Reviews

Summer of '69 by Elin Hilderbrand

lanaboz's review against another edition

5.0

This book surprised me, it had so many strong themes and I loved how it shows perspectives of characters of such a wide age range. Great summer read

mstlove90's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

jlarrew's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

I enjoyed this book. It was a fun read. 

I thought it was interesting hearing the difference between now and the summer of 69. Having been pregnant, it made me cringe everytime Blair had a drink while pregnant. It's amazing how much things have changed. 

I thought it was interesting having Tiger being a main character who we barely hear from directly.

I'm glad for some changes, like not having to hide who you love. 

A summer on Nantucket or Martha's Vineyard seem like another world to me. It was interesting to read about that. 

I know that domestic abuse still exists. And the book made me wonder if it was more prevalent then. It seems like women's value was less.

Kate had a hard time. Her first marriage was awful. The guilt of knowing her kids had a half sibling (Pic) and not being able to tell them. Plus, their Dad's suicide. I hope those secrets come out.

I knew Angus was having mental health issues. I didn't like Blair spreading the adultery rumor without knowing. I am glad they worked it out and she could go back to school. 

I liked Jess. It was a big summer for her. 

Kirby was a little annoying for me, though I like what she stands for. 

I wouldn't say it's memorable, but I'm glad I read it.

genthebookworm's review against another edition

4.0

Elin Hilderbrand is not only the queen of summer reading but she is also an auto-read author for me. I remember taking her book The Castaways on our 2009 honeymoon trip to St. John and it was just the beginning of a long love affair with her writing. At that point, I read everything on her backlist and have read every single one of her book releases since then. 

Elin Hilderbrand June book releases always signify the unofficial start of summer for me. Summer of ‘69 was released on June 18th but I grabbed it a couple of weeks early in my Book of the Month box and couldn’t wait to dive in. 

I knew going into it that this book would be a little different than her others. While it was still set on the beautiful island of Nantucket, she took us back to 1969 in her first historical fiction novel. I always love reading the authors notes at the beginning of books and Hilderbrand shared that Summer of '69 was in honor of her 50th birthday, and I loved that connection so much. 

Summer of '69 delivered with Hilderbrand's gift of the summer beach read while also diving into some historic events like the lunar landing, The Vietnam War and Chappaquiddick.

We meet the Levin family and with this, there is a personal look at feminist issues, the civil rights movement and the life changes and transitions for this family. This book was packed full of powerful moments but was also an enjoyable coming of age story. There were many different personalities and perspectives in this story which made it feel multifaceted while also being a completely engrossing read.

Having grown up in the 80s and 90s I couldn't connect personally with this time period but she was able to bring me right there with her vivid details and ability to connect the music and other pop culture of this time in history. I highly recommend adding this to your summer reading list!

michyyy's review against another edition

5.0

I thought I wouldn't like this book because it's slow paced.. but I loved it. I love the "topics" that were tackled. I love that it's mainly about family.. and their character development towards the end of the story.

I'm gonna read more Elin Hilderbrand books.

thebexfiles's review against another edition

emotional informative lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

3.5

ashleylillis's review against another edition

3.75

This was a good book, not my favorite Elin Hilderbrand, but one that I would definitely tell people to try. I think that Elin did a good job with what she intended to do with the book which was tell the story of the summer that her and her brother were born, with all the tumult across the country. I enjoyed the characters, but don't know if I necessarily liked them, like I wouldn't want to hang out with them. 

coleen_nieto's review against another edition

hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

macym26's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.0

lediamond4's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This was my second Erin Hilderbrand book and I’m really trying to figure out how I feel about them. I like the stories, and the characters are fun/entertaining because of just how messy they are. They’re certainly not boring books. But everything just seems so underdeveloped. There’s so much family drama and then it’s all wrapped up perfectly at the end. Everyone was having marital problems and now no one is! And you don’t really see it happen, it just ✨happens✨. It doesn’t quite feel earned. But they’re definitely entertaining.