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Summary: Judy Blume for Grown Ups
Review: I have read all of Judy Blume's grown-up novels (Wifey and Smart Women) and this is by far the greatest.The turns these women's lives make are captivating. I have read this book several times now and each time I feel like I am spending time with friends. I feel their pain and laugh with them.
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Summary: GREAT BOOK
Review: Wow this book was great. It was given to me by and male friend and I was so shocked that he would read something like this (no he is not gay.) The detail in this book with each character was great I felt like they were my childhood friends. I cried with a couple of chapters wishing I had had a girl friend that was that close to me. Wonderful book after the first read it only took me 1 week to pick it up and read it again....Now that I am thing about it; it is due for another reading.
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Summary: Tears and Laughter-Very True to Life
Review: I highly recommend this book for every girl that grew up in the late 70's and 80's. It touches on every aspect of growing up with a close friend. I read Judy Blume as a child and this is my first "adult" Judy Blume book. I plan to buy Wifey next.
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Summary: Better off for another story...
Review: I've heard many great comments about this book. However, I was deceived by it. I had read it over the summer telling myself this would be fun to read a "great" summer teenage book over the summer! It was not the case. Not saying it was bad, but I expected more from Judy Blume. She is an incredible, talented writer who wrote some excellent books, but this time it wasn't as great. Summer Sisters' main characters are Vix and Caitlin. These main characters in the beginning were well presented and were described very well as if we knew them, as if they were our friends. But as the story was getting more detailed and many characters were starting to get included, every character shares their thoughts with us. So, it made it a bit complicated to understand. Also, the characters were switching a lot between themselves, so we had to know which one gave their opinion about something. While reading, the book started getting a bit boring. I tried making efforts to continue, seeing if it might change. Instead, it was getting less exciting, and weren't many surprises concerning events in the novel. Nevertheless, I LOVE teenage stories, and stories that deal with teenagers going through the hardest stage of life: becoming an adult. Though Summer Sisters wasn't the way I thought it would be written. So, I did not finish reading it because I wasn't intrigued to it. To sum up, I think out of all the books in the world relating to this type of story, I could have found better. But still, others may have different opinions about this book. Some might love these kinds of situations, while others like me, wouldn't like it at all.
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Summary: Beautiful, nostalgic book
Review: This book spans the relationship of two girls -- the wealthy Caitlin and the underprivileged Vix. This follows them from the summer of 1977 to the summer of 1996. Cait and Vix meet in school when Cait asks Vix to accompany her to her father's house in the Vineyard. After that, Caitlin's life was never the same again. Vix is smart, observant, maybe even a little shy while Caitlin is vivacious, outgoing, and opinionated. Most of the book is told from Vix's POV with subchapters from some of the supporting characters POV. However, Caitlin never gets a subchapter. We're left to figure her out from Vix's reactions to her and the reactions of the other characters. Caitlin gets a lot of reaction for her "don't care" attitude. This book is about so much more than the relationship between two friends. It also focused on the complexities of relationships between women, women and men, between parents and children, etc. And then, there's the usual growing pains mixed into this story making it an excellent read. A few things that annoyed me with this story was the contrived ending. It seemed almost as if Blume was trying to make her readers feel sorry for Caitlin. I didn't. I felt more sorry for Vix. And another personal grievance was the way that Vix kept on forgiving even when Cait did the unthinkable. I think this irked me because I know firsthand what it's like to keep forgiving a person who keeps breaking your heart. Other than that, loved this book. I read it in one sitting. This book made me nostalgic for some of my own friends.
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Summary: Gorgeous! Terrific!
Review: Once I started reading the book, I simply couldn't put it down.Can't we all remember the feeling that our best friend supposedly always was on the greener side? Everything she had was better than what we had? Everything she did was supposedly so much cooler than what we did? That she supposedly looked sooo much better than we did? I believe that's all very familiar to us. However, the question remains who was really the coolest, the "baddest", smartest, sexiest and so on. Read this book and you will once again learn that things are not necessarily what they seem to be.And after reading it, you might be raving about it as well ;-)
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Summary: Is it Fall Yet?
Review: "Everyone wants edge these days. You tell them it's edgy, they love it." So writes Judy Blume on the first page of Summer Sisters. This quote is the only explanation I can think of for all the high ratings that this book has received. "Summer Sisters" I assume, is Blume's attempt at being edgy. We are introduced to a meek girl Victoria who is selected by the school's miss popularity Caitlin to jet away to Martha's Vineyard for the summer. It soon becomes a yearly ritual. They spend their summers lusting over brain dead beau hunks and experimenting with their "powers" (sexuality for those who have passed the 6th grade sex ed class). Was this book edgy? No. Was it attempting to be edgy? I think so. I can only assume that people who like this book haven't taken the sex ed. class yet. Aside from the obvious. Blume's writing style is extremely simplistic and is better suited for the young adult novels that are her claim to fame. Furthermore, there is a serious lack of development and growth in both plot and characters in "Summer Sisters". The characters remain distant and shallow throughout the entire novel and the plot just kind of drags on. As a reader I did not become attach to any of the characters nor did I even care about their outcome. The only positive thing I have to say about "Summer Sisters" is that it is an exceptionally quick read, that is, if you don't decide to give up on it altogether.
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Summary: You'll never hear "Dancing Queen" again without remembering!
Review: Blume follows two friends, Vix and Caitlin, from sixth grade, when Caitlin impulsively invites Vix to spend the summer with her, throughout adulthood. "Chapters" alternate between their perspectives, as well as those of their parents, siblings, and others, giving the reader an omniscient view of things the other characters only think they know. The author does a great job with Vix and Caitlin's progression through the decades - even if you didn't live through or were too young to recall the '70s and '80s, you'll feel like you did after reading this...
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Summary: Blume should stick to writing books for children
Review: I was excited to read this book. As a child I had read Ms. Blume's books and recall really enjoying them. This book left me with nothing. I did not care about the characters. The story was predictable and contrived. The main character could have chosen her friends better and I should have chosen a better book.
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Summary: So Good, I Read It Twice!
Review: I read this book when it was first released a few years ago. When I found out that Judy Blume was publishing a new book after many years, I almost ran to the bookstore! I truly believe that Judy Blume is a voice for my generation. I grew up reading her preteen books and I am still a fan! I think she says what we are all thinking, but afraid to say. She writes about things that we keep hidden, thoughts that we didn't even know we had. Summer Sisters is just another work of art from this talented writer. I recently read this book again when it was chosen for my book club. I was not disapointed the second time around. Reading it twice gave me even more insight into the characters, each one more interesting than the next. The book focuses on Caitlin Summers. She's self centered and spoiled and looking for trouble. The story starts when she is just a young girl of 12, and follows her and the whilrwind she creates until she is 30. She affects everyone around her in some way, and readers get a chance to hear the story told in each characters point of view. The one point of view we don't get, is Caitlin herself. Her motives, thoughts and inner thoughts remain a mystery. The most intriguing character that is affected by Caitlin is her "Summer Sister" Vix. She's shy, quiet and introverted. She comes from a dysfunction family with little money, but she blossoms when is invited to Martha's Vineyard with Caitlin. She gains a new family, and new way of life, and most of all, and best friend. This book is amazing. The mystery of the ending and Caitlin herself will keep you flipping pages late through the night.
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