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Summer Sisters

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SUMMER SISTERS by Judy Blume

The story of a rather one-sided friendship is told in Judy Blume's SUMMER SISTERS. Victoria (Vix) meets Caitlin as young schoolmates, and for some reason although the two of them are worlds apart, Caitlin chooses Vix as her guest to summer with her family on Martha's Vineyard. Vix has always been the quiet one, and Caitlin is the wild and crazy one. And despite their differences, Vix seems to be attracted to Caitlin's life, including her family and Caitlin's' rather eccentric ways.

The story opens in the present (1990), with Vix receiving a call from Caitlin, saying she's inviting Vix to her wedding. The brief prologue sets the stage, with Vix a bit perturbed by the phone call and torn between being angry with Caitlin, but also thinking "summer sisters forever". It is obvious that there is a love-hate relationship between the two, or at least that is how Vix feels about her long time friend Caitlin.

Their summers together on Martha's Vineyard are full of fun and laughter. But as they get older, Caitlin's selfishness starts to show. Vix however takes it all without too much complaining, always finding reasons to forgive Caitlin. Caitlin's selfish behavior is not obvious to all, but are subtle and often times happen in shocking ways.

As the two start to meet and date boys, Caitlin's behavior in this department is directly opposite in the way Vix handles herself with the boys, and on one night, Vix celebrates her birthday with Caitlin and the boys and it ends up a disastrous moment for Vix. (Caitlin, on the other hand, sees nothing wrong with what she has done, and thinks it's all in good fun).

As the two girls become young women, their differences tear them apart. Their friendship, which Vix always treasured, seems to be on a rocky road to disaster. Caitlin's father and his new wife are taken by Vix and try their best to mend the friendship, but Vix has been hurt enough. She goes off on her own, and cuts her ties with Caitlin. Or so it seems.

SUMMER SISTERS was a great summer read. The plot kept my interest throughout the book, and the characters felt real and I cared about what happened to them. Judy Blume did a good job with the story of two friends and their ever-changing relationship from childhood to adulthood. It was also a good character study about two girls from different backgrounds, and the events and people that can shape a child into the adult she is today.

I picked up this book before a beach vacation because I figured it would be a quick, easy read. It was, but it was also a pretty compelling story. Note I didn't say "perfect" story, or "complex" story - but it was compelling.

I think the people who are most likely to relate to this book are the ones who have been in a lopsided friendship like Caitlin and Vix's. I had a friend who was very much like Caitlin - extremely self-centered, yet demanded absolute attention, closeness and loyalty. She would swear her undying love and friendship, then turn into the cruelest, most indifferent person I had ever met, if she met someone or came across something that was more interesting to her than I was. Caitlin is an absolute narcissist, and Vix is just vulnerable enough to mistake their relationship for a friendship - until the end of the book. The book made me re-examine my "friendship" with the Caitlinesque girl I had known, and looking back on things with the wisdom of experience, I can see that I - like Vix - allowed myself to be treated poorly. However, there's also a lot this book says about unconditional love, and how you can still be friends with someone like Caitlin, as long as a. you understand that there's only so much they have to give you, because so much of their emotion is turned inwards and b. you can still be friends with someone despite deeply disapproving of their choices.

Judy Blume is not the best writer in the world but I don't think she's trying to be. This is an excellent book for what it is - a piece of entertainment. I don't think it's meant to be another "War and Peace." There are some plot holes, the narrative style is a little uneven and the first-person/third-person switchbacks can get annoying, and the ending is somewhat trite. But if you're looking for something you can read that will be emotionally engaging, but not too intellectually taxing, you could do a lot worse than this book.

There is no better time than now to read Judy Blume's third novel for adults, Summer Sisters. This book will take you back to your own childhood summers and will remind you how strong the bond of friendship can be.

The two main characters, Caitlin Somers and Victoria Leonard, stand out for their differences as two young friends in Summer Sisters. Caitlin is outgoing, wild, and outspoken. Victoria (Vix, for short) is reserved and thoughtful, but strong. As they mature, their differences push Caitlin and Vix apart, but their bond as summer sisters is never completely broken.

