The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey ~ a Review

by Susan Roberts

Four women come together to save the summer camp that changed their lives and rediscover themselves in the process.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

July 2023; Gallery Books; 978-1668010822
audio, ebook, print (368 pages); southern fiction

I've read every word that Kristy Woodson Harvey has written and I can tell you that this is her best yet.  My prediction is that this will be THE book of the summer of 2023 and the book that everyone will be talking about!

Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart meet on the first day of Camp Holly Springs when they are 6 years old.  A camp friendship formed almost immediately and they continued to meet a camp over the years and even worked as counselors when they were older.  Now 30 years later they are still best of friends, helping each other through the problems in life and celebrating their good times together.  Daphne is now an attorney and has just been faced with an insurmountable choice between her career and taking care of her young son,  Lanier is getting married soon and is depending on her friends to take care of all the loose ends.  Mary Stuart is just getting ready to marry.  I especially enjoyed the emails that they sent to each other asking for help on the hard things going on in their lives -- something that each girl didn't want to face but knew that one of her friends would have no problem with.  When the three long-time friends decide to have Lanier's bachelorette party at the camp, it brings back a lot of memories and brings one of them face-to-face with their first love.  This is when they find out that June - the camp owner and Daphne's aunt - is in financial trouble and is planning to sell the camp to a developer. When they find out, they work to save their beloved camp so that other girls can enjoy their summers like the three friends did when they were young.

This is a story about summer in all its glory, friendship that endures through the years, and how lessons that we learn at a young age continue to guide us through our lives.  It shows the importance of female friendship and has a bit of romance, a few tears, and a lot of happiness!  Even if you didn't go to summer camp when you were young, the book still brings back memories of growing up during fantastic summers.

"Far winds and following seas."  (The traditional camp SEE YOU LATER)

Buy The Summer of Songbirds at Amazon

Susan Roberts grew up in Michigan but loves the laid-back life at her home in the Piedmont area of North Carolina where she is two hours from the beach to the east and the mountains in the west.  She reads almost anything but her favorite genres are Southern Fiction and Historical Fiction.  

 

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