Summer Sisters - Softcover

Judy Blume first won legions of fans with such young adult classics as Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret and Forever, in which she tackles the cultural hot button of teenage sexuality. In Summer Sisters, her third novel for adults, the author again explores the ramifications of love--and lust--for two friends. Initially, the differences between Caitlin Somers and Victoria Leonard (or "Vix", as Caitlin christens her) draw them together: privileged Caitlin is wild and outspoken, beautiful but emotionally fragile, while working-class Vix is shy, reserved and plain in comparison. After Caitlin selects Vix to accompany her to her father's home in Martha's Vineyard for the summer, the two become inextricably connected as "summer sisters".

On the Vineyard, Vix and Caitlin first find love, then sex--and lots of it. Yet Blume soon moves beyond hot fun in the summer sun, tracing the romantic and familial travails of the two from pre-adolescence to adulthood. Solid Vix evolves into Victoria, an equally solid, Harvard-educated, Manhattan public relations executive. Unpredictable Caitlin opts out of college and travels to Europe, where she has a string of short-lived affairs with a series of intriguing (in every sense of the word) foreigners. It is only after she returns to the Vineyard that Caitlin does the unthinkable, forever changing both her friendship with Vix and their lives. Blume once again proves herself a master of the female psyche, and Summer Sisters is likely to entertain both her post-adolescent and more mature readers.

I shrieked with pure glee when this one landed on the mat - I haven't been so excited about a book for as long as I can remember. It's insightful, thought-provoking and she knows exactly how women think. I absolutely devoured it. If you liked Blume at school, you'll love this (Daily Mail)

If you are thirty-plus Judy Blume probably saw you through your teens, so you'll love this grown-up tale examining female friendships and the way the girl you used to play Barbies with can end up a virtual stranger in adulthood (Glamour)

Engrossing and personal, this book captures the true meaning of friendship perfectly (Candis)

Judy Blume knows exactly how women think and feel. Perfect summer reading (Jenny Colgan)