The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck

 

The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck is one of my favorite books that I have read this year so far. This book is a dual time story set in 1977 and 1997 and tells the story of four good friends as they move into adulthood---and then as they move on and reflect back on that summer after graduation twenty years later. 

The four friends in The Best Summer of Our Lives are Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter. They call themselves the four season and have been friends since grade school. At the end of their senior year, they are part of a big prank that gets them community service. For their part, the judge agrees to let them be camp counselors for the summer with Summer's Mom supervising them. A lot happens that summer and there are some things the girls haven't really dealt with that happened in the past that also leave them raw and vulnerable.The book does flip back and forth some as readers also read some of what has been happening in their lives 20 years later in 1997.

The Best Summer of Our Lives drew me in slowly at first as I got my bearings with each of the characters. Once I had them all settled in my head, I was all in to follow the girls and their families. I think there are things they deal with that we can all relate to between the friendship struggles, the things going on in the world that are difficult to reconcile in their minds, and the things that other family members do that they face the fall-out from. I didn't initially like all of the characters but as the book went on, I truly loved them all in the end. I also liked how Summer sees Jesus in the world even though she is slow to come around and goes through some desert years. While this is mainly about friendships and family relationships, there is also some romance in the book and also some spiritual growth struggles. The Best Summer of Our Lives is different from any other book that I have read--in a good way. This is a book that will stick with me for a long time. The ending left me weeping and I had all the feels at different times throughout the book. The author did a great job of creating characters that moved me in various ways. I also like that the chapter titles are songs from the 1970s. The Best Summer of Our Lives is a great read for the summer wherever you are. There are questions in the back of the book to reflect on, either as an individual reader, or as part of a book club. This book would make a great book club read.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions within this review are my own.