Every Summer After by Carley Fortune

“’You came home’.

I squeeze my eyes shut.

‘I came home’.”

If spring weather is putting you in the mood for a beach read, look no further than Every Summer After by Carley Fortune. Persephone (“Percy”) Fraser started spending summers at Barry’s Bay in Ontario when she was 13. For six years, she returned every summer to the lakefront beach house her parents owned. She spent summer days with Sam Florek, the boy next door, and his older brother, Charlie. Percy and Sam were inseparable from the moment they met and emailed each other throughout school years. At age 18, “something” happened and Percy never returned to Barry’s Bay. Now it is a decade later when Charlie calls to let her know his mother has died. Percy returns for the funeral of the woman who was a second mother for so many summers. Her return means she and Sam will be forced to talk for the first time in ten years, but she does not know if they can ever move past the “something” from all those years ago.

If you read the summary and thought “that’s a lot of drama,” you aren’t wrong. This book certainly does have the drama and angst of a YA novel, since about 70% of it takes place when Percy is a teen. However, there was definitely more to the story with family dynamics, friendship, and, perhaps my favorite feature, the setting of Barry’s Bay. This little lakeside town sounds like such an idyllic place to spend summers. It was the perfect, lakeside, small town setting for this story and as a reader, I could feel the pull of this place and understand the need to return to the people and town. I am also really craving a pierogi. If you’re looking for a heart-breaking and heart-warming story to get you ready for outdoor weather, I recommend Every Summer After as the place to start.

Check out Every Summer After by Carley Fortune for yourself from the Library (https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx…) or through the eLibrary at https://lclibs.overdrive.com/media/6495137.