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alibaba18 's review for:
Seven Summers
by Paige Toon
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.