Did you ever see the movie Sliding Doors starrring Gwyneth Paltrow? It’s the story of a woman who loses her job, and what happens next is actually two stories, two parallel universes, based on which decision she makes. This is what happens in Two Summers by Aimee Friedman. Summer Everett is planning to spend her summer with her father in the south of France, leaving her small New York town, her best friend Ruby and her bumpy relationship with mom behind. Summer has mixed feelings about this trip since her dad pretty much abandoned the family years ago, and her mom keeps trying to convince her it’s not such a good idea. The storm with lightning flashing and thunder booming along with the cell phone buzzing with “unknown caller” is our critical moment - will she or won’t she go? And, her cell phone dies.

If/when she goes, she arrives in Paris, and finds that dad isn’t there to meet her. It seems he was the unknown caller, suggesting they postpone this trip as his art/work has him away for a period of time. After cabbing it to his home she discovers that there’s no dad there either, but a woman and her incredibly hostile daughter. She settles in and begins to explore this beautiful town, meets a cute boy, starts a romance, and begins to uncover who she really is and what her father has been hiding from her.

If/when she stays, things aren’t just like always. Her best friend Ruby is becoming friends with the awful Skye, who has always put Summer down. It seems Ruby has a crush on Austin, one of Skye’s inner circle, and that Ruby, while she loves Summer, feels constrained by the limits of their close friendship. Summer begins a photography course at the local college with her aunt, and ends up working on a project with Hugh, her secret crush from, like, forever! She explores her hometown, hangs with the cute Hugh to maybe start a romance, and begins to uncover who she really is and what her father has been hiding from her.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, although there are some things the author could have improved on. In the beginning, Summer is depicted as overly anxious, yet this doesn’t carry through the book (and what overly anxious teen would let her cell phone battery die?) The intro of the book is too quick - we need a bit more on who our main character is, and as a result it takes a while to develope empathy for Summer. Other than that, a great read for fans of teen coming-of-age and romances, appropriate for middle and high school readers.

"Two Summers" brings to mind certain words, like charming and quaint. The descriptions are vivid and certainly make you want to visit Provence. I felt there was just enough french to draw and keep the interest of my own twelve year old niece who is current taking French. I found myself wanting Summer to find that first love, to have the experience of enjoying turning sixteen. The tears and drama with her mother was all familiar territory perhaps because I am an aunty with a niece turning sixteen on the Fourth of July also. I feel that it was not written to answer "what if" but to explore the possibilities.

It's a delightful summer read with an adequate share of the hard stuff a sixteen year old to would endure.

This was very well done, I was really surprised at how much I liked it. It could have degraded into some type of choose your own adventure story, but instead, the story of the two Summers, both in season and in name, did read convincingly and true, with an ambiguous enough ending to leave the reader wondering which summer should have occurred. What a fun gem to run across at the library. ( )

Summer Everett can have two different summers (cute play on words???) depending on which path she chooses. She is at the airport waiting to board a plane to France to visit her father, a prominent artist, for the summer. (Her parents are divorced, as you may gather.) Her cell phone rings, the display showing ‘caller unknown’. Should she answer?

Her mother, a college professor of philosophy, often expounded on the theory of alternate universes where another version of yourself is living an alternate version of your life, as mother and daughter sit on their front porch in tiny Hudsonville, NY gazing at the stars. A firm believer in the ‘what if’ theory, what if it’s an omen?, Summer is unsure what to do–ignore the call or answer it knowing that doing so will force her to miss her plane. Two Summers explores the alternatives.

This summer is supposed to be the summer of love for Summer and her best friend, Ruby. Almost sweet sixteen and never been kissed, the shy Summer hopes to rectify the situation. Will she find love this summer and, if so, where?

Given the above, what can you deduce? First, love is in the air somewhere. Where and when it will arrive and for how long it will last is one reason to read Two Summers by Aimee Friedman. Secondly, you know Summer is going to go through a major life change, have an epiphany this summer. What it is is the second reason to read Two Summers.

Two Summer proves that a book that is reasonably predictable is still enjoyable. Come on, we’ve all read books with alternative actions–should I do this or should I do that? (Think Just Like Fate by Cat Patrick and Suzanne Young, which has the same chick-lit feel) And just because we have a fairly good idea of the ending, doesn’t make the trip any less enjoyable.

Yes, I did say chick-lit before. If you prefer the term ‘beach read’, that captures the spirit equally well. If you’d like a light-hearted romp through France or a closer to home tale of friendship, family and love, I’d recommend Two Summers this summer. ( )

Great "summer beach" read (though I obviously couldn't wait until summer to read it). It's an interesting concept, kind of exploring the idea of "fate" while keeping it light enough for the YA audience. I enjoyed this one - including the end. I was curious how that would go, considering the way the book is written, and was satisfied with the wrap-up, which kept it ambiguous enough that it could really apply to either "what if" scenario. ( )