A review by rachels_booknook
Until Next Summer by Ali Brady

4.0

 In Until Next Summer, camp director Jessie lives ten months for the two at camp. She finds out her beloved camp will be closing and decides, for the final summer, to host an adult camp for former campers. She hires a small staff, including her former best friend Hillary, from whom she’s drifted apart after a broken promise. From the first page, camp memories like talent show and color war came flooding back to me. I think the authors did a great job of describing a true camp experience, although for adults. I felt like this book was so layered, including with their careers in the off-season and family backgrounds. I also loved and related to Hillary’s anxiety about finding people to sit with for meals. And I haven’t even touched on the romance of it all! 

Until Next Summer has vibes of two of my favourite movies – Indian Summer and Beaches. In Indian Summer, a group of adults goes back to their former summer camp for a week where the owner breaks the news that he’s decided to sell the camp. The former campers spent the week trying to figure out how to save their beloved camp. In Beaches, (don’t worry this book is not sad like the movie) two friends that meet as children, but live far apart, remain friends throughout the decades, coming together when they really need each other. One of the characters in the movie is even named Hillary!