THE SUMMER WE CAME TO LIFE: REVIEW AND BONUS GIVEAWAY ENTRIES

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THE SUMMER WE CAME TO LIFE

BY DEBORAH CLOYED

MORE ABOUT THE BOOK:

Every summer, Samantha Wheland joins her childhood friends --- Isabel, Kendra, Mina --- on a vacation, somewhere exotic and fabulous. Together with their mixed bag of parents, they’ve created a lifetime of memories. This year it's a beach house in Honduras. But for the first time, their clan is not complete. Mina lost her battle against cancer six months ago, and the friends she left behind are still struggling to find their way forward without her.

For Samantha, the vacation just feels wrong without Mina. Despite being surrounded by her friends --- the closest thing she has to family --- Mina’s death has left her a little lost. Unsure what direction her life should take. Fearful that whatever decision she makes about her wealthy French boyfriend's surprise proposal, it'll be the wrong one.

The answers aren't in the journal Mina gave Sam before she died. Or in the messages Sam believes Mina is sending as guideposts. Before the trip ends, the bonds of friendship with her living friends, the older generation's stories of love and loss, and Sam's glimpse into a world far removed from the one in which she belongs will convince her to trust her heart. And follow it. (Synopsis from ReadingGroupGuides.com)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Deborah Cloyed lives in Los Angeles, in Humphrey Bogart’s old room with a view.  A photographer, travel writer and curious nomad, she has previously resided in London, Barcelona, Thailand, Honduras, Kenya and New York City. In addition to her diverse travel history, she was also a contestant on CBS’s The Amazing Race.   She runs a photography school for kids, teaches writing to teenage girls, and is happily working on her next book.

MY REVIEW:
At first glance, Deborah Cloyed’s THE SUMMER WE CAME TO LIFE might be just another story about the relationship of friends over one glorious summer. While that is an enjoyable scenario, let us not confuse THE SUMMER WE CAME TO LIFE with the typical “summer beach read”…not that you can’t enjoy reading Cloyed’s novel anywhere, anytime…even at the beach and in the summer! However, there is much more substance in Cloyed’s book and while it entertains, it also is an emotional journey.

The journey revolves around four friends who vacation together each summer often with their mothers but this summer, things have changed. As they spend time in a rented beach house in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, all know that this is a much different year. If ever their normal support and love of each other in good times and bad is needed, it is now.

After Mina Bahrami, one of the fearless four, dies of cancer, Samantha Wheland seems the most disturbed by the loss. Mina was Sam’s best friend and ever since she died six months before, Sam has found herself struggling to define herself and make sense of her life. This is affecting Sam in all that she does including her relationship with French boyfriend, Remy. As the summer goes on, Sam will find comfort and some answers in her remaining friends, Kendra and Isabel, and their parents, as well as with Mina herself. Their time in Honduras includes some fascinating experiences.

With the baby boomer parents on the trip, comes a variety of different cultures and experiences to add to the story. They also give credence to what life is really about when considering such subjects like politics, marriage, friendship, and love. Visiting native villages and enjoying the local color adds some levity as well as culture to their summer. But the questions in Samantha’s mind still leave her feeling disconnected from everyone despite all their attempts to help.

Reading her childhood friend’s journal, Sam finds some solace in the memories left behind by Mina. However, she also knows that death came too early to Mina and with the journals the two friends kept, Sam now begins to explore different theories of the after-life and even tries to communicate with Mina. This twist in the story took it in a direction I never expected and I have to say was an intriguing one. Edging on some physics and unexplored theories, the alternate dimension that Cloyed brings into the story is one I didn’t see coming. It makes one think about personal feelings on how to mourn and handle the loss of someone you love. Whether you choose to consider these things scientifically or religiously, it will get you thinking. This was the part of the story, for me, that gave me pause as I contemplated Sam’s actions and beliefs. I found THE SUMMER WE CAME TO LIFE to be a remarkably moving story about what is most important: the people in our lives, the love we share, and the reality and significance of loss. If you want a book to really get wrapped up in, THE SUMMER WE CAME TO LIFE will do it. 

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO ERIC AT PLANNED TELEVISION

ARTS/RUDER FINN, FOR TWO COPIES OF

THIS PERFECT READ FOR SUMMER!

 
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