntan lotion, and something else. Victoria closes her eyes, breathing in the familiar scent, and for a moment it's as if they've never been apart. They're still Vixen and Cassandra, summer sisters forever. The rest is a mistake, a crazy joke.