The two first become summer sisters when Caitlin invites Vix to her summer home on Martha's Vinyard. It is here each summer the two struggle with becoming women, learn about sex, and find out the truth about love. They discover that life does not come one emotion at a time. The novel follows the two women through adolescence into adulthood. After graduating from high school together, Vix goes to Harvard and Caitlin decides she wants to see the world. As the two take different paths, they are slowly pulled apart, drawn together again only by Martha's Vinyard and their vow to stay summer sisters forever.

One of the elements that makes Blume's story such a powerful read is the reality she creates. Her characters and each of the trials and emotions they face are very real. Their experiences with love and loss are believable. You can also see yourself or people you know in Caitlin and Vix. The background characters are well-developed, and they create and enrich the family issues that surround the main characters. One very interesting element Blume uses is that the story is not told only by one narrator. The points of view of many of the characters are revealed.

Summer Sisters is a story that will play with your emotions and leave you wanting to know more. It is for anyone who has known the power of the bond of friendship

I am glad to see there are many others who feel this book is a waste of good wood pulp and I'm encouraged to find that there are still other discriminating people who insist on substance in a novel, even if it is a "summer read".

I would like to mention a couple of observations myself though. In this book....

1) Judy continuously builds sexual tension (I want to....no I shouldn't...I want to...no I shouldn't) only to blow off the decision, and the moment, by having the character "wake up in the morning" after it's all over. It's cheating the reader and taking the "easy way out"!

2) There are many, many characters in this book who are nothing but "page fillers".

It's as if the publishing company told the author "Look, Judy, you have a short story here, a book needs to be at least 400 pages". Thus enter Lanie, Lewis, Sharkey, Daniel, Dorset, Trisha, the Countess and the anti-Semitic Grandmother Somers. All "nothing" characters with "nothing" to say, but with a proper type-setting the paperback meanders on to page 399!

3) Besides those majorly useless characters there are the "parental units" who are supposed to have influence over, and set limits on, Vix and Caitlin and what are they doing? Again nothing!

I'm talking about Ed, Tawny & Phoebe. There they are, jet-setting around the world wearing southwestern jewelry or sitting in the corner, on their private "pity pot", while these girls grow up without morals or guidance.

Abby is the only one who seems to take an interest, so naturally she's to be dispised by Caitlin.

4) And then there's poor Maizie, what was that for? I guess without Maizie, you'd only hit page 390!

5) Finally, I just want to say I am always disappointed when a book promotes misinformation and allows people to "file away" facts which are untrue.

Page 331 of the paperback has our Harvard graduate telling Phoebe "High in cholesterol, Avocados, that is." So much for higher education!

I've been a major fan of Judy Blume for years, ever since I read "Superfudge" (gosh, that was a long time ago!). I was very much pleased with her latest work, aimed at the adult level. It just goes to show that she is still one of the most versatile authors around.

The characters of this book are just so... real. I really identified with Vix. Her at age fourteen could have been me, unsure but solid. Caitlin, by contrast, reminds me a lot of one of my friends, so confident and sophisticated and yet so vulnerable. The minor characters were extremely well done, as well, and the background issues in family and other matters really drew me in. Abby was one of my favorites; I could really understand who she must feel, watching her children and children's friends grow up and go off where she couldn't really watch over them- having to let go.

Of course, the front issues of Vix and Caitlin's friendship is the real attraction. Blume's lucid writing style really played up the tale of love and heartbreak, promises and betrayal. The result was a heart-wrenching journey through two turbulent decades of well-worn friendship, and its a heckuva ride. I actually cried at the end.

I was glad that everything didn't wrap up neatly. There were lots of loose ends that weren't tied, and that's the way it should be. Life isn't always perfect.

