The Summer I Dared : A Novel

Rating:
Summary: What if?
Review: After being so disappointed with Delinskys last book Flirting With Pete I was not sure if I wanted to read The Summer I Dared but I am glad that I did. It is a wonderfully written story about what happens after we are faced with a life altering incident. In The Summer I Dared you will meet three very important people Julia, Noah, and Kim - the only survivors of a ferry accident that killed nine others. As you watch these three charactors live through the pain and guilt of being the only survivors, you will be asking yourself... What if something like this happened to me?

Rating:
Summary: Great Read!!
Review: Another great story by Barbara Delinsky! I learned a great deal about lostering! This book as with most of her others touches into human emotions that have you evaluating your own relationships, as well as taking a better look at yourself. Highly Recommended!!

Rating:
Summary: wonderful in depth relationship drama
Review: For years her identity was defined as Janet's daughter, Molly's mother, or Monte's wife. She accommodated the needs of everyone else at the cost of her own. With her daughter out of the house, Julia Bechtel decides to escape from her spouse so she can ponder what she wants to do with her unfulfilling marriage. Julia takes the ferry to visit her Aunt Zoe on Big Sawyer Island off the Maine coast. However, another vessel runs into the ferry causing both boats to explode.

Julia, lobsterman Noah Prince, and islander Kim Colette are the only survivors. Julia realizes that for some unknown heavenly reason she has been provided with a chance to live life on her terms. Every day is a miraculous gift as she now knows she can never return to her unsatisfying life in New York unless substantial changes occur. Comfort comes in Noah's arms, but Julia wonders if she has the courage to seek love with him because that would disappoint her daughter and her parents whose opinions she values.

Every venture that Barbara Delinsky takes her fans on is unique as the author never writes the same book twice. THE SUMMER I DARED is a beautiful love story as much as a character study of an individual finding courage with her second chance at life. The eccentric secondary cast, especially the barrier island crowd, keeps the tale from turning too inwardly maudlin while also enabling the audience to see the inner struggles of the heroine. Noah has his own demons in a neglected teenage son. All this adds up to a wonderful in depth relationship drama that focuses on the turmoil of good caring people.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: I was sorry when it was over!
Review: I enjoyed this book immensely. I was sorry when I was finished -- I wanted to know more about how Julia and Noah's lives developed together. "You" know how it can be when you don't want a book to end. This story was well written and held my attention consistently. The details about angora rabbits and about lobstering were interesting but not "too much." I've always enjoyed B. Delinsky's books -- now I've got to wait for another new one
:o(

Rating:
Summary: A great summer read...
Review: I really got into this book right from the first chapter. The book starts off with a ferry accident that leaves only Julia, Noah, and Kim alive while 9 others are killed. It deals with the personal struggle Julia goes through to find her true self, and why she was spared, as well as the other two. There's also a little mystery thrown in about how and why the accident happend in the first place.
I must say though, sometimes Julia's wish-washyness got on my nerves, and I found myself wanting to yell at her to stand up for herself...but I think that's good when a book gets you so involved in the characters and their lives. I really recommend this book to anyone's that's interested...it's a wonderful little summer read that will hold your attention from the first page to the last.

Rating:
Summary: A good read for a summer weekend
Review: Just finished Barbara Delinsky's latest book, The Summer I Dared. Her last two books have been really good. They are both very fast-paced and have a good story line. She has a special gift about writing about human relationships that very few authors have. You will certainly enjoy this one.