"Four best friends, five summers of camp memories
Emma, Skylar, Jo and Maddie have all come back to camp for a weekend of tipsy canoe trips to the island, midnight skinny dipping in the lake, and an epic game of capture the flag--boys versus girls. But the weekend isn't quite as sunwashed as they'd imagined as the memories come flooding back...
The summer we were nine: Emma was branded “Skylar’s friend Emma” by the infamous Adam Loring . . .
The summer we were ten: Maddie realized she was too far into her lies to think about telling the truth . . .
The summer we were eleven: Johanna totally freaked out during her first game of Spin the Bottle . . .
The summer we were twelve: Skylar’s love letters from her boyfriend back home were exciting to all of us—except Skylar . . .
Our last summer together: Emma and Adam almost kissed. Jo found out Maddie’s secret. Skylar did something unthinkable...and whether we knew it then or not, five summers of friendship began to fall apart."- summary from Amazon
I liked this book. It's a good look into friendships- how they start, how they continue, and how sometimes they can fade or grow apart. LaMarche does a wonderful job writing these friends and it helps that each of the four girls gets a chance to speak and we see them throughout the five summers and then the reunion weekend. Each of the girls is distinctive and there are differences during each age so it feels real reading them through the various ages.
There's some wonderful characterization here and emotional arcs for the girls. The reader really gets to know these characters, care for them, and be compelled by their story. It's very real and I feel like there's a lot to relate to. There's an enjoyable climax and ending for these characters.
Overall, a good debut and LaMarche has written a great book for fans of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and anyone who wants to read a book all about friendships.
FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.
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I've had this book on my shelf but have been reluctant to read it (I think it's because I'm worried about the friendship storyline). But I'm happy you liked it!
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