Book Review: Big Summer: A Novel by Jennifer Weiner

This is a perfect summer quarantine book-it’s fun and quick and entertaining, and it made me feel like I was at the beach on a vacation all without leaving the comfort of my own couch. While it’s light and fun, it also deals with real problems, which makes it more engaging and interesting. I read it in two days because I couldn’t put it down, and once I finished, I was sad that I hadn’t made it last longer.

Daphne Berg is a plus size Instagram influencer/babysitter who was born and raised in New York City. She’s very close to her parents, who are both teachers, and she attended the Lathrop School, a fancy NYC private school as a scholarship student. She reconnects with Drue Cavanaugh, a former friend from Lathrop and the kind of wealthy and beautiful person who seems to have it all. Drue invites Daphne to her wedding on Cape Cod, and when events at the wedding weekend take a right turn, Daphne has to piece together what’s real and what’s illusion in this glamorous world.

The book is more plot driven and fast paced than other books that I’ve read by Weiner. While it’s light-hearted, it does take on many hot topics in our country right now-influencer culture, the have’s vs. the have not’s, and body positivity issues. She was also able to create the atmosphere of Cape Cod and New York City so well that I could practically feel the salty air and sea breeze from inside my house.

Related Classics:

For a story about how a close family without money can be happier than a dysfunctional family with all the wealth in the world, I always think back to Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. For the story of wealthy young women with very few limits living in New York City, I love Alison Poole in Jay McInernery’s Story of My Life.