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A review by allingoodtime
Summer at Willow Lake by Susan Wiggs
4.0
Susan Wiggs is a new-to-me author, but obviously she’s been around since this book was originally published in 2006. Wow! She really knows how to weave a tale. Let’s see if I can adequately explain my feelings on this book without spoilers.
The main focus of this story are Olivia (Lolly) and Connor. Their story is really sweet and tender. As kids they started out as frenemies at summer camp but ended up true friends through the years. Eventually, their relationship progressed to more than friends one summer. This story is about them finding each other again after 9 years. Why they lost each other in the first place is an emotional journey they must both go on in their own ways. Lolly’s insecurities keep her more closed off than Connor even realizes…then or now. This contributes to some mixed signals between the two.
Mixed in with the romance of Lolly and Connor is a coming to terms, so to speak, that Lolly has about her parents’ divorce. There’s also a little romance between Olivia’s cousin and best friend, an uncle going through his own marital problems and trying to be supportive of his two kids, Lolly trying to help ease the sting of divorce for her two young cousins, a secret in her dad’s past he may not even know about, Connor’s teen brother going through his own growing pains…all while this loving cast of characters attempt to get the old family camp ready for a big 50th anniversary celebration for her Olivia’s grandparents. All of these stories are expertly woven together without it feeling like anything is being left behind. We get to see things from multiple perspectives as well as multiple times as the story jumps back in time a few times. There was a fear this would get to cumbersome, but the author did a wonderful job of knowing when to use this device properly.
See full review at https://allingoodtimeblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/summer-at-willow-lake-book-review/
The main focus of this story are Olivia (Lolly) and Connor. Their story is really sweet and tender. As kids they started out as frenemies at summer camp but ended up true friends through the years. Eventually, their relationship progressed to more than friends one summer. This story is about them finding each other again after 9 years. Why they lost each other in the first place is an emotional journey they must both go on in their own ways. Lolly’s insecurities keep her more closed off than Connor even realizes…then or now. This contributes to some mixed signals between the two.
Mixed in with the romance of Lolly and Connor is a coming to terms, so to speak, that Lolly has about her parents’ divorce. There’s also a little romance between Olivia’s cousin and best friend, an uncle going through his own marital problems and trying to be supportive of his two kids, Lolly trying to help ease the sting of divorce for her two young cousins, a secret in her dad’s past he may not even know about, Connor’s teen brother going through his own growing pains…all while this loving cast of characters attempt to get the old family camp ready for a big 50th anniversary celebration for her Olivia’s grandparents. All of these stories are expertly woven together without it feeling like anything is being left behind. We get to see things from multiple perspectives as well as multiple times as the story jumps back in time a few times. There was a fear this would get to cumbersome, but the author did a wonderful job of knowing when to use this device properly.
See full review at https://allingoodtimeblog.wordpress.com/2017/04/26/summer-at-willow-lake-book-review/