Invincible Summer:
Noah’s happier than I’ve seen him in months. So I’d be an awful brother to get in the way of that. It’s not like I have some relationship with Melinda. It was just a kiss. Am I going to ruin Noah’s happiness because of a kiss?
Across four sun-kissed, drama-drenched summers at his family’s beach house, Chase is falling in love, falling in lust, and trying to keep his life from falling apart. But some girls are addictive....
This was a deep, emotionally compelling, bittersweet read, and not at all what the cover depicts. When I picked this book up, I don't really know what I was expecting, maybe something lighter...I was completely blown away by Hannah Moskowitz's story. It's not a book about girls and summer love; it's a story about family, friendship and how life changes. The hardship of having a handicapped child is unimaginable, but the siblings come together in order to make life as happy and simple as they can for their deaf brother. The strength of sibling bonds are prominent throughout this book, creating fascinating characters. Hannah wrote so beautifully that there were times when I could almost feel the sand between my toes.
Chase and his family spend their summers at their beach house; and it seems like they only exist until they have reached the beach where they truly begin to live again. Only with the birth of the fourth child, the family begins to fall apart as more and more strain becomes noticeable between the parents. Next door lives the Hathaways, friends to Chase and his family all of their lives. Chase's older brother, Noah, and Melinda, the Hathaways' oldest daughter, are always together over the summers--but something terrible happened to Melinda during the off season; and not knowing what to do she turns to Chase. Chase finds himself caught between his addiction for Melinda and his dislike of what they are doing together. When Noah finds out he doesn't blame them, but it is in his nature to be absent from dealing with life. His constant absences from their lives hurts Chase, who really just needs his brother to be around. When a terrible tragedy strikes the family, Chase believes he is broken and can never reconcile his old happy-go-lucky self with what he has become. But a return to the summer home brings light to the hope that forgiving himself and not regretting the past will allow him to find happiness again.
I was not expecting that at all - I might have to give this book another chance after passing it up on the cover alone.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people were misled by Invincible Summer's cover and synopsis. It looks like fluffy summer book and in reality is a deep look at the dynamics of this dysfunctional family and dealing with guilt and grief and growing up. Great review!
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