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Judy Blume first won legions of fans with such young adult classics as Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and Forever, in which she tackles the cultural hot button of teenage sexuality. In Summer Sisters, her third novel for adults, the author again explores the ramifications of love--and lust--on two friends. Initially, the differences between Caitlin Somers and Victoria Leonard (or "Vix," as Caitlin christens her) draw them together: privileged Caitlin is wild and outspoken, beautiful but emotionally fragile, while working-class Vix is shy, reserved, and plain in comparison. After Caitlin selects Vix to accompany her to her father's home in Martha's Vineyard for the summer, the two become inextricably connected as "summer sisters."
On the Vineyard, Vix and Caitlin first find love, then sex--and lots of it. Yet Blume soon moves beyond hot fun in the summer sun, tracing the romantic and familial travails of the two from pre-adolescence to adulthood. Solid Vix evolves into Victoria, an equally solid, Harvard-educated, Manhattan public-relations exec. Unpredictable Caitlin opts out of college and travels to Europe, where she has a string of short-lived affairs with a series of intriguing (in every sense of the word) foreigners. It is only after she returns to the Vineyard that Caitlin does the unthinkable, forever changing both her friendship with Vix and their lives. Blume once again proves herself a master of the female psyche, and Summer Sisters is likely to entertain both her postadolescent and more mature readers.
From School Library Journal
YA-Caitlin lives with her mother in Sante Fe, but spends summers on a New England island with her father, brother, and stepmother. Both parents give her free rein, and her beauty, independence, and talent for getting away with outrageous behavior make her an intriguing star to her middle school classmates. Victoria can't understand why Caitlin would single her out to be her "summer sister" on Martha's Vineyard as she sees herself as quiet and dull. She senses, though, that this vacation is an important turning point and convinces her conservative parents to let her go. The girls become fast friends, sharing six unforgettable summers together. The strength of the novel lies in the portrayal of those six seasons. The author provides an engaging tableau of teenage experiences, worries, and emotions. Together, the girls cope with their changing bodies, difficult family relationships, boyfriends, and concerns about their futures. After high school graduation, Victoria goes on to college and a career while Caitlin travels to Europe and spins out of control. She even marries Victoria's former lover and has his child before escaping to Europe alone again. The end of the novel seems rushed but, overall, both the story and the girls will quickly capture readers' interest. The author's perceptive treatment of special childhood moments, the trials and joys of adolescence, and the magical possibilities of summer make this an entertaining read.Mary Alice Giarda, Fairfax County Public Library, VACopyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Blume goes adult again in this story of golden-girl Caitlin and working-class Vix, who share a summer on Martha's Vineyard.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
The New York Times Book Review, Ruth Coughlin
[S]he draws us into a compulsively readable story, proving once again that her powers are prodigious.
Entertainment Weekly, Rebecca Ascher-Walsh
Unfortunately ... Blume never delves beneath the banalities of adolescent angst and misses any subtleties of character that might make reliving the time seem poignant rather than painful.
