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A review by andye_reads
Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz
2.0
The McGill and Hathaway families have neighboring beach houses at the ocean. Both families come to spend about a month at the beach each summer and always arrange to arrive on the same day. In the mind of 15 year old Chase this is when his life really begins and the other 11 months are just what happens in between. This story covers 4 summers that chronicle the ebb and flow of life. The dedicated and responsible adult of this family is Chase. His older brother, Noah, is something of a free spirit answering to no one except occasionally Chase. Their brother Gideon was born deaf and continues to be treated like a baby even at 6. The parents of this brood are loving but distant and it is often left to the older ones (Chase) to care for the younger ones. As we follow Chase through these four summers, we see him grow mentally, emotionally and sexually.
My review:
This book contains a very interesting story about the coming of age of a boy and his family. I liked everyone of these kids. Each one had a unique and interesting personality and the dynamic of the family was well developed. I just kept thinking what great adults they could become if they had anyone to give them even the slightest amount of guidance, encouragement and a moral compass to live by. Unfortunately, they had none of this and were left to build relationships with their siblings that excluded their parents. They were basically lost souls without any foundation to build on. How this family evolves makes for very interesting and thought provoking reading. The problem is that the story is hidden in a fog of trashy language and trashy sex. The fact that the reader must slog through conversations among these young people that are loaded with cuss words and sexual encounters that include 2 young brothers having sex with the same girl, ruined any enjoyment I might have gotten from the story. It almost made me sick to my stomach to think of these kids growing up in such a situation. If this is supposed to be a "slice of real life", our young people are in sad shape. Unfortunately, because of the language and sexual content, I cannot recommend this book.
Janeth
My review:
This book contains a very interesting story about the coming of age of a boy and his family. I liked everyone of these kids. Each one had a unique and interesting personality and the dynamic of the family was well developed. I just kept thinking what great adults they could become if they had anyone to give them even the slightest amount of guidance, encouragement and a moral compass to live by. Unfortunately, they had none of this and were left to build relationships with their siblings that excluded their parents. They were basically lost souls without any foundation to build on. How this family evolves makes for very interesting and thought provoking reading. The problem is that the story is hidden in a fog of trashy language and trashy sex. The fact that the reader must slog through conversations among these young people that are loaded with cuss words and sexual encounters that include 2 young brothers having sex with the same girl, ruined any enjoyment I might have gotten from the story. It almost made me sick to my stomach to think of these kids growing up in such a situation. If this is supposed to be a "slice of real life", our young people are in sad shape. Unfortunately, because of the language and sexual content, I cannot recommend this book.
Janeth