Before: It was the perfect summer of first kisses, skinny-dipping, and bonfires by the lake. Joy, Tali, Luce, and Zoe knew their final summer at Camp Okahatchee would come to an end, but they swore they’d stay friends.
After: Now, two years later, their bond has faded along with those memories.
Then: That is, until the fateful flash of a photo booth camera transports the four of them back in time, to the summer they were fifteen—the summer everything changed.
Now: The girls must recreate the past in order to return to the present. As they live through their second-chance summer, the mystery behind their lost friendship unravels, and a dark secret threatens to tear the girls apart all over again.
Always: Summers end. But this one will change them forever.
I received an ARC
copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for
an honest review.
Actual rating: 3.5
When
I first read the synopsis of this book, I really wanted to get my hands
on it. The synopsis was vague to me, and that only piqued my interest
more. However, when I started reading the book, I felt disappointed.
When I read about going back to the past through the photo booth, it reminded me of Disney movies, and I got giddy. However, after reading a bit more, I found that he first half of the book was really slow and dragging,
and I would have given up on it had it not been a buddy read. I was
also really taken aback that this book was in the third person point of
view.
I thought that the story was weird. I knew what was going on, but I felt like I didn't really understand it. The story was kind of predictable too !!!SPOILER!!!
[regarding Joy's sickness, Tali's never hooking up with the guy and
Zoe's being gay. I also thought that it was weird how everything they
did made no impact to the past. ] !!!END SPOILER!!!
However, towards the second half of the book, things became more interesting,
and I was able to get into the book again. I really liked how the four
characters all got equal attention, not dwelling on a single character. The author was able to make the third person point of view work to the advantage of her plot, and I applaud her for that. I loved the four characters' journey towards finding themselves and finding their way towards each other.
I
felt like the last few chapters were written in a rushed manner, but
the story ended really well. I like how the book closed off in a kind of
both positive and negative note, making it more or less realistic.
I think this book is not for everyone, but it's worth giving a shot.
