A Summer to Remember: a story of secrets, family and finding home

 A Summer to Remember is the debut novel by Erika Montgomery. For 30-year-old Frankie Simon, selling movie memorabilia in The Memory Shop on Hollywood Boulevard with her mother is more than a job, it is a connection to the only family and life she has known especially since the tragic death of her mother the year before. When a package arrives containing a photograph of her mother with famous movie stars Glory Cartwright and her husband, Mitch Beckett, at a coastal film festival the year before Frankie’s birth. She is left with so many questions, she journeys to the Cape Cod film festival to find the answers to those questions. There she meets Gabe Beckett, the adopted son of Glory and Mitch, and Russ and Louise Chandler, the couple’s closest friends. Soon the journey reveals buried family secrets, betrayals, and the bonds of friendships. Will the answers to her questions bring the closure that Frankie wishes? Or will the answers lead to more questions? 

A Summer to Remember is a story of the power of memories. The nostalgia we feel when we watch a favorite movie and the emotions tied to that movie. Some movies speak to us and stay with us long after the screen goes black. When we see a piece of that movie, whether is it a piece of a costume or a set location, those emotions and memories come rushing back and we remember. That is what Frankie and her mother sold. They sold more than just memorabilia, they sold important reminders for those fans. I enjoyed this book. It wasn’t overly dramatic but felt real and relatable. The questions, the regrets, and the doubts of the characters are ones we have all struggled with and dealt with. Switching between the present and the past, the events unfold as secrets are revealed and each character must come to terms with the decisions made and secrets kept.  I highly recommend A Summer to Remember. 

A Summer to Remember is available in hardcover, eBook, and audiobook.