Summer Sisters: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel

I don't understand the negative reviews for this book, calling it "banal", "tripe", and "girly foolishness". Obviously these are people who just "don't get it" and would never survive one summer in the ramshackle cottage on Martha's Vineyard with the Somers family. I LOVE this book. I've read it and re-read it over the years, from a tattered paperback, and recently bought it digitally to add to my Kindle library. Though I have not been part of a "summer sisters" style friendship, nor suffered betrayals from friends on the level of those in this tale, I can relate to the teenage friendship between the two girls. Judy Blume paints a lush portrait of an era, a location, and the conflicting characters and scenes: the high desert of New Mexico versus Cape Cod, the wealthy versus the lower middle class, and spoiled, needy Caitlin versus serious and pragmatic Vix. I grew up reading Judy Blume, but I'm no teen now. I'm in my 40s. Blume's graceful writing style never disappoints. Negative reviewers that have complained the young teens focus too much energy on their budding sexuality have obviously forgotten what it's like to be that age. In using varying viewpoints and characters narratives to tell the story, each character is well-developed from their own words and conversations as well as through the observations of others. As another reviewer astutely pointed out, Caitlin is the only one not given a voice. We only see her in the 3rd person, and I think that is intentional, as her character remains mysterious and conflicted in her motivations to the very (sad) end. 1970s- '80s Martha's Vineyard and the late 20th century in general are characters in the story as well, and Blume expresses them both very dynamically. She's writing about kids several years older than me, the "cool kids" I looked up to when I was young, and seeing inside their lives and times makes me feel I've finally caught up with them. The love story between Vix and Bru is steamy for sure, and full of missteps that young people make. Bru's island guy local persona, tough but tender, quiet and calm, is mistaken by some reviewers as a cardboard portrait sans adequate development, but his simple straightforward demeanor should not be mistaken for lack of development. He is not a complex person. (Spoiler alert:)That's perhaps the main reason his relationship with Vix fails. I consider this book, a fast, fun and engaging read, one of Judy Blume's best.

The writing was a little scattered. Overall it was a good story of friendship and young love. I felt like it ended quite abruptly. Overall a good fast read.

This was my first real Judy Blume read; novel at least, I vividly recall reading Freckle Juice, or an abridged version perhaps, in elementary school in the late 70s or early 80s. While I could see some similarities where I recognized this as Judy Blume writing early in the novel where the protaganist Vix, and her friend, Caitlan are dealing with their changing bodies and feelings, this is a novel more for adults IMO, having recently read a few books identified as YA. This has elements of that style but seems to progress away from the YA style as Vix and Caitlan grow up and the author’s descriptions of those events becomes adult. Not sure if the author intended it that way or if it just happened but it worked and I think fit and enhanced the story. The author really made everything come alive, the settings and the characters, I could absolutely see everyone and everything and felt like I was in the scenes. Absolutely incredible writing. The story is so vivid; I have merely passed through these locals, and never visited the Vineyard specifically itself, just the nearby mainland at WHOI, but she truly makes these places come alive with sights, sounds, and smells. As someome raised in the midwest but whom came to be enchanted by the ocean and spent more of my life on the coasts, this spoke to me. The characters are all well and deeply developed. Maybe a few are more deeply developed than necessary given their minimal involvement. I was unsure of how I would like them, Vix in particular, which was troubling since she is the protaganist. From the backcover description and first few pages I was getting the sense she might just be a doormat to her richer, prettier friend Caitlan. How many can identify with having a childhood friend like that; more popular, attractive, from a “better” family, who at times used you and yet whom still had their incredible selfless moments where they made up for their faults? What a story comes out from all that and what a wonderful character Vix was. The only style point I did not care for in the writing was the inclusions of little “asides”, eg, at the end of a section or chapter we would get a first person POV section from the POV of lesser characters and how they viewed that recent scene. It added some interesting context for sure, and maybe was a better way of including that unique POV rather than from the third person main story POV which followed Vix exclusively, but I found them a bit distracting and the value added likely not worth it. The main points could have been easily worked into the storyline by this author. Probably just a style thing she wanted to try but as I said I found them to interupt the pacing. Now, I picked this up because I am myself trying to do some writing and as a middle aged male wanted to develop better female characters. Too often I am finding inauthetic or poorly developed female characters by male authors. This was an overload on how to write GOOD female characters. By which I mean I know I could never hope to achieve to craft female characters like this. But even if I never publish a word, I am so so glad I picked up this book which I otherwise likely never would have, having wrongly assumed all Judy Blume wrote was teen fiction. I will certainly be keeping this book to read again, its been a few months since I finished it and while I have a huge pile of TBR books I’ll probably re-read this sooner than any other. I’ve read many people write how they were so sad to finish it book, that the story ended. That rarely happens with me, certainly less than a handful of times. Usually I am in a hurry to fiinish it and “see how it ends.” This was one where as I got near the end I was actually sad that it would be the end of my journey with these characters.

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I first read this book in high school. I would read it every year for I don’t know how long. The first copy of this book was so ratty and falling apart I had to buy a new one. It’s gotten ratty and busted. There is something about the book. I have close friends, we are nothing like this relationship. A type of magic of magic lives in this book for me. Not much of a review, just sharing my love of this book.

サマー・シスターとは、実際の姉妹ではなく、夏休みの間を一緒にサマーハウス（別荘）で過ごす友人の事ですが、この本はサマー・シスターとして１２歳から１７歳までの毎夏を二人一緒に過ごしたケイトリンとヴィクトリアの物語です。 エキセントリックで魅力的なケイトリンと、その後光を浴びて満足しているような、感情を表に出さない（でも芯は強い）ヴィクトリア、この二人の女の子が成長していく過程と、それを取り巻く周囲の人間の様子が、なかなかのリアリティを持って描かれています。二人の成長に男の子も絡んでちょっとあやしげな描写もあちこちあり。 個人的にラストが物足りないような気がしたので☆は４つにしましたが、いずれにせよ５カ月以上ニューヨークタイムズベストセラーリスト入りし続け、アメリカのアマゾンでは千以上のレビューがついてるというビックタイトルです。おもしろいには違いないです。 英文は、基本語彙の占める割合がかなり高く、読みやすい部類のペーパーバックだと思います。が、比喩表現が結構あり、登場人物も多いので、ペーパーバックを何冊か読んでいる方向けだと思います。

My current read. Loving it so far. Schnell Lieferung