Thursday, August 3, 2023

THE BEST SUMMER OF OUR LIVES by Rachel Hauck, Reviewed by Rebecca Maney

" I said some pretty harsh things that night on the dock. Now there's too much water under the bridge."

Friends. Autumn. Snow. Spring. Summer. Dubbed as the "four seasons", the girls were looking forward to "the best summer" of their young lives following graduation . . . until a what-seemed-like-a-good-idea prank sends them to Camp Tumbleweed as counselors for the summer. Would their court sanctioned "probation" solidify their friendship or shatter it into a thousand little pieces . . . and so it begins.

Toggling back and forth between two timelines, this story gives its readers all the "feels" of four teen girls with distinctive differences, both in appearance and experience, growing up to realize that what had bound them together had also torn them apart. The undisputed leader of the group, Summer Wilde, made so many mistakes, but when she lands back where it all began, can that vision of "the preacher" that she experienced all those years ago, be what heals her . . . body, mind, and spirit. (along with a little help from the camper they had affectionately named "baby season")

Filled to overflowing with dynamic inter-personal fireworks, at times this story felt like it would never end, but ironically when it did, was it possible that the real story had only just begun?

"How I long to see your face, Now I know God's amazing grace, I send you all my love, I give you all my love, My friend, oh my faithful friend."

*I purchased this book and was under no obligation to provide a positive review. 3.5 stars

BackCover Blurb:

Twenty years ago, the summer of '77 was supposed to be the best summer of Summer Wilde's life. She and her best friends, Spring, Autumn, and Snow--the Four Seasons--had big plans.

But those plans never had a chance. After a teenage prank gone awry, the Seasons found themselves on a bus to Tumbleweed, "Nowhere," Oklahoma, to spend eight weeks as camp counselors. All four of them arrived with hidden secrets and buried fears, and the events that unfolded in those two months forever altered their friendships, their lives, and their futures.

Now, thirtysomething, Summer is at a crossroads. When her latest girl band leaves her in a motel outside Tulsa, she is forced to face the shadows of her past. Returning to the place where everything changed, she soon learns Tumbleweed is more than a town she never wanted to see again. It's a place for healing, for reconciling the past with the present, and for finally listening to love's voice.


Bethany House Fiction, June, 2023
Available in digital ebook, paperback, hardcover, and audiobook:
Buy THE BEST SUMMER OF OUR LIVES at Amazon, Christianbook .com, or Baker Book House

 

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