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Review: The Summer We Fell Apart

It’s not a secret… I love reading stories about families. After reading so many good reviews about The Summer We Fell Apart I knew this would be a good choice for me. It was a TLC book tour selection earlier this year and a book club selection for Book Club Girl. I really enjoy her interviews, listening to the author discuss the book always brings new meaning to a story.

From author's website: Robin Antalek studied fiction writing at the New York State Writer’s Institute and lives with her husband and two daughters in New York. The Summer We Fell Apart is her first novel.

Congratulations to Robin, her book was selected as a Target breakout book! 

Synopsis: The children of a once-brilliant playwright and a struggling actress, the four Haas siblings grew up in chaos-raised in an environment composed of neglect and glamour in equal measure. When their father dies, they must depend on their intense but fragile bond to remember what it means to be family despite years of anger and hurt. These brothers and sisters are painfully human, sometimes selfish, and almost always making the wrong decisions, but their endearing struggles provide laughter through tears-something anyone who's ever had a sibling can relate to.

Type: Fiction, 367 pages, Trade paperback

Quick Take: Recommend - The Haas family seems trouble bound from the beginning pages and this sets up a compelling story that is told from five voices. The story starts with the youngest daughter (Amy) as she sets up the story for the reader by sharing the family’s background; we learn how the family falls apart the summer before her senior year in high school. The age range of the four children is a key element to this story. Children often have different memories for the same event and this is true in this book.

I just loved this book and enjoyed reading each part of the story, gaining bits of knowledge along the way. You learn a little more about the Haas family as the story progresses. I can easily see the author taking one of the characters forward to another novel (even as a secondary character). Any character could be brought forward but I would love to read more about Kate!

Source: Review Copy