farahsarish 's review for:

The Summer Before the War by Helen Simonson

4.0

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If I could give this book 3.5 stars I would. The first 75% of this book reads a lot like a Jane Austen or Brontë sister novel. The plot pace, characterization, and development of the book are slow. However, I could feel that a good ending was coming. The tone of the novel was also relatively light. The last chunk of the book the tone took a huge turn and was a lot more serious and sad. Because it's about a war, I totally understand that, but it was no longer the fun it had been before. The ending was more sad than I expected, but it was good. There are good passages and the writing is really well-done, but it was a bit of a chore to finish at times.