Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner is a novel about the
ins and outs of female relationships. Daphne Berg and Drue Cavanaugh became
friends in school until one day, a fight ended their relationship. Six years
later, Daphne is a social media influencer for plus sized women and enjoys her
life. She is shocked when Drue shows up in her life again with a huge favor.
She asks Daphne to be her maid-of-honor at her society wedding the following
summer. Daphne is speechless and has a hard time saying no despite her
reservation and her friend and roommate, Darshi’s warning. When the weekend of
the wedding arrives, Daphne is swept up in the glamour of the Cape Cod waterfront
mansion and the drama that always seems to be involved with a wedding. Tragedy
strikes and Daphne finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation and
finds herself determined to find out the truth. Will she be able to discover
the truth? Will she be able to move forward?
Big Summer was hard to get through. Told in three
parts, the story opens with a prologue about a mother and her son that does not
seem to connect with the story of Daphne and Drue. When the connection is
revealed, I thought “okay….?” The first part is super slow as the history and
complexity of Daphne’s friendship with Drue and her own battle with her weight
is the made focus. The second and third parts were much more fast paced as the
murder investigation occurs and Daphne chases clues to who the killer could be.
The book is marketed as “A sparkling novel about the complexities of females
relationships, the pitfalls of living loud and online, and the resilience of
the human heart.” In a way, the book is about these factors, however, I expected
a more powerful commentary than what is featured. It was hard to sympathize
with adult Daphne as she fell into the same patterns with Drue. And Drue was
the stereotypical mean girl who seems to have it all but is jealous of the fat
girl who has everything that matters. I even expected the death to be a fake
and another ploy for attention or sympathy. Overall, the book was okay. I did
not genuinely care about the characters, the resolution or the author’s
commentary on fat shaming, social media, and relationships. If you are a fan of
Jennifer Weiner, you may enjoy Big Summer.
Big Summer
is available in
hardcover, eBook, and audiobook
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