A review by mellabella
A Hundred Summers by Beatriz Williams

4.0

Once I picked up A Hundred Summers, I could not put it down. It's told from Lily's point of view and alternating between her present day (1938) and seven years before. Lily is a socialite. She meets a young man named Nick at a football game and they fall in love. It's not at all an easy road. Nick is Jewish. It was interesting reading about the stigma attached to dating or marrying someone that was Jewish back then. How you could become socially ostracized, just because you chose to be with someone you loved. Lily has a friend named Budgie. Beautiful, life of the party. The type that attracts men and women. Friend is a term to be used lightly. As we go back and forth, we learn that due to a unfortunate turn of events, misunderstandings, and Budgie's blackmail Lily and Nick break up. Nick marries Budgie. When the book opens we meet Kiki, Lily's younger sister. I have to admit that I did think Kiki was Nick and Lily's daughter. The author threw me for a loop when I learned that she was, indeed Lily's sister. I liked Lily's character. She was smart and had aspirations beyond being a mom or just being seen. She wanted to be a writer. She didn't care if her parents didn't support her relationship. She was pretty, maybe not conventionally so. But, she didn't focus on it. The way she was described (hourglass shape, nice skin, etc.) made the reader think she was prettier than she thought. The secrets that came tumbling out and the sad ending made the book a great read.