Genre Fiction
![Jennifer Weiner - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B001H6NY0O.jpg)
The Summer Place: A Novel
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of That Summer comes another "fun, feisty" (The Washington Post) novel of family, secrets, and the ties that bind.
When her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But the wheels are in motion. Headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah's mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family's beach house in Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market.
But the road to a wedding day usually comes with a few bumps. Ruby has always known exactly what she wants, but as the wedding date approaches, she finds herself grappling with the wounds left by the mother who walked out when she was a baby. Veronica ends up facing unexpected news, thanks to her meddling sister, and must revisit the choices she made long ago, when she was a bestselling novelist with a different life. Sarah's twin brother, Sam, is recovering from a terrible loss, and confronting big questions about who he is-questions he hopes to resolve during his stay on the Cape. Sarah's husband, Eli, who's been inexplicably distant during the pandemic, confronts the consequences of a long ago lapse from his typical good-guy behavior. And Sarah, frustrated by her husband, concerned about her stepdaughter, and worn out by the challenges of the quarantine, faces the alluring reappearance of someone from her past and a life that could have been.
When the wedding day arrives, lovers are revealed as their true selves, misunderstandings take on a life of their own, and secrets come to light. There are confrontations and revelations that will touch each member of the extended family, ensuring that nothing will ever be the same.
From "the undisputed boss of the beach read" (The New York Times), The Summer Place is a testament to family in all its messy glory; a story about what we sacrifice and how we forgive. Enthralling, witty, big-hearted, and sharply observed, "this first-rate page-turner" (Publishers Weekly) is Jennifer Weiner's love letter to the Outer Cape and the power of home, the way our lives are enriched by the people we call family, and the endless ways love can surprise us.
When her twenty-two-year-old stepdaughter announces her engagement to her pandemic boyfriend, Sarah Danhauser is shocked. But the wheels are in motion. Headstrong Ruby has already set a date (just three months away!) and spoken to her beloved safta, Sarah's mother Veronica, about having the wedding at the family's beach house in Cape Cod. Sarah might be worried, but Veronica is thrilled to be bringing the family together one last time before putting the big house on the market.
But the road to a wedding day usually comes with a few bumps. Ruby has always known exactly what she wants, but as the wedding date approaches, she finds herself grappling with the wounds left by the mother who walked out when she was a baby. Veronica ends up facing unexpected news, thanks to her meddling sister, and must revisit the choices she made long ago, when she was a bestselling novelist with a different life. Sarah's twin brother, Sam, is recovering from a terrible loss, and confronting big questions about who he is-questions he hopes to resolve during his stay on the Cape. Sarah's husband, Eli, who's been inexplicably distant during the pandemic, confronts the consequences of a long ago lapse from his typical good-guy behavior. And Sarah, frustrated by her husband, concerned about her stepdaughter, and worn out by the challenges of the quarantine, faces the alluring reappearance of someone from her past and a life that could have been.
When the wedding day arrives, lovers are revealed as their true selves, misunderstandings take on a life of their own, and secrets come to light. There are confrontations and revelations that will touch each member of the extended family, ensuring that nothing will ever be the same.
From "the undisputed boss of the beach read" (The New York Times), The Summer Place is a testament to family in all its messy glory; a story about what we sacrifice and how we forgive. Enthralling, witty, big-hearted, and sharply observed, "this first-rate page-turner" (Publishers Weekly) is Jennifer Weiner's love letter to the Outer Cape and the power of home, the way our lives are enriched by the people we call family, and the endless ways love can surprise us.
Editorial Reviews
Praise for The Summer Place:
"[A] funny, tender read. A new novel from Weiner heralds the start of beach reading season, so prepare your collections accordingly." -Booklist (starred review)
"The Summer Place is so good, it will be on every beach this summer. [It] gets at the core of just how life's twists and turns, choices and moments can consume us – and how beautiful that entanglement can be, despite the hardships…with its Cape Cod setting that evokes seashells, cool water, melting ice cream and summer bliss, it's sure to be the must-have beach bag item this year." -USA Today
"A meditation on mothers and daughters, Weiner's latest novel also explores class conflicts, identity issues and real estate dramas." -The New York Times
"From steamy affairs to juicy family secrets, bestselling author Jennifer Weiner's scintillating beach read has it all." -Apple Books
"The natural beauty of the Outer Cape is the backdrop for plenty of family drama and romantic intrigue in Weiner's latest novel, which incorporates the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic but still manages to feel breezy and delicious to read." -Emma Specter, Vogue
"In Jennifer Weiner's latest...expect all of the hijinks, heartbreak, and happiness of a messy reunion." -The Boston Globe
"A family's secrets and entanglements flare up during a Cape Cod wedding in this first-rate page-turner from Weiner. [She] is a master of emotionally complicated narratives, and her smart and witty writing is on full display here. This engrossing novel will please her legions of fans." -Publishers Weekly
"Weiner creates a story with all the misunderstandings and miscommunications of a screwball comedy or a Shakespeare play (think A Midsummer Night's Dream). But the surprising, over-the-top ac...
