Summer for Sasha and Ray means the sprawling old house on Long Island. Since they were children, they’ve shared almost everything—reading the same books, running down the same sandy footpaths to the beach, eating peaches from the same market, laughing around the same sun-soaked dining table. Even sleeping in the same bed, on the very same worn cotton sheets. But they’ve never met.
Sasha’s dad was once married to Ray’s mom, and together they had three daughters: Emma, the perfectionist; Mattie, the beauty; and Quinn, the favorite. But the marriage crumbled and the bitterness lingered. Now there are two new families—and neither one will give up the beach house that holds the memories, happy and sad, of summers past.
The choices we make come back to haunt us; the effect on our destinies ripples out of our control . . . or does it? This summer, the lives of Sasha, Ray, and their siblings intersect in ways none of them ever dreamed, in a novel about family relationships, keeping secrets, and most of all, love.
Release Date: April 2017
Age Group: YA, Contemporary
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
Reviewed By: Nat
Review:
When I read the summary for The Whole Thing Together I thought it sounded both tragic and hopeful. It was more tragic for me. I will admit that I didn't know what to think when I finished this book. Was I happy? Sad? I didn't know because I felt so freaking bad for this family.
The writing style is smooth and Brashares does a good job of explaining the crazy family connections between two blended families. Every single character has their flaws and semi-storyline. I really think that almost everyone could have had their own story because the issues that arise are no easy topics (infidelity, race, adoption, etc). And because of these topics I am pretty confident that some readers are going to pick apart certain aspects of this story. Am I going to? No. For me, some of the crazy made sense and I was more focused on the effects of divorce on kids. I am a child of a pretty nasty divorce and come from a white mother and a Hispanic father {that refused to teach me Spanish #stillbitter}. Oh man, I got stories.
Overall, I did enjoy the story but I wasn't surprised by the outcome. It was pretty much what I guessed would happen. I felt like it was cut short. There was a huge build-up and then you just said goodbye.
Even though this story was a bit too heavy for me, I still feel like I found a new author to enjoy. I like Brashares flow and ease of writing. I am motivated to give one of her other stories a try.
Ann Brashares is the #1 New York
Times bestselling author of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series, The
Here and Now,
3 Willows, The Last
Summer (of You & Me), and My Name Is Memory. She lives in New York City with
her family. Visit Ann’s website at AnnBrashares.com and follow on Twitter
@AnnBrashares.
Looks like an interesting book.
ReplyDeleteslehan at juno dot com