I’m a Jennifer Weiner fan from way back. What did I think of her latest, a book about body image and friendship set in Cape Cod? Check out my review of Big Summer! (This review is SPOILER FREE but if you’ve read the book and want to discuss spoilers, I hid them on a separate page.)
Big Summer by Jennifer Weiner. Published May 5 2020 by Atria Books. Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy. This review contains affiliate links.
Synopsis: Six years after the fight that ended their friendship, Daphne Berg is shocked when Drue Cavanaugh walks back into her life, looking as lovely and successful as ever, with a massive favor to ask. Daphne hasn’t spoken one word to Drue in all this time—she doesn’t even hate-follow her ex-best friend on social media—so when Drue asks if she will be her maid-of-honor at the society wedding of the summer, Daphne is rightfully speechless.Drue was always the one who had everything—except the ability to hold onto friends. Meanwhile, Daphne’s no longer the same self-effacing sidekick she was back in high school. She’s built a life that she loves, including a growing career as a plus-size Instagram influencer. Letting glamorous, seductive Drue back into her life is risky, but it comes with an invitation to spend a weekend in a waterfront Cape Cod mansion. When Drue begs and pleads and dangles the prospect of cute single guys, Daphne finds herself powerless as ever to resist her friend’s siren song.
Review of Big Summer
When chick lit was super-popular in the early 2000s, I first discovered Jennifer Weiner’s novels. I particularly remember her first, Good in Bed: its provocative cover, feisty heroine, and themes of body image and female empowerment. After that, I read her next three or four books, and when chick lit went from “in” to “out,” began reading YA.
Big Summer seems to me to be right in the Good in Bed lane, featuring a lot of the same themes. Daphne, the book’s main character, is a plus-sized influencer who gets paid to promote wellness items like yoga mats and healthy tea. When an up-and-coming young fashion designer wants Daphne to be the face of her new plus-sized fashion line, Daphne is thrilled.
Then something else happens: Daphne’s “friend” (frenemy?) Drue resurfaces and asks Daphne to be in her wedding. The book goes back in time to describe the very dramatic (and traumatic) event that ended their friendship, but also to explore Daphne’s relationship with food and her body, and also her somewhat toxic relationship with Drue.
I was thrilled when the book moved to Cape Cod as that’s a place I know very well and could picture everything Daphne was describing. But then a really surprising thing happened. I was SHOCKED and I’m hard to surprise. So I don’t want to give you any hints at all. If you’ve read the book, read the rest of my review and then come onto my spoiler page.
What I liked overall about the book:
Daphne was a really likable and enjoyable character. She’s built a great life for herself with supportive friends. She still struggles a lot with confidence issues and I was really rooting for her.
I didn’t understand why Daphne would agreed to be in Drue’s wedding except that a) Drue always had some mysterious power over her, b) the fashion designer Daphne was working with loved the idea of her clothes being featured at a big, fancy wedding and c) it was necessary for the plot.
The book took an interesting look at female friendship and the question of whether people can really change. Drue tells Daphne that she is sincerely sorry for her past behavior toward Daphne and the book does try to explain some of the reasons bedding it.
The book also addresses a topic issue: celebrity on the internet, through Daphne’s job and another thing which I will discuss on the spoiler page. Daphne recognizes that women of her size are not always valued by the fashion industry. She knows the risks of “putting herself out there” online and opening herself up to all kinds of criticism.
Overall, I do think this book was trying to do a lot of things. But I really enjoyed reading it. It entertained me and also really surprised me, and for that reason, I think that it is a great summer read – a perfect beach book or, if you are staying at home, a perfect read in the backyard under a tree book.
If you’ve read the book and want to discuss (or hear) spoilers, come over to my page of Spoilers for Big Summer and let’s chat!
Check out my reviews of the entire Summer Series
That Summer by Jennifer Weiner
The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner
If you want something more chick lit:
I agree that Weiner tackled a lot of topics with this one and I think it all blended fairly well. I was most interested in Daphne and her own issues and journey and less so about the celebrity/social media aspect but I still think it was presented well. I found Daphne so likable/relatable and thought her inner dialogue was so well done. This one didn’t have the big wow factor for me that Mrs. Everything did last year, but then again I don’t know that it was meant to. It’s a very different kind of book.
I agree. Daphne was the heart of the book just like Cannie in Good in Bed. I did not read Mrs. Everything but now I want to!!
Sometimes I struggle, when a book is trying to tackle too much, but it sounds like Weiner did it well. I would be up for trip to the cape too. My family always vacationed up there, when I was a kid
It’s hard to explain without spoilers because the part that surprised me took the book in a new direction and was one more thing the book had to do! In any case, if you know the Cape well, definitely read this one!
I like when a author takes on some heavy issues and from the sounds of Weiner handles it well. I am curious if our library system will have it.