Big Summer by Jennifer Berg. 5*

Publication Date, May 19, 2020

Jennifer Weiner has been the voice of real women since her debut novel, Good In Bed.  When I say real women, I don’t do it to exclude anyone, but to add to the numbers of people who don’t get picked on for their looks, color, body shape, size, sexual orientation, nationality, age or any of the myriad reasons that get someone labeled as “other.” Jennifer’s books have wonderfully developed inclusive characters who aren’t afraid of showing up in a novel, and I personally find it refreshing.

Daphne Berg is one of those real women. She’s young, not thirty yet, but she is also smart and not a size 2. She’s also a rising star in the social influencer scene. Her adorable parents worked hard to send Daphne to private school where she excelled, but discovered all those elite cool kids, who treated her either as best friend or pariah. Daphne never knows which to expect, especially from her purported “best friend,” Drue Cavanaugh.

Once Weiner has hooked us on these fascinating characters, the book takes a solid turn into romantic murder mystery. Weaving well drawn characters into the idyllic setting of Cape Cod, Berg shows that she knows how to tie the threads up in an unexpected knot. 

This is a great book for summer reading, good for contemporary fiction, romance lovers, and people who enjoy a good mystery. Big Summer is another great read from Jennifer Weiner.

This was a Read Now selection from NetGalley and provided by the wonderful publisher, Atria Books.

Book Review: How to Walk Away, Katherine Center. 5*

How to Walk Away. Katherine Center

I'm very far behind on my book reviews.  My only excuse is my incessant need to keep reading, so stopping to review feels like a speed bump!  But I've read some great books lately, some of which are not yet released, so I'll try to catch up today.  It's easier to review books I love, so I'll start there.

One of my favorite authors of contemporary women's fiction is Katherine Center. She has a new book hitting the shelves on May 15, perfect to indulge in on those lengthening spring nights. 

On the day that should have been one of her happiest, Margaret’s worst fears are realized.  This book is about a brilliant young woman with her future laid out like stair steps to the stars and then literally crashes. It illustrates resilience in its most powerful form. As Margaret’s sister tells her at the beginning of the book, “Dying is easy, it’s the not dying that’s hard.”

I loved the resilience.  Ever hopeful, Margaret, her family, even her medical professionals, face and overcome challenges that ordinary people would find difficult or impossible.  Katherine Center’s wry and funny characters may whine a bit, but in a way where the reader knows they will just “do it” …whatever the “it” may be.  And the characters don’t just deal with obstacles, they overcome adversity in unique and personal ways that resists foregone conclusions of a happily ever after format.  Satisfaction with outcomes will be there, but her characters may not get everything they want, or think they want.

This book benefits from extensive and interesting research on flight, spinal injuries and rehabilitative therapy. The characters teach the reader; there are no sidebar lectures on what needs to happen. We understand what we should expect and what is possible. These are people we care about, with some appropriate exception for the characters you will come to love to hate.   Even the main character’s mother has her moments.

Katherine Center’s books don’t shy away from controversial subject matter. How to Walk Away is filled with difficult topics but is a pleasure to read. Any group that is ready for a heroine they can cheer for, without reservation, will love it.

I got this pre-release copy from Net Galley with no strings attached.  How to Walk Away will be released by St. Martin’s Press on May 15, 2018.