• About Us
    • Disclaimer and Policies
  • Giveaways
  • Features
    • Pre-Order Deal Incentives!
    • Author Talk Podcasts
    • Flashback Friday
    • Whadda YA Know Wednesday

Fiction Fare

  • Banners
  • Reviews
  • Contact Us

Two Summers by Aimee Friedman

April 20, 2016 by Jaime 1 Comment

Two Summers by Aimee FriedmanTwo Summers by Aimee Friedman
(Website, Twitter, Goodreads)Published by Scholastic Inc. on April 26th 2016
Genres: Adolescence, Friendship, Love & Romance, Social Issues, Social Themes, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Format: ARC
Add This Book to Your Goodreads TBR
four-stars
ONE SUMMER in the French countryside, among sun-kissed fields of lavender . . .

ANOTHER SUMMER in upstate New York, along familiar roads that lead to surprises . . .

When Summer Everett makes a split-second decision, her summer divides into two parallel worlds. In one, she travels to France, where she’s dreamed of going: a land of chocolate croissants, handsome boys, and art museums. In the other, she remains home, in her ordinary suburb, where she expects her ordinary life to continue — but nothing is as it seems.

In both summers, she will fall in love and discover new sides of herself. What may break her, though, is a terrible family secret, one she can't hide from anywhere. In the end, it may just be the truth she needs the most.

From New York Times bestselling author Aimee Friedman comes an irresistible, inventive novel that takes readers around the world and back again, and asks us what matters more: the journey or the destination.

Summer Everett is at the airport ready to board her plane to spend the summer with her estranged father in France. Her phone rings. Does she answer it or does she ignore it and get on the plane. Lucky for us as the reader, we get to experience two different stories based on this one split second decision. In one timeline, she answers the phone and her father cancels on her and her whole summer changes. In the other timeline, she ignores the call, gets on the plane, only to find out her father isn’t in France when she arrives.

I kinda love parallel universe stories… I think my first dive into parallel universes was the movie Sliding Doors… if you haven’t seen this, you should go get it and watch it. (I know I’m totally dating myself here) but it’s really well done, and it kind of kicked off my fascination with the whole “what would my life look like if I had made this choice instead of this one”. Friedman does an amazing job of really showing how this one simple action could change her life in quite different ways.

In both timelines Summer experiences quite a few ups and downs and Friedman does an incredible job of keeping the jumps from life to life seamless. She also does a really great job of immersing you into each life. In France, you’ll love the art, the pastries, the swoony boy… at home, you’ll love the new friendships forged, new experiences and the swoony boy. In both lives, it was wonderful to see Summer grow and become comfortable in who she is and who she is becoming… even if that meant giving up some of the things she’s depended on for so long.

I will say that I struggled immensely with Summer’s so called best friend in this story. From the get go I felt like she was a little cagey and when we followed the timeline where she stayed home for the summer it only made my feelings towards her a bit worse. I completely understood where she was coming from, but there really are a million better ways for her to have handled it. I absolutely loved the use of the camera to tie the two stories together.

There is one twist to the whole story that Summer isn’t expecting, but I kind of saw it coming as soon as she arrived in France and at the doorstep of her father’s home. I’m not going to explain specifics, but that was a bit predictable, though it didn’t really affect my enjoyment of the story as a whole.

I definitely recommend this for readers who might be looking for a light summer read full of fun experiences, family and friendship and some sweet romance… definitely a great starting point for someone who is just delving into parallel universes for the first time too!

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 4 Star Books
Fiction Fare
Review: Desires of the Dead
Fiction Fare
Review: Stupid Perfect World
Never Apart by Romily Bernard
Fiction Fare
Review: Love and Other Perishable Items
Dark Skies (Dark Shores #2) by Danielle L. Jensen
Blog Tour: Dark Breaks The Dawn by Sara B. Larson
Thumbnail
Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
Flashback Friday: History is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera
Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland Blog Tour
Flashback Friday: The Eighth Guardian (Annum Guard #1) by Meredith McCardle
Summer Unscripted by Jen Klein
Thumbnail
Forever, Interrupted by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Blog Tour: The Wallflower Wager by Tessa Dare
Thumbnail
Claimed by Sarah Fine
Thumbnail
Spinning Starlight by R.C. Lewis

Filed Under: Book Review Tagged With: Contemporary, Reviewed By Jaime, Young Adult

About Jaime

Avid reader and book blogger, lover of music, writing, my kid & my cats. Master of sarcasm and snark and doing what makes me happy.

  • facebook
  • twitter
  • pinterest
  • bloglovin
  • custom1
  • goodreads
  • rss
  • custom2

Get Our Updates!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

E-Book Deals!

E-Book Deals!


Author Talk

 photo author-talk_zpscsw6iy8a.png

Archives

What We’re Currently Reading

Jaime's bookshelf: currently-reading

The Trouble with Destiny
0 of 5 stars
The Trouble with Destiny
by Lauren Morrill
The Beginning of Everything
0 of 5 stars
The Beginning of Everything
by Robyn Schneider
Forget Tomorrow
0 of 5 stars
Forget Tomorrow
by Pintip Dunn

goodreads.com

Erin's bookshelf: currently-reading

Endure
0 of 5 stars
Endure
by Sara B. Larson
The Unquiet
0 of 5 stars
The Unquiet
by Mikaela Everett
Twist
0 of 5 stars
Twist
by Karen Akins

goodreads.com

Upcoming Reviews

None yet!

Ebates Coupons and Cash Back

Challenge Participant

Recent Comments

  • Lisa Loves Lit on Waiting on Wednesday: The Queens of Innis Lear By Tessa Gratton
  • bookbunny68 on Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read
  • Kristy Petree on Top Ten Tuesday: Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read
  • MischaS_ on Cover Reveal: Beyond Pain by Kit Rocha
  • Maggie @ ReadingDiva's Blog on Blog Tour: Tempests & Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

Recent Posts

  • People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
  • Flashback Friday: Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk
  • Our Top Ten Most Anticipated Books to Screen Podcast Episode
  • Flashback Friday: The Highwayman (Victorian Rebels #1) by Kerrigan Byrne
  • Podcast Episode 81: #FicNews–March 2021

Recent Reviews

People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
The Heiress Gets a Duke by Harper St. George
Crown of Bones (Amassia #1) by A.K. Wilder
Courting Trouble (Goode Girls Romance #2) by Kerrigan Byrne
Eventide by Sarah Goodman
All Scot and Bothered (Devil You Know #2) by Kerrigan Byrne
Deadly Curious by Cindy Anstey
Review: Rebel Spy by Veronica Rossi
The Court of Miracles by Kester Grant
A Dark and Stormy Knight (Victorian Rebels #7) by Kerrigan Byrne

Copyright ©2010-2015 Fiction Fare All Rights Reserved Site Design by The CreativeB Login