The Square Root of Summer

by Harriet Reuter Hapgood

[Leah]

I have literally just finished The Square Root of Summer and, to tell you the truth, my mind is boggled. If you asked me to type my feelings right this second, this is what you'd get: aheitrsojfkdsjsfko. Gobbledegook. I'm not ashamed to say this book baffled the living daylights out of me, and I would absolutely love somebody to explain to me what caused Gottie to move through wormholes, akin to something I'm used to seeing in The Flash. And that makes me sad, because if Harriet Reuter Hapgood had explained what went on in layman's terms, all would have been well and I would have loved this book. Instead, I feel dazed and confused, as if I've gone twelve rounds with Mike Tyson.

As a young adult summer romance, this was an amazing read. I loved Gottie, and I loved Thomas, and Gottie's brother, Ned, and her papa, and it sounded like an idyllic a summer as you can imagine, when you've gone through what Gottie's gone through. The writing was gorgeous, and I could imagine the scenes so vividly, and if this hadn't boggled my mind with the physics, this would have been a book that made me sigh with happiness, instead of one that left me feeling confused and mildly stupid (I HATE when a book makes me feel stupid, sob).

The Square Root of Summer is one of those books that will leave a lot of readers confused - thankfully, I will not be the only one. But if you excuse the confusing bits, this is actually a really lovely story of someone trying to get through her grief, and I really just wanted to give Gottie the biggest hug. This was such a cute read, and there's not a lot else I can say really. I wish I could, but my mind is just scrambled right now. So I'm going to think on it and see if it makes any sense, or if I'll just end up making it worse. Where's a real life Sheldon Cooper when you need one, eh? One thing's for sure I will be re-reading this book, because maybe, just maybe, it will make sense second time around!