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Five Summers
Bittersweet, funny, and achingly honest, Five Summers is a story of friendship, love, and growing up that is perfect for fans of Ann Brashare's The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Judy Blume's Summer Sisters.
Four best friends, five summers of camp memories
Emma, Skylar, Jo, and Maddie have all come back to camp for a weekend of tipsy canoe trips to the island, midnight skinny dipping in the lake, and an epic game of capture the flag—boys versus girls. But the weekend isn't quite as sunwashed as they'd imagined as the memories come flooding back. . . .
The summer we were nine : Emma was branded “Skylar’s friend Emma” by the infamous Adam Loring . . .
The summer we were ten: Maddie realized she was too far into her lies to think about telling the truth . . .
The summer we were eleven : Johanna totally freaked out during her first game of Spin the Bottle . . .
The summer we were twelve : Skylar’s love letters from her boyfriend back home were exciting to all of us—except Skylar . . .
Our last summer together: Emma and Adam almost kissed. Jo found out Maddie’s secret. Skylar did something unthinkable . . . and whether we knew it then or not, five summers of friendship began to fall apart.
A young adult book with a friendship story that will last long after the last s'more is gone.
Four best friends, five summers of camp memories
Emma, Skylar, Jo, and Maddie have all come back to camp for a weekend of tipsy canoe trips to the island, midnight skinny dipping in the lake, and an epic game of capture the flag—boys versus girls. But the weekend isn't quite as sunwashed as they'd imagined as the memories come flooding back. . . .
The summer we were nine : Emma was branded “Skylar’s friend Emma” by the infamous Adam Loring . . .
The summer we were ten: Maddie realized she was too far into her lies to think about telling the truth . . .
The summer we were eleven : Johanna totally freaked out during her first game of Spin the Bottle . . .
The summer we were twelve : Skylar’s love letters from her boyfriend back home were exciting to all of us—except Skylar . . .
Our last summer together: Emma and Adam almost kissed. Jo found out Maddie’s secret. Skylar did something unthinkable . . . and whether we knew it then or not, five summers of friendship began to fall apart.
A young adult book with a friendship story that will last long after the last s'more is gone.
400 pages, Paperback
First published May 16, 2013
56 people are currently reading
4654 people want to read
About the author
Una LaMarche
6 books194 followersUna LaMarche is a writer and amateur Melrose Place historian who lives in Brooklyn, New York with her husband, her son, and her hoard of vintage Sassy magazines. Una used to be a fancy magazine and newspaper editor before she had a baby and started writing from home, sometimes pantsless, for a living. Her first novel, Five Summers, is being released from Razorbill in May, and she’s currently in development on a second. She also writes for The New York Observer (of which she is a former managing editor), The Huffington Post, Vegas Seven, NickMom, and Aiming Low. Una continues to blog at The Sassy Curmudgeon, which she started in 2006 as a way to bring shame to her family. You can find her on Twitter under the handle @sassycurmudgeon. (If she’s not there, she’s probably trolling the internet for celebrity blind items or bulk candy.)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 223 reviews
November 20, 2014
This was a generic, relatively enjoyable read. At times I was totally absorbed in the story and 30 pages later I would find myself trudging through it.
It was very, very YA and at points I had a hard time caring about the issues these girls found important.
I loved Jo, but found Emma and Skylar grating and petty, and Maddie entirely forgettable.
The major issue I had with this book was the way it was written. It was written in third person, but told from 4 different perspectives so I sometimes had trouble telling whose perspective I was on so I would have to flip back to the beginning of the chapter and look. It was aggravating. The book should have just been written in third person without the "perspective changes" which were confusing and totally unnecessary. It the author really HAD to have the different perspectives then first person would have been the way to go. I HATED the way the author chose to execute this story.
The ending drudged on and on. I read the ending and then had to read 35 more unnecessary pages. I was way over it by the time I was actually done with this book.
It was very, very YA and at points I had a hard time caring about the issues these girls found important.
I loved Jo, but found Emma and Skylar grating and petty, and Maddie entirely forgettable.
The major issue I had with this book was the way it was written. It was written in third person, but told from 4 different perspectives so I sometimes had trouble telling whose perspective I was on so I would have to flip back to the beginning of the chapter and look. It was aggravating. The book should have just been written in third person without the "perspective changes" which were confusing and totally unnecessary. It the author really HAD to have the different perspectives then first person would have been the way to go. I HATED the way the author chose to execute this story.
