THE SUMMER THAT MADE US
On Sale: September 5, 2017
Hardcover $26.99 U.S. / $29.99 CAN.
ISBN-13: 978-0778331049
Everyone has a summer they’ll never forget…
#1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Robyn Carr is back with THE SUMMER THAT MADE US, a powerful multi-generational story about mothers and daughters, sisters and cousins, and the ties that bind us together forever. Everyone has a summer they’ll never forget, and for the women of the Hempstead family, this has never been more viscerally true.
For Louise and Jo Hempstead—sisters who married brothers and each had three daughters— summers at Lake Waseka were the happiest of times, filled with days of boating, swimming races, and the sound of children laughing. For years, the lake was the place where the women and their daughters loved each other the most. But when an unthinkable tragedy strikes in the form of an accidental drowning, the family closes up the lake house for good, never to return. Now, more than 25 years later, Louise’s daughter Meg is sick with cancer and enlists her sister, Charlene, to reopen the lake house and gather the family for one last summer at the lake. But years of pain and unspoken grief have pulled the Hempstead women in different directions, away from each other: Meg might be dying; Charlene is unexpectedly jobless; Hope is reckoning with the break-down of her marriage; Krista has just returned from a long prison sentence; Beverly is still traumatized by the drowning, and Louise and Jo haven’t been close in years.
But blood is thicker than water, and Charlene hopes that time and family might be able to heal even the deepest wounds. In this beautifully woven story about the complexities of family dynamics and female relationships, return to the lake with the Hempstead girls for a season of healing, second chances, and finally making peace with the past.
PURCHASE
Anyone who knows me or has looked at my past reviews should not be shocked that this is the first Robyn Carr book that I have ever read. Why? I am not that type of person who enjoys reading romance books. I am sure that you as a reader has a genre that does not tickle your fancy. As a result, when I was thinking of doing this review I definitely hesitated though the blurb was so intriguing, as I am sure you have read, the book's focus on a family that was torn apart by tragedy but is it possible for the family to overcome their differences and reunite? Well, that has nothing to do with romance so I jumped at the chance to review this book. Guess what? It rocked!
Charley remembered. She was quite young when she heard, You think you can treat me like that and get away with it? You’ll see when I’m not here anymore and it won’t just be me, but me and the babies. I’ll take them with me. Check in the basement when you get home next time and see if we’re not all hanging there, dead!
The story held my interest with its compelling plot. Throughout the book the plot goes from the present day to the past through memories; a keen way to portray the story. There are a lot of characters, therefore when you start reading it can be slightly confusing, for that issue I made a family chart, although after being immersed fully in the family drama it was not needed. Whereas, having a huge cast was an ace move due to the variety of personalities and all the pandemonium that transpires. Thus, delivering the reader stellar predicaments which incorporates colossal divergent moods. Unquestionably, you will enjoy the roller coaster ride of the up’s and down’s, with agitation, shame, sorrow, happiness, and humor at one point I laughed out loud so hard I almost woke my roommates up, these are just a sample. Did I mention there could possibly be a bombshell or two? With all this in mind, I felt like this was a family I could relate to or for some readers a family you know. Believe me it’s far from a down-home book it rides the crazy side the side that makes sense in today's world. All of this is what made me enjoy the book immensely.
“Hope, forgive me, but I don’t think Frank regards Pam as temporary,” Maxine said. Hope laughed again, but her laugh was hollow this time. “But of course she is! Just the other night Franklin said something awfully like he was just this close to coming home. Of course I don’t intend to make it that easy for him. He’ll have to make a few changes, that’s for sure!...”Hope! He divorced you! Years ago! He’s remarried! They have a child!”
Overall, it is well worth your time as a reader. Now that I am aware a smattering of Robyn Carr’s writing goes beyond romance I must do a bit of investigation to see what other books of hers I can find. Got any ideas? Please, leave any suggestions below.
Robyn Carr was a young mother of two in the mid-1970s when she started writing fiction, an Air Force wife, educated as a nurse, whose husband’s frequent assignment changes made it difficult for her to work in her profession. Little did the aspiring novelist know then, as she wrote with babies on her lap, that she would become one of the world’s most popular authors of romance and women’s fiction, that 11 of her novels would earn the #1 berth on the New York Times bestselling books list.
Proof of Robyn’s international popularity is also in the numbers. Over the past 17 years, 41 Robyn Carr titles, with collectively 27 million copies in print, have been translated into 19 languages in 30 countries.
As a sign of the significant contributions Robyn has made to the genre, the Romance Writers of America, the trade association representing 10,200 members who write romance and live in 35 countries, has announced Robyn as the winner of the 2016 Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award.
Robyn and her now-retired husband enjoy traveling, often taking research trips together. Their children are grown—her son is an Army surgeon; her daughter, a lice detective/hostage negotiator. Robyn says that, in addition to reading her novels and making snide remarks about how she’s used family scenarios to her advantage, they have made her a happy grandmother.
