The Summer That Made Us

This is the second Robyn Carr book I've listened too in the past few weeks. I enjoy these easy-listen, contemporary fiction novels that include family dysfunction and drama.

The Summer That Made Us centres around a family who traditionally spent idyllic summers at their lake house until tragedy suddenly strikes during an already tumultuous summer. The family is torn apart and it isn't until decades later, that they return to the lake house and the memories it holds. Carr provides insight on the large cast which enabled me to sympathize with the different characters and their not always stellar life decisions. 

Since I listened to this family drama so soon after listening to Carr's The Life She Wants, some of the characters and storylines got a bit muddled in my head because they are both filled with familial angst, long-held family feuds and some romance t'boot. My bad. Regardless, this was an enjoyable family drama that held my attention. I am not reader who sheds tears easily, but one scene made me quite misty-eyed as it brought up a loss in my own life. 

While this book has a summery feel, readers will enjoy this book year-round if they're in the mood for family drama. 

My Rating: 4 stars

Author: Robyn Carr

Genre: Contemporary Fiction

Type and Source: eAudio from Audible.ca

Narrator: Therese Plummer

Run Time: 10 hours, 20 min

Publisher: Recorded Books

First Published: 2017

Book Description from GoodReads: Mothers and daughters, sisters and cousins--they lived for summers at the lake house until a tragic accident changed everything. The Summer That Made Us is an unforgettable story about a family learning to accept the past, to forgive and to love each other again. 

That was then... For the Hempsteads, two sisters who married two brothers and had three daughters each, summers were idyllic. The women would escape the city the moment school was out to gather at the family house on Lake Waseka. The lake was a magical place, a haven where they were happy and carefree. All of their problems drifted away as the days passed in sun-dappled contentment. Until the summer that changed everything. 

This is now... After an accidental drowning turned the lake house into a site of tragedy and grief, it was closed up. For good. Torn apart, none of the Hempstead women speak of what happened that summer, and relationships between them are uneasy at best to hurtful at worst. But in the face of new challenges, one woman is determined to draw her family together again, and the only way that can happen is to return to the lake and face the truth. Robyn Carr has crafted a beautifully woven story about the complexities of family dynamics and the value of strong female relationships.