The ending drudged on and on. I read the ending and then had to read 35 more unnecessary pages. I was way over it by the time I was actually done with this book.
May 28, 2013
Summer camp novels always fill me with a strange sense of nostalgia. Reading about summer friends and canoe trips across the lake and bonfires and camp songs always makes me wistful for summer camp days of my own past, which is impressive because I never actually went to summer camp. I think it speaks a lot to how ubiquitous an experience it is in our culture that even someone like me who has no first hand experience to draw from can still relate to the setting.
Which was the thing for me with Five Summers in particular -- I related to this story and its characters very easily. This book was fully engaging -- I read the whole thing in one sitting, and I cared about these four girls so much by the end of it. Because while on the surface, this might seem to be a book about middle school drama and boys and love triangles, what was really at the heart of this novel was the difficulty of holding onto a friendship when it becomes long-distance, and that is something I relate to all too well. Moreover, it is something that Lamarche has captured brilliantly in her novel -- the way the lines get drawn, the way communication lapses, the way you try to hold so hard onto what the friendship once was instead of figuring out what the friendship has to grow into. I appreciated that while the drama of the story might have been about boys, the story itself, in the end, was not.
I loved how this story was told, slowly unfolding the origins of these four girls through the flashback chapters mixed in with the reunion weekend. It all fit together seamlessly, and the four voices meshed very well and were distinct enough that I never lost track of whose head we were in. My only complaints are that the girls seemed at times too old for 17, and that the end was just a shade too neatly wrapped up, but those complaints are minor. Overall, this was a wonderful and very real look at how a close-knit friendship changes over time. A great summer read.
Which was the thing for me with Five Summers in particular -- I related to this story and its characters very easily. This book was fully engaging -- I read the whole thing in one sitting, and I cared about these four girls so much by the end of it. Because while on the surface, this might seem to be a book about middle school drama and boys and love triangles, what was really at the heart of this novel was the difficulty of holding onto a friendship when it becomes long-distance, and that is something I relate to all too well. Moreover, it is something that Lamarche has captured brilliantly in her novel -- the way the lines get drawn, the way communication lapses, the way you try to hold so hard onto what the friendship once was instead of figuring out what the friendship has to grow into. I appreciated that while the drama of the story might have been about boys, the story itself, in the end, was not.
I loved how this story was told, slowly unfolding the origins of these four girls through the flashback chapters mixed in with the reunion weekend. It all fit together seamlessly, and the four voices meshed very well and were distinct enough that I never lost track of whose head we were in. My only complaints are that the girls seemed at times too old for 17, and that the end was just a shade too neatly wrapped up, but those complaints are minor. Overall, this was a wonderful and very real look at how a close-knit friendship changes over time. A great summer read.
April 29, 2014
his book is all about friendship & I love reading books on that subject matter. My all time favorite series about friendship is The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I'd say if you liked that series, you will like this book as well.
This book follows 4 best friends throughout their 5 summers at camp. The book begins with all of the girls reuniting for a weekend for their camp reunion. They all haven't been together since their last summer at camp, their 5th summer. Throughout this whole weekend the girls bond, learn new things about each other as well as some long kept secrets.
I enjoyed all of the characters. I especially liked Emma & Jo. I can't explain why, I just felt an instant connection to the two. I like Maddie as well but Skylar? Skylar I could not really get on board with...if you have read the book you will know why. I liked reading each of the character's development and how far they have come.
I loved reading the flashbacks that took place in previous summers and seeing how all these girls became friends. It was heartwarming to read. I have two best friends that yes sometimes we drift apart but at the end of the day we are there for each other no matter what. I love reading friendship stories like this!
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. There was a situation throughout the entire book that kept building and building up and it eventually exploded but I just wish there was more resolve with the situation. I would have also have loved to see what all the girls are up to 5 years after the reunion. Did they keep in touch? What are they doing with their lives?
If your looking for a book about friendship and camp feelings and all around mushiness, I def. recommend picking this book up.
This book follows 4 best friends throughout their 5 summers at camp. The book begins with all of the girls reuniting for a weekend for their camp reunion. They all haven't been together since their last summer at camp, their 5th summer. Throughout this whole weekend the girls bond, learn new things about each other as well as some long kept secrets.
I enjoyed all of the characters. I especially liked Emma & Jo. I can't explain why, I just felt an instant connection to the two. I like Maddie as well but Skylar? Skylar I could not really get on board with...if you have read the book you will know why. I liked reading each of the character's development and how far they have come.
