All the Summer Girls: A Novel

by Meg Donohue Narrated by Heather Henderson

Overview

All the Summer Girls by Meg Donohue is a riveting coming-of-age tale set on the New Jersey shore. Donohue, the author of the bestselling novel How to Eat a Cupcake, is a master of literary fiction; her skill is demonstrated in this charming and moving second novel.

Set among the sunsets and dunes, All the Summer Girls is the story of how three former best friends, their lives rapidly unraveling, are reunited at the beach town of their past-where the ambience of summer encourages them to explore new experiences they would never otherwise attempt.

When dark secrets threaten to surface, Kate, Vanessa, and Dani begin to realize just how much their lives-and friendships-have been shaped by the choices they made one fateful summer night years ago. In the hope of finally moving forward, the women turn to one another for forgiveness-but how can they forgive each other when they can't forgive themselves?

Meg Donohue is a phenomenal talent, and fans of Sarah Pekkanen, Susan Mallery, and Catherine McKenzie, will be enthralled by this rich and detailed novel about women, relationships, and forgiveness.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

Donohue (How to Eat a Cupcake) sounds an irresistible call to spread a blanket on the nearest beach with three best friends who reunite on the Jersey Shore to commiserate, imbibe, and confess the dark secrets that have haunted them since college. The ladies—newly jilted Philadelphia lawyer Kate, restless Manhattan “yummy mummy” Vanessa, and drug-and-alcohol-abusing San Francisco writer Dani—are a hot mess in “the summer of our discontent,” mishandling the past and present as they move Kate’s canceled Las Vegas bachelorette party to their favorite summer haunt in Avalon, N.J. But problems old and new follow them to the beach: Kate is pregnant; Vanessa is flirting with an old boyfriend; and Dani can’t keep a job, find a home, or finish her novel. The elephant in the room at their rambling beach house, however, is the eighth anniversary of the drowning death of Kate’s troubled but lovable twin brother, Colin, a disaster that became a “lever pulled, sending them each hurtling down a different track.” The girls’ shared and private guilt predictably brings them closer, but Donohue gives the chick-lit buddy trope an appealing twist and a lot of depth, turning a familiar yarn of regret, trust, and loyalty into an elegant ode to late bloomers. Agent: Elisabeth Weed, Weed Literary. (July)

From the Publisher

All the Summer Girls is a beautifully wrought story about the tender yet resillient bonds of friendship and the damage of kept secrets. Meg Donohue writes with keen insight, prodding readers to re-examine their own past choices, while gracefully examining themes of family, friendship and forgiveness.” — Karen White, New York Times bestselling author

“Engaging.” — E! Online, “The Best Summer Reads”

“Meg Donohue’s All the Summer Girls is an intimate, heartfelt, beautiful exploration of friendship, family and the ties that bind and the secrets that destroy us. Read it first, pass it to your girlfriend later. She’ll be grateful.” — Allison Winn Scotch, New York Times bestselling author

“All the Summer Girls is an honest and engaging look at the complicated and powerful bonds of female friendship. Donohue takes us on a weekend reunion full of secrets, resentment, and regret-in other words, once you start this book, you won’t be able to put it down!” — Jennifer Close, bestselling author of Girls in White Dresses

“Beach Book Extraordinaire! Donohue’s three protagonists are irresistibly sympathetic as they try to unbury their true selves from the ruinous secrets of their shared past.” — Elin Hilderbrand

“A fast-paced novel about the enduring friendship of three young women who spent their summers in Avalon on the Jersey shore before dispersing across the country....A good beach read.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Donohue gives the chick-lit buddy trope an appealing twist and a lot of depth, turning a familiar yarn of regret, trust, and loyalty into an elegant ode to late bloomers.” — Publishers Weekly

“Donohue captures the beauty and frustration of reconnecting with old friends—they know you so well, and they don’t know you at all. Perfect for a staycation for readers who like the beachy drama of Elin Hilderbrand and Susan Wiggs.” — Booklist

Allison Winn Scotch

Meg Donohue’s All the Summer Girls is an intimate, heartfelt, beautiful exploration of friendship, family and the ties that bind and the secrets that destroy us. Read it first, pass it to your girlfriend later. She’ll be grateful.

Booklist

Donohue captures the beauty and frustration of reconnecting with old friends—they know you so well, and they don’t know you at all. Perfect for a staycation for readers who like the beachy drama of Elin Hilderbrand and Susan Wiggs.

Elin Hilderbrand

Beach Book Extraordinaire! Donohue’s three protagonists are irresistibly sympathetic as they try to unbury their true selves from the ruinous secrets of their shared past.

Karen White

All the Summer Girls is a beautifully wrought story about the tender yet resillient bonds of friendship and the damage of kept secrets. Meg Donohue writes with keen insight, prodding readers to re-examine their own past choices, while gracefully examining themes of family, friendship and forgiveness.

E! Online

Engaging.

Jennifer Close

All the Summer Girls is an honest and engaging look at the complicated and powerful bonds of female friendship. Donohue takes us on a weekend reunion full of secrets, resentment, and regret-in other words, once you start this book, you won’t be able to put it down!

Booklist

Donohue captures the beauty and frustration of reconnecting with old friends—they know you so well, and they don’t know you at all. Perfect for a staycation for readers who like the beachy drama of Elin Hilderbrand and Susan Wiggs.

Entertainment Weekly

Engaging.

New York Times bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch

Meg Donohue’s All the Summer Girls is an intimate, heartfelt, beautiful exploration of friendship, family and the ties that bind and the secrets that destroy us. Read it first, pass it to your girlfriend later. She’ll be grateful.

Kirkus Reviews

A fast-paced novel about the enduring friendship of three young women who spent their summers in Avalon on the Jersey shore before dispersing across the country. The book opens with Kate, now a lawyer in the girls' original hometown of Philadelphia. Kate's fiance, a man she met in law school, breaks up with her the same day she learns she is pregnant with their baby. Then we meet Vanessa, now living in New York City. Vanessa has given up her career as an art dealer in the city to raise her daughter Lucy and is struggling with her husband's confession that he recently came close to cheating on her. Then we meet Dani, an aspiring novelist who has just lost her job in a bookstore in San Francisco. Dani is still dealing with drug and alcohol addictions and is still looking for Mr. Right. When the three decide to get together and spend the 4th of July holiday back in Avalon, they are each haunted by memories of Kate's twin brother, Colin, who tragically drowned there eight years earlier when they were all on the cusp of adulthood. Woven into the mystery of Colin's demise are other issues of childhood that influenced each of the young women. As they look back on the painful past and flirt with future opportunities, the women finally share the secrets they had kept all those years, forgive one another and prepare themselves to move on in positive ways. A good beach read, set in a beach town.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170181179
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/21/2013
Edition description:	Unabridged

Videos