I recommend this book to everyone, with the exception of children under twelve or so. I'm fourteen, and I could handle most of the sex scenes, but younger kids probably wouldn't need so many... details, shall we say? A great mother-daughter book; I might share it with my mom sometime. Definitely buy this book!

I, too, am a Judy Blume fan from years ago as a teenager and was excited to read Blume as an 'adult' writer. I was not disappointed. Though shocking at times, this story of the friendship that blossoms between unlikely friends - Caitlin and Victoria - drew me in and held me tight. I loved the honesty and frankness in Blume's writing, especially when talking about the growing and changing in these young women's bodies and minds. I'm sure these are things many young girls have thought about and experimented with, but no other author addresses them so openly. The story continues as these two young girls explore love and sex and relationships apart from each other, yet remaining best friends through it all.

The tragic ending was a surprise but I appreciated the reality of the book, rather than wrapping it up all neat and clean. Victoria deserved true happiness, after being loyal to her first friend for so long, and I'm glad she found it.

Judy Blume is my favorite author, and once again, she has not let me down. This is by FAR my favorite book. I got lost in it over the summer and read it in 3 days. She captures the characters' emotions and the scenery so beautifully that I was disappointed when I reached the end because I wanted there to be more. If you haven't already, trust me when I tell you to READ THIS BOOK!

I should start out by saying that my memories of reading Judy Blume's books as a child are some of the best memories I have. I've reread some of her books as an adult and still feel the same way about them (e.g., Are you there God, it's me, Margaret). With that said, I did not enjoy this book. Although it appears that I am in the distinct minority on this, I found the plot and characters to be uninteresting and unbelievable. Even worse, I didn't like any of the characters, especially Vix. The story of Caitlin and Vix read more like Lifetime Television for Women than engrossing fiction for the adult part of us in need of the insight and perfect characterization of Judy Blume. Initially the story was engaging and I enjoyed the depictions of the girls' friendship and the well-drawn characterizations of their very different families as these two girls became summer sisters. Unfortunately, as these girls became women, I couldn't help but be a little suspicious about their development. I just didn't buy that Vix, a Harvard-educated, overachieving, mature (as evidenced by her sensitivity towards Nathan and her family), New York City career girl would give a hoot about a high school/college romance she had with a veritable beach bum. I can't believe that all that Vix had experienced and achieved since those summers spent on the Vineyard wouldn't color her perceptions at all. Sure, I can believe that old roles, expectations and hurts from childhood play on and on into adulthood, but she deserved to develop more as a human being. As for Caitlin, I found her character to be boring, poorly drawn and desperately in need of a job (people who've got to make the bacon can't afford to be so damn dramatic). In the end, I guess I feel a little cheated because the characters here deserved better than to remain summer sisters forever.

This might not be a great book to someone who prefers a truly complex, thought-provoking read, but when I read this book at age 17 it really moved me.

I yearned for the friendship that Vix and Caitlin had, a friendship born when you just become friends because you want to, interests aside. It was a quick read for me (3-4 days...I'm sort of slow compared to some) because I was addicted to the feelings it gave me when I was reading it. I felt like all those years had passed right before me after I read the book.

I have been reading Judy Blume books since I was very young and appreciate that she writes her books so freely. I tire of books directed at youth with obvious agendas, and Blume avoids this by simply speaking from the heart. The book was realistic in some ways(true friendship is boundless) and a complete fantasy in others (ie. the names that another reviewer mentioned) but overall it's ENTERTAINING, which I'm always open to!

I wouldn't recommend it to younger readers because of the sexually explicit material, although certainly I reveled in those parts as curious (and fairly innocent) young girl :)

Any woman who has had a best friend will enjoy this story of two girls from different worlds who become best friends. The shared laughter, heartbreaks and other problems of growing up are all there for the reader to experience all over again. This book is a quick read that will take you back to your own teenage years and the struggle to become a woman that we all must go through. Ms. Blume has a knack for bringing back memories both good and bad. Read this book and enjoy the relationship between Vix and Caity. These two will surprise you.