I loved reading the flashbacks that took place in previous summers and seeing how all these girls became friends. It was heartwarming to read. I have two best friends that yes sometimes we drift apart but at the end of the day we are there for each other no matter what. I love reading friendship stories like this!
Overall, I enjoyed this book. I wasn't a huge fan of the ending. There was a situation throughout the entire book that kept building and building up and it eventually exploded but I just wish there was more resolve with the situation. I would have also have loved to see what all the girls are up to 5 years after the reunion. Did they keep in touch? What are they doing with their lives?
If your looking for a book about friendship and camp feelings and all around mushiness, I def. recommend picking this book up.
February 16, 2016
I've never been to summer camp, but this is exactly how I always pictured it to be. I was always jealous of those who got to go, make new friends, experience something different during their summer.
This book definitely made me want to go back in time and beg my parents to send me.
The initial reason I picked this up was for the second chance romance factor. I absolutely love those tropes, so I thought it would be pretty great when combined with a summer camp reunion. And it is. But it's really about friendship, and how even the oddest pairings can make the best lifelong relationships.
Each of the four girls are entirely different from the others, and it makes their group dynamic work somehow. The beautiful hippie, the book nerd, the poor girl, and the tomboy - but combined they're quite a force to be reckoned with. Especially when they have each other's backs. They had been mostly out of touch for the last three years when their time as campers came to an end. Half returned as counsellors, and the other two were left behind for a few reasons. As the story begins, the tension and secrets are obvious immediately. And some are more of a betrayal than others.
Though the story is told from all four points of view, Emma is essentially the lead. And I found it easy to connect with her since I saw so much of myself in her. A book nerd who had never been particularly pretty, but always had a crush on the most popular boy at camp, Emma is how I was at 17. She was starting to come into her own and was ready for her second chance with Adam. And of course, I hoped it worked out for them. But, there was something about him... He seemed liked a typical guy who knows what the girls think of him. I hoped he could be sweet, and appreciate Emma and finally give her a shot. I just didn't trust him. Not with how things were on Skylar's end.
Skylar is the girl you love to hate. Beautiful and talented. The girl ALL the guys have crushes on. The one all the guys want to kiss (and more). I really hated her in the beginning. Well, throughout the book for the most part. I knew exactly what she was hiding and it made it hard for me to have any kind of sympathy for her. She redeemed herself at the end — SOMEWHAT — and I hoped she could find peace and happiness.
Maddie's story was kind of boring. Her "secret" was understandable, but not something to really be ashamed of. Not when you have best friends who are supposed to love you no matter what. However, I can completely understand that sometimes it's easier to continue living a lie than owning up to the truth. I did love her sense of humor and sometimes straightforward attitude.
Jo is the one I think I felt the most for. Tomboy. Daughter of the camp owner and director. Bossy. A mother who wanted her to be more feminine. She had to protect herself the only way she knew how. I loved that she wasn't boy-crazy like the rest of the girls, but again, I also felt that was her way of protecting herself from being rejected. I think I liked her almost as much as I liked Emma, because she definitely has hints of my personality, too.
The story is what you expect from a book about teenaged girls returning to camp and resurrecting their friendship. Boys, booze, games, secrets, and loads more are involved, and I appreciate the author not shying away from sex and such. Because it is real. It does happen. Ignoring the topic doesn't make it true or real. And the drama is real, especially when you take pause and remember these are 17 year old girls we are dealing with. At that age, even the smallest things are life or death. Betrayals that come from a best friend are the absolute worst, and have the strength to destroy everything. In this case, it's a matter of working things out and not letting something that wasn't meant to be get in between years of history. I found myself enraged at times, wanting to laugh hysterically, rooting the girls on, and hoping for HEAs for everyone.
Five Summers is an adorable, honest look at teenage girls and their friendships throughout the years. It will definitely remind you of the way things were when you were that age. And if you're a teen, you'll easily identify with the situations presented. I really loved it and recommend it for anyone who has ever wanted to attend a summer camp. Or hell, even if you did attend.
This book definitely made me want to go back in time and beg my parents to send me.
The initial reason I picked this up was for the second chance romance factor. I absolutely love those tropes, so I thought it would be pretty great when combined with a summer camp reunion. And it is. But it's really about friendship, and how even the oddest pairings can make the best lifelong relationships.
