Friday, July 12, 2024

Book Review: The Summer Pact

Four freshmen arrive at college from completely different worlds: Lainey, a California party girl with a flair for drama; Tyson, a brilliant scholar and aspiring lawyer from Washington, D.C.; Summer, an ambitious, recruited athlete from the Midwest; and Hannah, a mild-mannered southerner who is content to quietly round out the circle of big personalities. Soon after arriving on campus, they strike up a conversation in their shared dorm, and the seeds of friendship are planted.

As their college years fly by, their bond intensifies and the four become inseparable. But as graduation nears, their lives are forever changed after a desperate act leads to tragic consequences. Stunned and heartbroken, they make a pact, promising to always be there for one another, no matter how separated they may become by circumstances or distance. (Synopsis courtesy of Amazon.)

Allyson Bales:

“Remember there’s a difference between your history and your legacy.  Your history is what happened.  Your legacy is what you set in motion.”

Emily Giffin will always be a favorite author of mine because her stories always hit that sweet spot of deep and thought-provoking and also fun and uplifting. 

When I saw The Summer Pact was being released, I knew I needed to get my hands on it as soon as possible and am so glad I did.  This story is told from the different perspectives of friends from college, struggling with their hardships.  They come together to support each other and go on a pretty amazing journey.  I loved it.  While some of the story deals with deeper topics like grief and addiction, there is also grace, humility, and humor, and I found myself so invested in these characters.  I binged this one in two days!

While all of the characters really resonated with me, my favorite was Hannah.  She has no clue how strong she is, how much what she carries resonates with so many, how brave she is.  I really was rooting for all of them and really enjoyed the growth in all of the characters but Hannah the most.  

Thank you Emily Giffin for writing another amazing beach read!  Please go read this one and then let me know which character was your favorite!  

Melissa Amster:

I've read all of Emily Giffin's novels and her writing voice has really evolved over time. The Summer Pact is definitely on my list of her top three though!

The story was really engaging the entire time and I loved all of the main characters and cared so much about them. Getting to see each of their perspectives was helpful. There are some heavy topics, but Emily handles them in a sensitive and honest way.  I also loved the armchair adventure aspect and felt like I was in Italy with the friends. It was really easy to visualize people and places.

I was constantly surprised by everything that was happening and had no idea what would come up next. I maybe only guessed at a few things but they were hinted at early on. And Hannah's mother made me so angry on Hannah's behalf. Such toxic behavior! She reminded me a bit of Skeeter's mom in The Help (but also with a lot of Hilly's personality).

This is such a great summer (or even year-round) read and it will definitely make you laugh, smile, and even cry! Perfect for fans of Jane Green and Jill Santopolo, as well. 

(Trigger warnings below.)

Movie casting suggestions:
Tyson: Lucien Laviscount
Lainey: Meghann Fahy 
Summer: Bella Thorne

Thanks to Random House for the book in exchange for an honest review. Enter to win one of 20 copies on Goodreads! (US only. Ends July 31st.)


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TW: suicide, death of parent, alcoholism

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