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A review by 24hourlibrary
Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz
4.0
Invincible Summer covers four summers at the beach, where Chase and his family experience an upheaval year after year. There's Melinda, one of the older Hathaway kids, who both Chase and his older brother, Noah, can't seem to stay away from. There's Chase's younger deaf brother, Gideon, and his hypersexualized younger sister, Claudia. And then there's Newbaby on the way. With a crescendo of drama each summer, Chase continuously returns to the wisdom and beauty of Camus while trying to keep his family together.
Thoughtful and chewy, Invincible Summer is a character driven novel that has enough plot to carry along Chase's development. Moskowitz captures a unique and consistent voice for her narrator (Chase), and his observations of his family and the Hathaways show a distinct sort of bias and perspective that not only helps to define Chase, but is an impressive example of a potentially unreliable narrator and of Moskowitz's skill.
As a whole, the novel felt slightly under-baked and might have benefited from another round of edits. However, it appears to achieve what it intends in terms of a somewhat lofty but still accessible novel with well-drawn characters and a sticky narrative that sits with the reader long after the last page.
Thoughtful and chewy, Invincible Summer is a character driven novel that has enough plot to carry along Chase's development. Moskowitz captures a unique and consistent voice for her narrator (Chase), and his observations of his family and the Hathaways show a distinct sort of bias and perspective that not only helps to define Chase, but is an impressive example of a potentially unreliable narrator and of Moskowitz's skill.
Spoiler
Moskowitz also paints a true-to-life depiction of sibling loss, which I particularly appreciated as someone who has lost a sibling.As a whole, the novel felt slightly under-baked and might have benefited from another round of edits. However, it appears to achieve what it intends in terms of a somewhat lofty but still accessible novel with well-drawn characters and a sticky narrative that sits with the reader long after the last page.