Each of the four girls are entirely different from the others, and it makes their group dynamic work somehow. The beautiful hippie, the book nerd, the poor girl, and the tomboy - but combined they're quite a force to be reckoned with. Especially when they have each other's backs. They had been mostly out of touch for the last three years when their time as campers came to an end. Half returned as counsellors, and the other two were left behind for a few reasons. As the story begins, the tension and secrets are obvious immediately. And some are more of a betrayal than others.
Though the story is told from all four points of view, Emma is essentially the lead. And I found it easy to connect with her since I saw so much of myself in her. A book nerd who had never been particularly pretty, but always had a crush on the most popular boy at camp, Emma is how I was at 17. She was starting to come into her own and was ready for her second chance with Adam. And of course, I hoped it worked out for them. But, there was something about him... He seemed liked a typical guy who knows what the girls think of him. I hoped he could be sweet, and appreciate Emma and finally give her a shot. I just didn't trust him. Not with how things were on Skylar's end.
Skylar is the girl you love to hate. Beautiful and talented. The girl ALL the guys have crushes on. The one all the guys want to kiss (and more). I really hated her in the beginning. Well, throughout the book for the most part. I knew exactly what she was hiding and it made it hard for me to have any kind of sympathy for her. She redeemed herself at the end — SOMEWHAT — and I hoped she could find peace and happiness.
Maddie's story was kind of boring. Her "secret" was understandable, but not something to really be ashamed of. Not when you have best friends who are supposed to love you no matter what. However, I can completely understand that sometimes it's easier to continue living a lie than owning up to the truth. I did love her sense of humor and sometimes straightforward attitude.
Jo is the one I think I felt the most for. Tomboy. Daughter of the camp owner and director. Bossy. A mother who wanted her to be more feminine. She had to protect herself the only way she knew how. I loved that she wasn't boy-crazy like the rest of the girls, but again, I also felt that was her way of protecting herself from being rejected. I think I liked her almost as much as I liked Emma, because she definitely has hints of my personality, too.
The story is what you expect from a book about teenaged girls returning to camp and resurrecting their friendship. Boys, booze, games, secrets, and loads more are involved, and I appreciate the author not shying away from sex and such. Because it is real. It does happen. Ignoring the topic doesn't make it true or real. And the drama is real, especially when you take pause and remember these are 17 year old girls we are dealing with. At that age, even the smallest things are life or death. Betrayals that come from a best friend are the absolute worst, and have the strength to destroy everything. In this case, it's a matter of working things out and not letting something that wasn't meant to be get in between years of history. I found myself enraged at times, wanting to laugh hysterically, rooting the girls on, and hoping for HEAs for everyone.
Five Summers is an adorable, honest look at teenage girls and their friendships throughout the years. It will definitely remind you of the way things were when you were that age. And if you're a teen, you'll easily identify with the situations presented. I really loved it and recommend it for anyone who has ever wanted to attend a summer camp. Or hell, even if you did attend.
July 31, 2018
4 friends and their friendships that spans 5 summers at sleep-away camp. Fun read...felt long at times. The storyline jumps back and forth between girls and summers so it can get confusing if you aren't paying attention.
March 20, 2013
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales.
Quick & Dirty: This was a cute book filled with lots of drama, heartache and love.
Opening Sentence: There are some things that seem like they’ll just never happen.
The Review:
Emma, Skylar, Maddie, and Jo met at camp when they were nine years old and they soon became best friends. They went to camp together for five years and through that whole time their friendship grew and they were inseparable during camp. During the year they lived across the country from each other but that never affected their friendship during camp. Then the unenviable happened — camp came to an end. They slowly drifted apart through the years and lost touch. It is now time for a camp reunion and the four girls will be together again for the first time in 3 years.
First there is Emma. She is the Ivy League bound college student. She is currently interning for a magazine in New York for the summer. She tried to stay in touch with the girls but something always seemed to get in the way whether it is her family or school. She can’t wait to go back to camp and try to reconnect with all the girls. Also Emma has regrets from her last night at camp. She had a huge crush on Adam Loring for years, but she was always too shy to say anything. She planned to tell him the last night of camp but she chickened out, she is hoping that maybe she will get a second chance at the reunion.
Skylar is the beauty of the group, but she is also the one that has the loose morals. She is very artistic and would love to be a painter one day, but her family isn’t the most encouraging. She stayed in touch with Jo, but only because they both became a counselor at the camp for every summer since the girls left. She had her reasons for not keeping in touch, she did something on her last night of camp that she really regrets and she has felt guilty ever since. Now that she is finally going to see her friends again she knows that she will have to come clean, but she doesn’t want to ruin the fragile friendship they have left.