"[A] funny, tender read. A new novel from Weiner heralds the start of beach reading season, so prepare your collections accordingly." -Booklist (starred review)
"The Summer Place is so good, it will be on every beach this summer. [It] gets at the core of just how life's twists and turns, choices and moments can consume us – and how beautiful that entanglement can be, despite the hardships…with its Cape Cod setting that evokes seashells, cool water, melting ice cream and summer bliss, it's sure to be the must-have beach bag item this year." -USA Today
"A meditation on mothers and daughters, Weiner's latest novel also explores class conflicts, identity issues and real estate dramas." -The New York Times
"From steamy affairs to juicy family secrets, bestselling author Jennifer Weiner's scintillating beach read has it all." -Apple Books
"The natural beauty of the Outer Cape is the backdrop for plenty of family drama and romantic intrigue in Weiner's latest novel, which incorporates the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic but still manages to feel breezy and delicious to read." -Emma Specter, Vogue
"In Jennifer Weiner's latest...expect all of the hijinks, heartbreak, and happiness of a messy reunion." -The Boston Globe
"A family's secrets and entanglements flare up during a Cape Cod wedding in this first-rate page-turner from Weiner. [She] is a master of emotionally complicated narratives, and her smart and witty writing is on full display here. This engrossing novel will please her legions of fans." -Publishers Weekly
"Weiner creates a story with all the misunderstandings and miscommunications of a screwball comedy or a Shakespeare play (think A Midsummer Night's Dream). But the surprising, over-the-top ac...
Readers Top Reviews
Lauratts_gds_and_
I absolutely love JW and have read and will continue to read everything she writes. But I couldn't finish this. It was meandering, the language was full of clichés and in some parts just odd ("a bird called twit-whoo, twit whoo") and the main cusp of the story hinged on possible incest. In the end I didn't care about the characters I just wanted it to stop. Come JW in her early days when the story was engrossing the characters engaging and the language beautiful
Susan WeiskopfLau
This book was not great literature, but it was a good story with sympathetic characters. Central to the story was an extended family, the Levy-Weinbergs. There were several painful secrets between family members. Ms. Weiner is a gifted storyteller. This is a good light Summer reading book.
Olivia M. Jacques
First of all, I think Weiner is a great writer. I love many of her books and That Summer was probably my favourite one of all time. I wanted to love this one just as much but unfortunately, it just missed the mark for me. It wasn’t BAD by any means. I spent a couple of evenings quite engaged as I got through it, but I found myself lifted out of the story by little things that irritated me — the framing device of the sentient house for one thing. (Goofy, in my opinion.) And as others have said, there was so much infidelity. Maybe that’s true to life, but it’s simply not my taste. Again, this isn’t a criticism of the author really. This book wasn’t a big winner for me, but these things are personal and not objective. It was well-written and I still look forward to whatever Weiner does next.
M. WalkerGail Sil
I've been a faithful reader of Jennifer Weiner's and enjoyed all of her books. This one just didn't do it for me and I was surprised by that. WARNING BOOK SPOILERS AHEAD - I think one of my issues with the book was the cliché of not talking to one another and keeping secrets. I know that adds for drama, but when everyone is doing it that's just too much. I also didn't find the characters very likable and they didn't have many redeeming qualities. Eli keeping that secret about his daughter potentially marrying her half brother was just ridiculous! How in the world could he have possibly let them carry on dating and sleeping together with that possibly being the case‽ Even though I knew Gabe wasn't his son that still kind of grossed me out that Eli let that happen without determining for sure if he was Gabe's father or not. While I sympathized with Sarah about her marriage having problems I could never fully connect with her. Maybe if she had been the main character? That also might have been a problem I had with the book was all the different perspectives. I don't mind more than one narrator but this felt like a bunch of little stories all lumped together. With whole chapters telling what happened in the past. The other issue I had was the whole "I'll tell them later" thing. That drives me nuts when people just don't talk about things. Not that it would have kept Ronnie from dying but I would be very upset at my parent withholding that information from me. Overall it as an ok book but not one I would read again.
