I was excited when I saw that Jennifer Weiner had a new book. I had read Mrs. Everything and enjoyed it. I figured Big Summer would be just as good as Mrs. Everything, and guess what? I was right!! Big Summer was a perfect mix of mystery, thriller, and romance.
Big Summer had an interesting storyline. Daphne is an up-and-coming social influencer who has overcome body image/weight issues in high school/college. She is surprised when her ex-best friend, socialite Dru Cavanaugh, asks her to be in her wedding. Ask is not the correct word. Dru begs Daphne to come and offers to pay her. When Daphne agrees, she is immediately thrust back into the role of Dru’s best friend. But things aren’t what they seem with Dru. As the wedding draws closer, Daphne starts to see cracks in Dru’s flawless veneer. And when a murder happens the night before the wedding, Daphne is considered one of the main suspects. Can Daphne find the murderer and prove her innocence?
I liked Daphne, but she got on my nerves during the book. I liked that she had risen above the bullying and comments about her weight and turned it into something positive. But I wouldn’t say I liked that when Dru came back into her life, she immediately fell back into her old role as a sidekick. It made all that progress that she had made go down the drain. Daphne was also blind about Dru. I saw that Dru had something else up her sleeve when she begged Daphne to be in her wedding. It took Daphne until the wedding to realize that maybe Dru was using her again. Other than her willful blindness, I enjoyed Daphne’s character. She was positive, down to earth, and she knew she had come a long way from the girl she used to be.
I was not too fond of Dru as an adult and despised her as a tween/teenager. Let’s talk about Dru as a teenager first. Ever see the movie Mean Girls? She reminded me of Regina (the head of the group, The Plastics). She treated her friends, Daphne mostly, horribly. She would take pictures of kids and post them to an online burn book. She would alternately be all over Daphne or treat her like crap; there was no in-between. I did feel a little bad for her when the author revealed that her home life sucked and that she envied Daphne for her relationship with her parents. But still, it didn’t excuse what she did. Posting that video of Daphne freaking out at the club was unacceptable. Adult Dru was just as bad in my eyes. She used people to further her brand and didn’t care if it hurt them or the ones they loved. Dru was an actress who knew how to reel people in and get them to do what she wanted. She used even her ex-boyfriend (the one that Daphne found).
There are several triggers that I need to let you know about before continuing with the review. The author tackled issues such as fat shaming, online bullying, self-esteem, and body positivity in this book. The author doesn’t hold back regarding Dru’s treatment of Daphne or the video that resulted. It was raw and authentic, and unfortunately, keyboard warriors still think it’s ok to comment/make fun of another person’s weight. If any of these triggers you, I suggest not reading this book.
The main storyline, Daphne being in Dru’s wedding and the backstory of their friendship, was well written. I could see why Daphne was so taken by Dru. She was a new girl in a new school and had no friends. I also could see how Dru kept stringing Daphne along until college. When she showed up at Daphne’s nannying job and begged her to be in her wedding, I was shocked by how ballsy Dru was. And I wasn’t surprised with how that storyline ended up. What did surprise me was Daphne’s dedication to finding who and why. At that point, I would have washed my hands of everything.
The storylines with the mystery woman and the little boy were left in the air for 75% of the book. It wasn’t until Daphne was in the Cape for Dru’s wedding that the storyline got rolling again. Once it was revealed who the little boy was and how the police handled the case, I felt awful for everyone involved. I also didn’t blame the officer for telling Daphne what he did. That was the one case he couldn’t solve, and he wasn’t going to allow a 2nd case to go cold either.
The storyline with the murder didn’t start until halfway through the book. I was gut-punched at who the murder victim was and how that person died. Daphne’s reaction was typical, but I loved how she got herself together and decided to investigate the case. Being the main person of interest did have something to do with it. I was shocked at who the murderer was and was sad about the motive. That was a twist in that plotline that I didn’t see coming, and the reason was awful.
There is a romance angle that I wasn’t a big fan of. I was thrilled that Daphne hooked up with someone who liked her for who she was. But that person ghosted her after their night together. Not a great way to start a relationship. Also, figure in Instalove. Daphne was head over heels for this guy, and she didn’t even know who he was!!
The end of Big Summer felt a little rushed, but the author did a fantastic job with the reveal of the killer. She also tied up the remaining storylines and gave them all great endings.
I would recommend Big Summer to anyone over 21. There is moderate language, moderate violence, and some explicit sex scenes. Also, see my trigger warning paragraph above.