From AudioFile
An intimate, confidential tone is essential to Judy Blume's story of two girls whose summers together form an unshakable bond even though their lives both begin and end so differently. Narrator Gish tells the story in a believable way; her youthful voice lightly glides through conversations between Vix and Caitlin and confides the narrative of their idyllic Martha's Vineyard summers, their adolescent crushes and more serious romances. Gish accentuates the intimate sense of a friend telling the listener the story. However, throughout the book, "voices" of different characters--brothers, stepmother, roommates, boyfriends--view the same events that the girls have just described. This structure gets muddled on audio because Gish doesn't distinguish the characters with enough vocal color. A modest success, but, overall, the brevity seems to make the summer all too short. R.F.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine
From Booklist
Although Blume has published two adult novels, Wifey (1978) and Smart Women (1985), she remains best known as the groundbreaking author of middle-grade and young-adult books, including Are You There God? It's Me Margaret (1972). Her latest effort, although published as an adult book, could just as easily have been on a YA list. It is, after all, the story of a teenage friendship between two girls, one rich, one poor, and it traces what happens to them as they grow up and eventually grow apart. The majority of the book covers the summers the girls spend together from ages 13 to 18 on Martha's Vineyard. Blume remains a pithy writer. Her dialogue is realistic, and her plot--coming-of-age slathered with jealousy--moves right along through family troubles, boyfriends, college, and eventually, marriage. But Blume has also covered much of this material--menstruation, masturbation, first sexual affairs--in her books for young teens. Clearly, this book (which begins in the 1970s, Blume's heyday) was designed to welcome her now grown-up readers into the world of adult fiction. The problem is, most of them probably arrived there a long time ago. What we have here is a marketing ploy: the YA novel masquerading as an adult book in order to widen its audience and capitalize on the author's name. Ironically, though, the audience who will most appreciate the trials and tribulations of friends Victoria and Caitlin as they try to grow up are the very people Blume seems trying so hard to get away from--teenage girls. Ilene Cooper
From Kirkus Reviews
The years pass by at a fast and steamy clip in Blume's latest adult novel (Wifey, not reviewed; Smart Women, 1984) as two friends find loyalties and affections tested as they grow into young women. In sixth grade, when Victoria Weaver is asked by new girl Caitlin Somers to spend the summer with her on Martha's Vineyard, her life changes forever. Victoria, or more commonly Vix, lives in a small house; her brother has muscular dystrophy; her mother is unhappy, and money is scarce. Caitlin, on the other hand, lives part of the year with her wealthy mother Phoebe, whos just moved to Albuquerque, and summers with her father Lamb, equally affluent, on the Vineyard. The story of how this casual invitation turns the two girls into what they call ``Summer sisters is prefaced with a prologue in which Vix is asked by Caitlin to be her matron of honor. The years in between are related in brief segments by numerous characters, but mostly by Vix. Caitlin, determined never to be ordinary, is always testing the limits, and in adolescence falls hard for Von, an older construction worker, while Vix falls for his friend Bru. Blume knows the way kids and teens speak, but her two female leads are less credible as they reach adulthood. After high school, Caitlin travels the world and can't understand why Vix, by now at Harvard on a scholarship and determined to have a better life than her mother has had, won't drop out and join her. Though the wedding briefly revives Vix's old feelings for Bru, whom Caitlin is marrying, Vix is soon in love with Gus, another old summer friend, and a more compatible match. But Caitlin, whose own demons have been hinted at, will not be so lucky. The dark and light sides of friendship breathlessly explored in a novel best saved for summer beachside reading. (Author tour; radio satellite tour) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
The New York Times bestseller!
“Compulsively readable ... her powers are prodigious.”
— The New York Times Book Review
“As warm as a summer breeze blowing through your hair, as nostalgic as James Taylor singing ‘How Sweet It Is.’ You remember. So does Judy Blume. How sweet it was.”
— Chicago Tribune
“An exceptionally moving story that can leave the reader laughing and crying ... sometimes at the same time.... Blume creates a rich tapestry of characters.”
— The Denver Post
Review
The New York Times bestseller!
?Compulsively readable ... her powers are prodigious.?
? The New York Times Book Review
?As warm as a summer breeze blowing through your hair, as nostalgic as James Taylor singing ?How Sweet It Is.? You remember. So does Judy Blume. How sweet it was.?
? Chicago Tribune
?An exceptionally moving story that can leave the reader laughing and crying ... sometimes at the same time.... Blume creates a rich tapestry of characters.?
? The Denver Post
Book Description
In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard's world changed forever--when Caitlin Somers chose her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomed Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha's Vineyard, a magical, wind-blown island where two friends became summer sisters. . . .Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin has begged Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go--for the friend whose casual betrayals she remembers all too well. Because Vix wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend--her summer sister--still has the power to break her heart. . . .
From the Inside Flap
In the summer of 1977, Victoria Leonard's world changed forever — when Caitlin Somers chose her as a friend. Dazzling, reckless Caitlin welcomed Vix into the heart of her sprawling, eccentric family, opening doors to a world of unimaginable privilege, sweeping her away to vacations on Martha's Vineyard, a magical, wind-blown island where two friends became summer sisters. . . .
Now, years later, Vix is working in New York City. Caitlin is getting married on the Vineyard. And the early magic of their long, complicated friendship has faded. But Caitlin has begged Vix to come to her wedding, to be her maid of honor. And Vix knows that she will go — for the friend whose casual betrayals she remembers all too well. Because Vix wants to understand what happened during that last shattering summer. And, after all these years, she needs to know why her best friend — her summer sister — still has the power to break her heart....