Maddie has never really been honest with her friends. She has come from a broken family and they have very little money. She hasn’t really ever been honest with her friends about her real family life. She has never told them that all the years she attended camp the owner let her come for free or that her mom and step dad fight so much that she doesn’t feel safe at home. She wanted them to like her and she kept her distance after camp because she was afraid she would let something slip. She is tired of the lies, but she doesn’t know if her friends will forgive her for being so dishonest with them.
Jo is a total tom boy, but she has grown into quite a beautiful girl. Her father is the owner of the camp that they all went to. She has always been the one to follow all the rules and she has never kissed a boy. She has never really had a lot of girl friends until she met Emma, Skylar, and Maddie at camp that first year. She hates that they drifted apart and she really hopes that this reunion will help to reunite them, and she makes a vow that it will stay that way no matter what. She also wants to have a little fun and let loose a little bit.
This was a cute book filled with lots of drama, heartache and love. You get to see all of the girls grow up and see how camp and their friendships have affected their lives. It is a sweet story and it reminds me a little of what life was like for me growing up. You get to read from all of the girls’ points of view and it switches back and forth between the present and the past. I will be honest, it was pretty predictable and I had a little bit of a hard time getting through it. Overall, thought it was an okay read and I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a story about coming of age and trying to grow up.
Notable Scene:
Maddie threw her arms around Jo’s shoulders. “Don’t worry-I’ll be there,” she said. “Unlike some people I have no handsome prince to whisk me off into the woods for a romantic tryst.”
“Neither do I,” I said. “I might as well be wearing a shirt that says ‘I Had a Crush on Adam Loring for Five Summers and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.”
“That would certainly break the ice,” Maddie said, this time throwing her arms around me. “But he likes you. I know it.”
“Then where is he?” I groaned into my hands. If Adam did like me, wouldn’t he be just as eager to find me, to take his shot, to squire me off to a moonlit clearing like Zeke had done to Skylar? He’d probably forgotten about the hoodie. Maybe it had just been an excuse to ditch me.
Jo’s head popped up like a bloodhound, her spine suddenly as straight as her jet-black ponytail, which reached almost to the waist-band of her shorts. She held her finger to her lips. “I think I just heard a zipper,” she said, horrified. Then:” This was a bad idea.”
“Oh relax,” Maddie said. “It’s probably just some guy, you know, watering the wildflowers.” I smiled, but Jo didn’t seem to get the joke. She leaped up and marched off toward the tree line brandishing her whistle.
FTC Advisory: Razorbill/Penguin provided me with a copy of Five Summers. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Quick & Dirty: This was a cute book filled with lots of drama, heartache and love.
Opening Sentence: There are some things that seem like they’ll just never happen.
The Review:
Emma, Skylar, Maddie, and Jo met at camp when they were nine years old and they soon became best friends. They went to camp together for five years and through that whole time their friendship grew and they were inseparable during camp. During the year they lived across the country from each other but that never affected their friendship during camp. Then the unenviable happened — camp came to an end. They slowly drifted apart through the years and lost touch. It is now time for a camp reunion and the four girls will be together again for the first time in 3 years.
First there is Emma. She is the Ivy League bound college student. She is currently interning for a magazine in New York for the summer. She tried to stay in touch with the girls but something always seemed to get in the way whether it is her family or school. She can’t wait to go back to camp and try to reconnect with all the girls. Also Emma has regrets from her last night at camp. She had a huge crush on Adam Loring for years, but she was always too shy to say anything. She planned to tell him the last night of camp but she chickened out, she is hoping that maybe she will get a second chance at the reunion.
Skylar is the beauty of the group, but she is also the one that has the loose morals. She is very artistic and would love to be a painter one day, but her family isn’t the most encouraging. She stayed in touch with Jo, but only because they both became a counselor at the camp for every summer since the girls left. She had her reasons for not keeping in touch, she did something on her last night of camp that she really regrets and she has felt guilty ever since. Now that she is finally going to see her friends again she knows that she will have to come clean, but she doesn’t want to ruin the fragile friendship they have left.
Maddie has never really been honest with her friends. She has come from a broken family and they have very little money. She hasn’t really ever been honest with her friends about her real family life. She has never told them that all the years she attended camp the owner let her come for free or that her mom and step dad fight so much that she doesn’t feel safe at home. She wanted them to like her and she kept her distance after camp because she was afraid she would let something slip. She is tired of the lies, but she doesn’t know if her friends will forgive her for being so dishonest with them.
