Book Review: All the Summer Girls

By Amy Bromberg

I’ve been waiting for Meg Donohue’s second book pretty much right after I finished her debut, How To Eat A Cupcake. (You must read it, and not only if you’re a die-hard cupcake fan, like I am). I always get a little nervous when I start reading an author’s second novel because, of course, I have high hopes for it, anticipating it will be as good as the first one. Well Meg has done it again with All the Summer Girls and I couldn’t be happier!

In Philadelphia, good girl Kate is dumped by her fiancé the day she learns she is pregnant with his child. In New York City, beautiful stay-at-home mom Vanessa is obsessively searching the Internet for news of an old flame. And in San Francisco, Dani, the aspiring writer who can't seem to put down a book--or a cocktail--long enough to open her laptop, has just been fired...again.
In an effort to regroup, Kate, Vanessa, and Dani retreat to the New Jersey beach town where they once spent their summers. Emboldened by the seductive cadences of the shore, the women being to realize how much their lives, and friendships, have been shaped by the choices they made one fateful night on the beach eight years earlier--and the secrets that only now threaten to surface. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads.)

Kate, Vanessa and Dani are childhood best friends. Kate, an uptight lawyer, is a perfectionist who always puts everybody else’s needs before her own. She thinks she has the perfect relationship with Peter (her fiancé), but the next thing she knows she’s being dumped. Vanessa is a stay-at-home mom who is starting to think “what would have happened?” thoughts regarding an old flame. Dani is a writer who, basically, just can’t get her act together. Each of them has a secret about an event involving Collin, Kate’s twin brother, and the last time they were all together at the shore. The guilt and grief that they have been dealing with has put a major dent in their friendship and things haven’t been the same since.

As Elin Hilderbrand says in her endorsement, this is DEFINITELY one beach book extraordinaire! I think I might have to read it again when I actually do, hopefully, get to go to the beach this summer. If you’re like me you will want to go anywhere where there’s grass or sand (preferably by a body of water), lie down a blanket and bask in the sun with Kate, Vanessa and Dani. I knew Avalon existed but had no idea it was such a beautiful and cozy beach town. I grew up in NJ and spent many a summer at the Jersey shore, but unfortunately I’ve never been to Avalon. Perhaps I should go sometime soon? Maybe on July 24th when Meg is at the Avalon Library....

If you’re looking for a story about the power of friendships, forgiveness, love then look no further. Definitely on my 2013 favorite beach read list!

Thanks to HarperCollins for the book in exchange for an honest review. They're doing a giveaway along with Meg's interview.