Every Summer After

Our Review

EVERY SUMMER AFTER is the debut novel by author Carley Fortune, and I can’t wait for more. Her writing drew me in from the beginning, and I became entrenched in the lives of the characters. Sam and Percy are the main characters, but the supporting characters— whether friends or family—all play an important role.

There are emotional highs and lows for teenagers Sam and Percy, who become best friends as teens when they meet at the lake. Percy’s family are mainly summer people, and she travels to the lake with her parents sometimes for holidays too. But Sam and his family live on the lake year round. Their friendship grows into more, but they get in the way of their own feelings too many times to count. Emotions run high, and the author does a fantastic job of showing this.

The book begins in the present and then delves into the past in alternating chapters. We start seventeen years ago and count down until twelve years before, when things become broken. We don’t learn what happened twelve years ago until almost the end of the book, and it was not what I was expecting—it was better. The end of the book continues in the present for several chapters and then ties up loose ends in the epilogue, which takes place a year later. I would have liked the epilogue to go on a little longer, unless there are plans for us to meet up with the characters again. Charlie needs his own book, as does Delilah and maybe even Chantal (hint, hint!!)  I love the cover which emulates what their summers at the lake were like.

A satisfying read that had me on an emotional roller coaster and living their lives by their side.