Jennifer Weiner

Daisy and Diana connect over the internet after one receives an email message meant for the other. Daisy is in a rather stale marriage and lonely, having recently lost a dear friend. The reader knows Diana was sexually assaulted in her teens, when she worked as a mother’s helper on Cape Cod. How has she moved beyond that event to become the friendly, polished, and self-assured woman she appears to be today?

After some email correspondence, the two women decide to meet for lunch, and show more Jennifer Weiner begins methodically revealing their back stories. Both women are complicated characters -- as are all human beings -- simultaneously likable and troubled. We learn more about Daisy’s upbringing, her marriage to Hal and their daughter Beatrice. Diana’s recovery eventually led her to loving marriage and a stable career. But now, in her fifties, she is compelled to seek answers to the trauma she experienced so many years ago. And it appears Daisy may be a conduit to some of those answers. But at what cost?

This novel was brilliantly plotted. Weiner skillfully moved between past and present, sometimes leaving bread crumbs that became “aha!” moments later. The connections between Daisy and Diana proved to be more layered than I had guessed. Weiner also set the story in the midst of #MeToo, when many public figures were in the spotlight. Weiner uses this novel to show #MeToo isn’t limited to famous people, and advocates for the truth-telling, reckoning, and accountability necessary for both healing and change. show less

Sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman grew up middle-class and Jewish in Detroit, raised by their mother after their father’s early death from a heart attack. While coming of age in the 1960s, Jo realizes she is gay, Bethie is the victim of sexual abuse, and their mother is emotionally unavailable, preferring to sweep such difficult matters under the metaphorical rug. Both girls can’t wait to escape their stifling home environment by going to college, where Jo enjoys the freedom to be herself show more and Bethie goes wild. Over the next forty years the sisters’ lives take some interesting turns, as both navigate life as a woman in an ever-changing society. Jo marries immediately after college, having come face-to-face with some of the realities of being an independent woman -- let alone a lesbian -- during that period in history. Bethie’s path through adulthood is more circuitous, but the long-term impact of abuse is obvious. Despite their differences, each sister is there for the other when she most needs it. Through Jo, Bethie, and the generations who follow them, we see the ways in which women’s lives and options have changed, and the ways they haven’t. Towards the end of the novel, the characters are watching televised coverage of the 2016 Democratic National Convention with such optimism and hope. Jennifer Weiner doesn’t need to tell us how that all worked out. It’s a brilliant way to show how progress can be so easily and quickly eroded.

For me, this story began as “a novel about sisters, one of whom is gay,” and successfully reinforced the importance of sisterhood and family ties. But it was also a more sophisticated exploration of women’s roles in society, and a book with such well-developed characters that I was sad to say good-bye at the end. I loved this book and heartily recommend it to any woman who has experienced the growth of feminism, women’s empowerment, and LGBTQ rights since the 1960s. show less

Big Summer, by bestselling author Jennifer Weiner, opens with a foreboding prologue set in 1994 involving a young woman named Christina who is happy raising her son on her own at her family's cabin on Cape Cod. "Her story was almost at its end, but that night, she had no idea" as she sang to her four-year-old son. The story then advances to 2018 and the focus shifts to Weiner's protagonist, Daphne, an up-and-coming plus-size Instagram influencer who has been offered a chance to showcase the show more clothing of Leela Thakoon. Daphne is thrilled when the attractive garments fit perfectly and make her look and feel "like the best version of" herself. A collaboration is born.

In her first-person narrative, Daphne relates how she came to be a young woman who has eschewed dieting and is determined to simply be true self. As the only child of doting parents, she had no idea she was overweight until a fateful weekend with her body size-obsessed grandmother. That was the point at which her psyche was irrevocably altered, and from which she gradually "learned every trick for taking up as little space as possible and not asking for much." She describes her first day at the exclusive new school where her father taught, but a scholarship was required in order for her tuition to be paid, and meeting the other students. Two in particular play prominent roles in Daphne's story. Darshi, who, as the story opens, has been her faithful friend for many years and her roommate for the past four. And Drue Cavanaugh.

Weiner describes Drue as a "thinly veiled Ivana Trump-like" character -- the wealthy and glamorous girl who is the most popular in the school. The other girls emulate her, craving her attention and approval. Shockingly, Drue embraces Daphne on her very first day at school, even inviting her to eat lunch with her and her friends. But Drue is manipulative and calculating, and Daphne details specific instances of Daphne using and abusing her. Still, Daphne remained her loyal friend throughout school, writing papers for her, keeping her secrets, covering for her when she cut class or was too hungover to function. The friendship, such as it was, endured because even though Drue repeatedly abused Daphne's generous spirit and her trust, Daphne still wanted to be like her: beautiful, funny, self-assured, and decidedly cool.