CA Nerdy GirlL St
Really wanted a nice relaxing beach read type novel, but this is a weird mix describing lives of highly privileged people (the usual beach houses and NY brownstones) on the one hand and a lot of not entirely likable people with unrealistic approaches to relationships and somewhat unrelatable behaviors on the other, like not addressing issues for months or years between couples or jumping around between sexual orientations/ partners/ generations etc. And so much adultery and dishonesty… And the sex scenes… too much in a variety of ways… additionally, the politically correct storylines are so trite: Someone decides they are suddenly sexually attracted to a whole different category and everything is just unicorns and rainbows. In real life there would be resentment, feelings of betrayal, recriminations, etc. which would make for far more interesting storylines. I guess if you don’t subscribe to the trite cliches and applaud at every opportunity you must be “bigoted”… But it would be a whole lot easier not to be bigoted if the writing was better… I suspect that the politically correct storylines being so poorly written, like propaganda, reflects that writers feel they must include them and treat them according to current politically correct orthodoxy lest they be cancelled. Makes for trite writing by not untalented writers otherwise. Save your money.
Short Excerpt Teaser
Sarah Sarah
On a Friday night just after sunset, Sarah Weinberg Danhauser lit a match, bent her head, and said the blessing over the Shabbat candles in the dining room of her brownstone in Park Slope. Dinner was on the table: roast chicken, glazed with honey; homemade stuffing with mushrooms and walnuts, fresh-baked challah, and a salad with fennel and blood oranges, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds so expensive that Sarah had guiltily shoved the container, with its damning price tag, deep down into the recycling bin, lest her husband see.
Eli, said husband, sat at the head of the table, his eyes on his plate. Their sons, Dexter, who was eight, and Miles, almost seven, were on the left side of the table with Eli's brother Ari between them. Ari, twice-divorced and currently single, his jeans and ratty T-shirt contrasting with the khakis and collared shirts Sarah insisted her sons wear on Shabbat, had become a Friday-night regular at the Danhausers' table. Ari was not Sarah's favorite person, with his glinting good looks and sly smile and the way he'd "borrow" significant sums of money from his brother once or twice a year, but Eli had asked, and Sarah's mother-in-law had gotten involved ("I know he's a grown man and he should be able to feed himself, but he acts like Flamin' Hot Cheetos are a food group, and I'm worried he's going to get rickets"), and so, reluctantly, Sarah had extended the invitation.
On the other side of the table sat Ruby, Sarah's stepdaughter, and Ruby's pandemic boyfriend, Gabe. Sarah supposed she should just call Gabe a boyfriend, minus the qualifier, but the way his romance with Ruby had been fast-forwarded thanks to COVID meant that, in her mind, Gabe would always have an asterisk next to his name. Gabe and Ruby had been together for just six weeks in March of 2020 when NYU shut down and sent everyone home. Ruby had come back to her bedroom in Brooklyn and, after lengthy discussions, Sarah and Eli had agreed to allow Gabe, who was from California, to cohabitate with her. The two had been inseparable that pandemic year, all the way through their virtual graduation, snuggling on the couch bingeing Netflix or taking long, rambling walks through the city, holding hands and wearing matching face masks, or starting a container victory garden on the brownstone's roof deck that eventually yielded a bumper crop of lettuce and kale, a handful of wan carrots, and a single seedy watermelon ("Next year will be better," Ruby promised, after posting a series of photos of the melon on her Instagram).
Ruby and Gabe had stayed together through the summer, into the winter, and, after the New Year, when the pandemic had finally loosened its grip, they'd gotten vaccinated, gotten jobs-Ruby as assistant stage manager in an independent theater company in Jackson Heights; Gabe as a proofreader-taken several of their favorite plants, and moved out of Brooklyn and into a tiny studio in Queens, where they'd been living for just over a month.
Sarah finished the blessing over the wine and the bread. The platters of food had made their first trip around the table (Ari, Sarah noticed, helped himself to the largest chunk of white meat). She'd just finished reminding Dexter to put his napkin on his lap when Ruby, beaming blissfully, took her boyfriend by the hand. "Gabe and I have some news," she said.
Sarah felt a freezing sensation spread from her heart to her belly. She shot a quick, desperate look down the table, in Eli's direction, hoping for a nod, a shared glance, any kind of gesture or expression that would say I understand how you feel and I agree or-even better-I will shut down this foolishness, don't you worry. But Eli was looking at his plate, completely oblivious as he chewed. Big surprise.
Sarah made herself smile. "What's that, honey?" she asked, even though the icy feeling in her chest told her that she already knew.
