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4.04 AVERAGE
4.04 AVERAGE
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
sad
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Infertility, Sexual content, Suicide
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pacing varies throughout the book. Good to start, then it slows but ending picks up again.
emotional
fast-paced
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Death
Minor: Child abuse, Infertility
Having just finished Seven Summers mere minutes ago, all I can say is ‘Wow’. When I started reading the novel, I figured it would be one that felt more narrative, rather than action and dialogue heavy and thus, I wouldn’t really connect with it. Toon does rely a lot on telling the reader what occurred, as one must assume she had to select snippets of the 20-year story for her structure to work. However, slowly but surely, Liv, Finn, and Tom’s story wormed its way into my heart.
As a big proponent of plots in which the characters fall hard and never really get over each other, I was certain that Toon had thrown enough curveballs to stick to the one that disrupted the ‘stasis’ that had developed between Liv and Finn. Thus, up until that point, I expected to finish the novel in a breezy manner, thinking back pleasantly on the characters’ emotional journeys and cozy setting, but not feeling the need to revisit it again. Obviously, I was wrong. Within a mere handful of pages, Seven Summers did an incredible job of making me rethink my entire reading experience and how poignant the ideas it illuminated are.
As an aside, I completely understand Liz’s friends’ trepidation and frustrations re: Finn. To the novel’s credit (or, perhaps to its detriment to some), the writing style and narrative choices overcome the toxicity they tried to help Liv avoid. I do, however, question Finn’s eventual choice to relent and move back to St. Agnes, as the readers are never clued into how, when, and why that change of mind occurred. Given the over reliance on Liv’s 1st person perspective, it would have behooved Toon to provide some insight into Finn’s true thoughts, since that was the main issue throughout their entire relationship.
As a big proponent of plots in which the characters fall hard and never really get over each other, I was certain that Toon had thrown enough curveballs to stick to the one that disrupted the ‘stasis’ that had developed between Liv and Finn. Thus, up until that point, I expected to finish the novel in a breezy manner, thinking back pleasantly on the characters’ emotional journeys and cozy setting, but not feeling the need to revisit it again. Obviously, I was wrong. Within a mere handful of pages, Seven Summers did an incredible job of making me rethink my entire reading experience and how poignant the ideas it illuminated are.
As an aside, I completely understand Liz’s friends’ trepidation and frustrations re: Finn. To the novel’s credit (or, perhaps to its detriment to some), the writing style and narrative choices overcome the toxicity they tried to help Liv avoid. I do, however, question Finn’s eventual choice to relent and move back to St. Agnes, as the readers are never clued into how, when, and why that change of mind occurred. Given the over reliance on Liv’s 1st person perspective, it would have behooved Toon to provide some insight into Finn’s true thoughts, since that was the main issue throughout their entire relationship.
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Seven Summers is an incredibly beautiful love story that follows Liv and Finn over 7 summers. I love the trope of right person wrong time, and this was heartbreaking at times it was ultimately full of wholesome love and I didn't want to put this down. I highly recommend to anybody who loves incredibly written romance books.
emotional
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this story but I didn’t love how Liv went back to Finn in the end. I loved Tom’s character is he seemed to die quickly in the end without much talk about it.