The Summer of Impossibilities

by Rachael Allen

[Sam@WLABB]

Rating: 3.5 Stars

A family crisis brought these girls physically together, but their new found friendship will bind them for life.

This book follows four young women through a summer of great changes. When Scarlett and Skyler's mother discovers her husband's infidelity, she sends out an SOS to her sorority sisters, and they flee to their lake house. There, they reconvene with all the "aunts" and their daughters, Amelia Grace and Ellie. After finding documents belonging to the SBDC, the Southern Belles Drinking Club, the girls agree to trying to achieve one impossibility this summer.

Though they set out to accomplish something impossible, they ended up discovering so much about themselves and each other. The characters each had their own storyline, as well as their own set of issues, and I think because of that, there will be something most readers could relate to.

• Skyler is a "caretaker", whose softball dreams have been sidelined due to juvenile arthritis.

• Scarlett is short tempered, prone to self harm, and struggling with the decision to get more physical with her boyfriend.

• Amelia Grace accidentally came out at a church event. She wants to earn back her position as junior youth minister, but is not sure she wants to sacrifice or hide parts of herself to get it.

• Ellie is a biracial muslim tennis ace, who struggled with body image, identity, and loneliness.

I enjoyed getting to know all four of these young women, and was rooting for them as they grew and changed and discovered so much over the course of the summer. I was definitely feeling some Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants vibes, as there were four women, experiencing life, love, and friendship in the summertime, but that's where it ended.

There were a few things I especially loved:

• The focus on female friendships. I didn't only get to enjoy the friendship that formed between the four main characters, but also was treated to the lifelong friendship their mother's shared. And, it didn't stop there. Allen included some examples of healthy and unhealthy friendships, too, which I always love seeing in juxtaposition.

• The relationship between the twins, Scarlett and Skyler, was far from perfect. Each held some misconceptions about the other, but even as they harbored some ill will for the other, they still took care of one another. There were some really lovely and tender moments shared between them, which warmed my heart, and reminded me of how special a sister's love could be.

• So. Much. Growth. I mentioned it before, but it wasn't only the younger generation that was growing and changing. Allen had the mother's evolving a bit too, and there was one storyline in particular that I really loved.

Overall: It started as the summer of impossibilities, but turned into a summer of friendship, change, and endless possibilities.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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