WHEN WE HAD SUMMER

A trio struggles during the first summer following the unexpected death of the fourth member of their close-knit group in this contemporary novel.

Lainie, Penny, Daniella, and Carly met and bonded in the New Jersey seaside town of Ocean Park Heights when they were just kids, reuniting each year and joyfully completing the Summer Sisters Bucket List written by Carly. However, following Carly’s death from an undiagnosed heart condition, the surviving girls must navigate both their grief and a host of new experiences in their lives. Alternating chapters from their third-person perspectives form this poignant story that explores each of their situations through the lenses of their distinct personalities. Daniella, who is struggling with panic attacks, is the only one who lives in OPH. She announces that this summer she will be departing for Manhattan to attend a music academy. Her experiences are juxtaposed with Lainie and Penny’s off-kilter summer in OPH, during which they both struggle with family upheaval—and Penny with a first romantic relationship. If at times some of the life lessons they learn seem a bit on the nose, these vulnerable characters will still speak to readers. Carly and Penny default to White; Daniella, who is Carly’s cousin, is biracial (African American and Italian American), and Lainie’s family is Colombian. There is diversity in sexuality and ethnicity among the secondary characters.

A bittersweet tale of friendship surviving and growing amid heartbreak and change.