The Summer Place, by Jennifer Weiner

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It’s complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75 Stars 

Put this on your summer reading list for an easy beach read.

Told through the lens of the various main characters (including the point of view of the house!), each chapter flows from the present to the past, helping us understand how they got to the place they find themselves.  The plot twists are a bit extreme and far-fetched. I mean, even one of the “coincidences” would have been hard to. believe but the perfect storm of disruption reminded me of the soap operas I watched back in the day.  That said, Weiner’s writing is strong enough to hold it together and suspend belief enough to keep the pages turning. I found myself rooting for each of them, wanting them to make good choices, disappointed when they didn’t, excited for the small victories. 

The family is, for the most part, likable – ordinary decent people holding their family together the best they can. Supporting each other through tragedy and through celebrations. It’s their secrets that end up causing the biggest conflicts and I kept hoping for a big family therapy session. Geesh some of the secrets were uncomfortable but certainly not the end of the world (though of course others were huge betrayals of trust).  I loved the family matriarch (Ronnie, Veronica, Safta) but found her daughter  (Sarah) who is presented as a sympathetic character, to be overprivileged and self-indulgent though she is somewhat redeemed by the end. 

Weiner does a good job incorporating details that hold together the current realities of (post?) pandemic life. 

I happened to have spent much of the pandemic in Park Slope and smiled at some of the familiar places like Prospect Park and customs (like the Buy Nothing Group that Eli joins) and the dog. At first, I found the details of this period of time annoying but so much has defined and shaped us over these two years and some of that is reflected in the annoying details of mask-wearing and the impact of quarantine. And certainly the lock-down brought to light bigger questions of life choices as we faced our mortality and examined our priorities. 

As someone who appreciates blended families, I wish that the focus on “step” was a little less prominent. Family is family and constantly pointing it out felt like maybe the stepkids aren’t as integrated into their heart as the parents want to believe. Oh and does Connor’s grandfather ever actually die?! Both Connor and Ruby have a parent who leaves them but the abandonment issues didn’t really seem to be dealt with – how is/will the next generation be impacted because of the family secrets and dynamics? But maybe the point of the book is that no family is perfect and learning how to live and love better is a constant process.