Summer Sisters

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Summer Sisters

Summer Sisters - Hardcover - USA - 1st Edition.jpg

Hardcover - USA - 1st edition.

Author Judy Blume
Published 1998-05-04
Type Fiction
Genre Drama
Themes Coming of age, Drama, Romance, Teen
Age Group Adult

Summer Sisters is a novel written by Judy Blume and published on 1998-05-04.

The story is set between the early 1980s to the 1990s and told primarily from the perspective of Vix, a sensitive teenage girl who is befriended by the daring and impulsive Caitlin. The two spend each summer together and become as inseparable as sisters despite having quite different backgrounds and home lives. Vix is a bright and reserved girl who comes from a working-class family while Caitlin is an eager free-spirit with rich divorced parents, yet the two of them are able to kindle a powerful friendship. The book follows their lives from just becoming teens into adulthood.

Personal

Own?Hardcover - USA - 1st edition.
Read?Hardcover - USA - 1st edition.
Finished2024-08-08.

After discovering that Blume, one of my childhood favorites, had written some adult novels, I was curious to see that they were about. I initially looked for this book, and, in the process, discovered her newly released adult novel, In the Unlikely Event, which I loved, but added Summer Sisters to my list. When someone gave me a gift card for my birthday, I used it to finally buy a first edition hardcover.

Review

Overall:

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Good

  • Blume, who felt it necessary to censor herself in previous teen books, certainly doesn't pull any punches this time around and has written many adult scenes. Still, I didn't find any of them gratuitous, and thought they helped establish the characters in the story.
  • The prologue, which sees the girls as adults, was a great way to introduce their complicated friendship.
  • Several times in the story, just like in real life, the teen girls are put in scary situations, particularly because of older men. These can get a bit tense, but really illustrate the fear and danger they face.
  • I love the character growth as Vix and Caitlin mature from girls to adulthood. They both grow together and as individuals. Even the side characters see growth, though it's mostly just descriptive.
  • I really like the brief forays into the heads of the supporting characters. With only a few sentences, Blume makes her side characters much more real in a way that could not be done organically if the story were solely told exclusively from Vix's perspective. Blume later employed this technique in In the Unlikely Event to good effect.

Bad

  • Once Vix gets into college, the book lacks direction. While this actually fits with someone going off to college, it creates a lull in the story.

Ugly

  • Nothing.

Media

Covers

Representation

Strong female character?PassVix and Caitlin are important to the story, show growth, and solve their own problems (Vix in particular). Several of the ancillary women Abby/Tawney are strong too.
Bechdel test?PassSeveral women talk about a variety of topics together.
Strong person of color character?FailI don't remember any people of color in the book.
Queer character?PassCaitlin and, to a lesser extent Vix, show bisexual tendencies.

Quotes

— This section contains spoilers! —

  • Already it felt like ages ago. Her first trip on a plane. She wondered if all the firsts in her life would go by so quickly, and be forgotten just as quickly.
  • He was so laid back he was practically horizontal.
  • Caitlin said coitus interruptus sounded like something you ordered in a French restaurant.
  • Tawny used to tell them Nathan was a gift from God, to teach them to be strong, to teach them to count their blessings. But what about Nathan? What kind of gift had God given him?
  • "Someday they're going to fall in love with me." "Who?" Vix asked. "Bru and Von." "Why both?" Vix said. "Why not just one?" "Because it's more interesting if it's both," Caitlin answered.
  • How did all these rich people know each other? Was there some sort of club?
  • She shrugged, wishing she could say, No, I'm not scared of you. I'm scared of these feelings.
  • But I'm dead, Mother. What's the point in being angry? Then act dead! Tawny shoved her back down and lowered the lid on the casket.
  • Darlings... the Countess coos, you two really must get to know one another. After all, you've had the same husband, you share the same children.
  • She would never smell peonies again without reliving this moment.
  • Caitlin isn't someone to get over. She's someone to come to terms with, the way you have to come to terms with your parents, your siblings. You can't deny they ever happened. You can't deny you ever loved them, love them still, even if loving them causes you pain.
  • Nice of them to choose Vix's twenty-fifth birthday for their wedding date. "That way you'll never forget our anniversary, " Caitlin told her. As if...
  • Sharkey: What did they expect?

Links

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