"Gabe and I are getting married!" Ruby said. Her expression was exultant; her pale cheeks were flushed. Beside her, Gabe wore his usual good-natured, affable look. His dark hair was a little unruly; his deep-set eyes seemed sleepy; and his posture was relaxed, almost lazy, as Ruby put her arm around his shoulder, drawing him close. Sarah liked Gabe, but she'd always felt like he was a boy and not a young man, a mature adult, ready to take a wife and, presumably, start a family. Not that Gabe wasn't a good guy. He was. He was well-mannered and considerate, supremely easygoing. He never got angry. He almost always looked pleased. Or maybe he just looked stoned. Sarah had never been able to tell, and these days, with pot being legal, she couldn't complain about...
On a Friday night just after sunset, Sarah Weinberg Danhauser lit a match, bent her head, and said the blessing over the Shabbat candles in the dining room of her brownstone in Park Slope. Dinner was on the table: roast chicken, glazed with honey; homemade stuffing with mushrooms and walnuts, fresh-baked challah, and a salad with fennel and blood oranges, sprinkled with pomegranate seeds so expensive that Sarah had guiltily shoved the container, with its damning price tag, deep down into the recycling bin, lest her husband see.
Eli, said husband, sat at the head of the table, his eyes on his plate. Their sons, Dexter, who was eight, and Miles, almost seven, were on the left side of the table with Eli's brother Ari between them. Ari, twice-divorced and currently single, his jeans and ratty T-shirt contrasting with the khakis and collared shirts Sarah insisted her sons wear on Shabbat, had become a Friday-night regular at the Danhausers' table. Ari was not Sarah's favorite person, with his glinting good looks and sly smile and the way he'd "borrow" significant sums of money from his brother once or twice a year, but Eli had asked, and Sarah's mother-in-law had gotten involved ("I know he's a grown man and he should be able to feed himself, but he acts like Flamin' Hot Cheetos are a food group, and I'm worried he's going to get rickets"), and so, reluctantly, Sarah had extended the invitation.
On the other side of the table sat Ruby, Sarah's stepdaughter, and Ruby's pandemic boyfriend, Gabe. Sarah supposed she should just call Gabe a boyfriend, minus the qualifier, but the way his romance with Ruby had been fast-forwarded thanks to COVID meant that, in her mind, Gabe would always have an asterisk next to his name. Gabe and Ruby had been together for just six weeks in March of 2020 when NYU shut down and sent everyone home. Ruby had come back to her bedroom in Brooklyn and, after lengthy discussions, Sarah and Eli had agreed to allow Gabe, who was from California, to cohabitate with her. The two had been inseparable that pandemic year, all the way through their virtual graduation, snuggling on the couch bingeing Netflix or taking long, rambling walks through the city, holding hands and wearing matching face masks, or starting a container victory garden on the brownstone's roof deck that eventually yielded a bumper crop of lettuce and kale, a handful of wan carrots, and a single seedy watermelon ("Next year will be better," Ruby promised, after posting a series of photos of the melon on her Instagram).
Ruby and Gabe had stayed together through the summer, into the winter, and, after the New Year, when the pandemic had finally loosened its grip, they'd gotten vaccinated, gotten jobs-Ruby as assistant stage manager in an independent theater company in Jackson Heights; Gabe as a proofreader-taken several of their favorite plants, and moved out of Brooklyn and into a tiny studio in Queens, where they'd been living for just over a month.
Sarah finished the blessing over the wine and the bread. The platters of food had made their first trip around the table (Ari, Sarah noticed, helped himself to the largest chunk of white meat). She'd just finished reminding Dexter to put his napkin on his lap when Ruby, beaming blissfully, took her boyfriend by the hand. "Gabe and I have some news," she said.
Sarah felt a freezing sensation spread from her heart to her belly. She shot a quick, desperate look down the table, in Eli's direction, hoping for a nod, a shared glance, any kind of gesture or expression that would say I understand how you feel and I agree or-even better-I will shut down this foolishness, don't you worry. But Eli was looking at his plate, completely oblivious as he chewed. Big surprise.
Sarah made herself smile. "What's that, honey?" she asked, even though the icy feeling in her chest told her that she already knew.
"Gabe and I are getting married!" Ruby said. Her expression was exultant; her pale cheeks were flushed. Beside her, Gabe wore his usual good-natured, affable look. His dark hair was a little unruly; his deep-set eyes seemed sleepy; and his posture was relaxed, almost lazy, as Ruby put her arm around his shoulder, drawing him close. Sarah liked Gabe, but she'd always felt like he was a boy and not a young man, a mature adult, ready to take a wife and, presumably, start a family. Not that Gabe wasn't a good guy. He was. He was well-mannered and considerate, supremely easygoing. He never got angry. He almost always looked pleased. Or maybe he just looked stoned. Sarah had never been able to tell, and these days, with pot being legal, she couldn't complain about...