From the Back Cover
The New York Times bestseller!"Compulsively readable . . . her powers are prodigious."
--The New York Times Book Review"As warm as a summer breeze blowing through your hair, as nostalgic as James Taylor singing 'How Sweet It Is.' You remember. So does Judy Blume. How sweet it was."
--Chicago Tribune"An exceptionally moving story that can leave the reader laughing and crying . . . sometimes at the same time. . . . Blume creates a rich tapestry of characters."
--The Denver Post
About the Author
Judy Blume's twenty-two books, including the New York Times bestsellers Wifey and Smart Women, have sold over sixty-five million copies worldwide and have been translated into twenty languages. She spends summers on Martha's Vineyard with her family.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Prologue
Summer 1990
The city is broiling in an early summer heat wave and for the third day in a row Victoria buys a salad from the Korean market around the corner and has lunch at her desk. Her roommate, Maia, tells her she's risking her life eating from a salad bar. If the bacteria don't get you, the preservatives will. Victoria considers this as she chomps on a carrot and scribbles notes to herself on an upcoming meeting with a client who's looking for a PR firm with an edge. Everyone wants edge these days. You tell them it's edgy, they love it.
When the phone rings she grabs it, expecting a call from the segment producer at Regis and Kathie Lee. "This is Victoria Leonard," she says, sounding solid and professional.
"Vix?"
She's surprised to hear Caitlin's voice on the other end and worries for a minute it's bad news, because Caitlin calls only at night, usually late, often waking her from a deep sleep. Besides, it's been a couple of months since they've talked at all.
"You have to come up," Caitlin says. She's using her breathy princess voice, the one she's picked up in Europe, halfway between Jackie O's and Princess Di's. "I'm getting married at Lamb's house on the Vineyard."
"Married?"
"Yes. And you have to be my Maid of Honor. It's only appropriate, don't you think?"
"I guess that depends on who you're marrying."
"Bru," Caitlin answers, and suddenly she sounds like herself again. "I'm marrying Bru. I thought you knew."
Victoria forces herself to swallow, to breathe, but she feels clammy and weak anyway. She grabs the cold can of Diet Coke from the corner of her desk and holds it against her forehead, then moves it to her neck, as she jots down the date and time of the wedding. She doodles all around it while Caitlin chats, until the whole page is filled with arrows, crescent moons, and triangles, as if she's back in sixth grade.
"Vix?" Caitlin says. "Are you still there? Do we have a bad connection or what?"
"No, it's okay."
"So you'll come?"
"Yes." The second she hangs up she makes a mad dash for the women's room where she pukes her guts out in the stall. She has to call Caitlin back, tell her there's no way she can do this. What can Caitlin be thinking? What was she thinking when she agreed?
Four weeks later Caitlin, her hair flying in the wind, meets Victoria at the tiny Vineyard airport. Victoria is the last one to step out of the commuter from LaGuardia. She'd spotted Caitlin from her window as soon as they'd landed but felt glued to her seat. It's been more than two years since they've seen each other, and three since Victoria graduated from college and got caught up in real life--a job, with just two weeks vacation a year. No money to fly around. Bummer, as Lamb would say when they were kids.
"Going on to Nantucket with us?" the flight attendant asks and suddenly Victoria realizes she's the only passenger still on the plane. Embarrassed, she grabs her bag and hustles down the steps onto the tarmac. Caitlin finds her in the crowd and waves frantically. Victoria heads toward her, shaking her head because Caitlin is wearing a T-shirt that says simplify, simplify, simplify. She's barefoot as usual and Victoria is betting her feet will be as dirty as they were that first summer.
Caitlin holds her at arm's length for a minute. "God, Vix . . ." she says, "you look so . . . grown up!" They both laugh, then Caitlin hugs her. She smells of seawater, suntan lotion, and something else. Victoria closes her eyes, breathing in the familiar scent, and for a moment it's as if they've never been apart. They're still Vixen and Cassandra, summer sisters forever. The rest is a mistake, a crazy joke.
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