At long last, however, Drue goes too far and a particularly cruel machination causes Daphne to stand up for herself and declare she has had enough. The incident is videotaped and goes viral, transforming Daphne's attitude and life. She changes the name of her blog from "Daphne's Craft Corner" to "Big Time," vows to focus on her health and well-being, rather than her weight, and six years pass during which she has no contact with Drue.

But Drue reemerges, appearing in person when Daphne ignores her emails and texts. And she has a surprising request. She wants Daphne to be her maid-of-honor when she marries in a lavish ceremony on Cape Cod. She pitifully insists that she has no close female friends, has missed Daphne, and acknowledges that her past behavior was horrible. She blames, in part, her parents' dysfunctional marriage and her lack of a relationship with her dismissive father, who has had multiple affairs over the years. She even offers to pay Daphne. Daphne is torn -- resolved not to get reeled back into Daphne's life and the drama their friendship inures, but ultimately swayed by happy memories of time spent together as young girls.

Daphne also recognizes that she can parlay the event into Instagram posts featuring photos taken in a stylish setting at one of the biggest social events of the summer. She relents, despite her misgivings and a strong hunch that she is being used by Drue. Daphne's number of Instagram followers grows as soon as Drue begins posting about the wedding and Daphne's role in it, and Daphne struggles to escape her uneasiness. But Darshi is direct, warning Daphne that Drue will hurt her again and when she does, she will not be there to comfort Daphne, aptly calling Drue her "Kryptonite."

The story veers in a direction most readers won't see coming. The party at the estate the night before the wedding proves to be a magical one for Daphne when she meets a handsome and charming man who wants only to spend time with her. But the party is disrupted by a loud argument between Drue's parents that sends the bride-to-be retreating to her room. The book shifts from women's fiction to a murder mystery, with Daphne searching for two mystery men: the one she caught lurking outside Drue's door the previous night, as well as the one with whom she spent the night who disappears before she wakes up. Worse, Daphne, like all of the other guests, is questioned by the police, and becomes convinced that she could be viewed by the authorities as a suspect. The police are motivated to find the killer quickly, after being embarrassed by their incompetent handling of a murder that occurred in the area years ago. Darshi, being the loyal friend that she has always been, rushes to Daphne's side and they begin sleuthing, determined to unmask the murderer.

Weiner pulls off the genre-switch seamlessly, her cleverly-constructed, intricate plot unfolding during the latter half of the story. She examines the dark side of social media in a credible manner, revealing the ways in which some of her characters connive to use their status as influencers -- and other characters -- to attain fame and wealth. She deftly pulls all the loose threads into a cohesive story in which every character's significance becomes apparent -- including Christina and her son, Aidan, the subjects of the prologue that most readers will have forgotten all about by that juncture.

Daphne and Drue are fully developed characters, and as the story progresses, Weiner highlights the traits that differentiate them, as well as their common humanity. Weiner makes Drue a sympathetic character by exposing the truth about her family and upbringing, illustrating that outward appearances are, of course, deceiving. Readers come to understand the environment and lessons that made Drue who she is. Daphne's narration hits all the right notes as she describes her own familial relationships and home life, as well as her internal struggle to accept and love herself. Daphne is intelligent, self-deprecating, insecure, tenacious, and, most importantly, highly self-aware. She is likable, and has a strong moral center and commitment to justice. Female readers will recognize aspects of themselves in Daphne, whose emotional battles are almost universally relatable. The complicated, sometimes hilarious and frequently heartbreaking relationship between Daphne and Drue is believably and compassionately portrayed by Weiner as is her depiction of the love, envy, exasperation, and, finally, understanding and empathy Daphne feels for the woman who is so consequential in her life.

Weiner has succeeded at making Big Summer a witty and enjoyable beach read, as well as an engrossing exploration of the contradictions between real and virtual life. The book is also a surprisingly thought-provoking examination of friendship and how profoundly the friends we choose can impact our lives.

Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book. show less

Now that was fun. I had no idea that I was about to become involved in a frothy, funny, murder mystery investigated by a bunch of very quirky characters. Nasty doings in the first part – “You’re ugly. You’re fat. No one likes you. No one ever will.” Hard words to shake off. Somehow, Daphne, the protagonist accepts and embraces her body and herself and slaps downs her detractors. Well, almost but I was always rooting for her – weren’t you? And that is inspired writing. Murderous show more doings in the second part and whoever thought murder could be slightly hilarious?!

The big takeaway for me, through Daphne’s musing, is realizing that s easy to be envied when you have love all around you, a job you like, a loyal dog, a true friend and enough confidence to accept all of it – as I said inspired writing.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy. show less