POSTCARDS FROM SUMMER

Lexi’s search for information about her mother leads to her unraveling the mysterious truth.

When 17-year-old Lexi unexpectedly receives a wooden chest, decorated with mosaics and full of her deceased mother’s letters and memorabilia, she takes a solo trip to Mackinac Island, where her mom grew up, hoping to learn more. The book alternates between Lexi’s story (in chapters labeled “Now”) and her mother Emma’s (“Then,” which contextual clues situate in the early 2000s). Through this structure, both Lexi and readers slowly learn who Emma really was and what happened during a tragic summer that changed her life forever. Emma and her best friends, JR, Linda, and Ryan, entered that summer as carefree teens, but everything culminated in a devastating tragedy, a complicated love triangle, severed familial relationships, and ruined friendships. The members of the central cast are believable, flawed, impulsive teenagers, and the secondary characters—like sharp-witted, elderly Clara VanHill, a legendary Black Broadway star—are full of personality. Main characters are White; important secondary characters bring diversity in race and sexual orientation. Mackinac Island, with its lake views and old-timey charm, is itself an atmospheric presence. While aspects of Lexi’s trip require some suspension of disbelief, overall Platt handily closes the loop on the book’s many open ends. This is a lengthy read, but Platt’s twists and turns do not disappoint, and the pacing keeps readers engaged.

An all-encompassing story full of deep romance and searing tragedy.