Jo is a total tom boy, but she has grown into quite a beautiful girl. Her father is the owner of the camp that they all went to. She has always been the one to follow all the rules and she has never kissed a boy. She has never really had a lot of girl friends until she met Emma, Skylar, and Maddie at camp that first year. She hates that they drifted apart and she really hopes that this reunion will help to reunite them, and she makes a vow that it will stay that way no matter what. She also wants to have a little fun and let loose a little bit.
This was a cute book filled with lots of drama, heartache and love. You get to see all of the girls grow up and see how camp and their friendships have affected their lives. It is a sweet story and it reminds me a little of what life was like for me growing up. You get to read from all of the girls’ points of view and it switches back and forth between the present and the past. I will be honest, it was pretty predictable and I had a little bit of a hard time getting through it. Overall, thought it was an okay read and I would recommend it to anyone that enjoys a story about coming of age and trying to grow up.
Notable Scene:
Maddie threw her arms around Jo’s shoulders. “Don’t worry-I’ll be there,” she said. “Unlike some people I have no handsome prince to whisk me off into the woods for a romantic tryst.”
“Neither do I,” I said. “I might as well be wearing a shirt that says ‘I Had a Crush on Adam Loring for Five Summers and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt.”
“That would certainly break the ice,” Maddie said, this time throwing her arms around me. “But he likes you. I know it.”
“Then where is he?” I groaned into my hands. If Adam did like me, wouldn’t he be just as eager to find me, to take his shot, to squire me off to a moonlit clearing like Zeke had done to Skylar? He’d probably forgotten about the hoodie. Maybe it had just been an excuse to ditch me.
Jo’s head popped up like a bloodhound, her spine suddenly as straight as her jet-black ponytail, which reached almost to the waist-band of her shorts. She held her finger to her lips. “I think I just heard a zipper,” she said, horrified. Then:” This was a bad idea.”
“Oh relax,” Maddie said. “It’s probably just some guy, you know, watering the wildflowers.” I smiled, but Jo didn’t seem to get the joke. She leaped up and marched off toward the tree line brandishing her whistle.
FTC Advisory: Razorbill/Penguin provided me with a copy of Five Summers. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
August 7, 2017
F-you Adam. Also what Nate said to Jo was NOT cool. DOWN WITH BOYS!!!!!
June 28, 2023
**3.5
Ok this was pretty good, maybe not my favorite ever but entertaining. It was a little hard to get into at first because not only does it interchange between the past a present almost every chapter, but it also changes between the four girls perspectives. It could be a bit confusing at times, but it was in third person so that did help a lot. I do think the switching around was really necessary for the plot though, so I wouldn't change that, you just have to get used to it. I will say the characters did kind of annoy me, but that was sorta the point, and they all had a lot of character development so they were mostly sorted out by the end. I hands down believe Jo and Nate were the best characters, we love them, Nate was so sweet. I honestly think my least favorite was Skylar she felt a bit selfish and stuck up sometimes, but I do see why she was like that so I guess its ignorable? Emma was too though, but like I said they grew up a LOT during the book. The camp vibes were honestly minimal, I feel like it just wasn't really about camp per-see and just more about the characters relationships with each other. If you are a really plot driven reader you may not like this one. Decent summer read, maybe a tad too much drama for me, but it was fun!
Ok this was pretty good, maybe not my favorite ever but entertaining. It was a little hard to get into at first because not only does it interchange between the past a present almost every chapter, but it also changes between the four girls perspectives. It could be a bit confusing at times, but it was in third person so that did help a lot. I do think the switching around was really necessary for the plot though, so I wouldn't change that, you just have to get used to it. I will say the characters did kind of annoy me, but that was sorta the point, and they all had a lot of character development so they were mostly sorted out by the end. I hands down believe Jo and Nate were the best characters, we love them, Nate was so sweet. I honestly think my least favorite was Skylar she felt a bit selfish and stuck up sometimes, but I do see why she was like that so I guess its ignorable? Emma was too though, but like I said they grew up a LOT during the book. The camp vibes were honestly minimal, I feel like it just wasn't really about camp per-see and just more about the characters relationships with each other. If you are a really plot driven reader you may not like this one. Decent summer read, maybe a tad too much drama for me, but it was fun!
April 10, 2017
A great book about friendship that made me smile on quite a few occasions. :) Each of these girls are so strong and have a clear unconditional love for each other. It really makes me wish I had gone to summer camp as a kid!
March 29, 2023
it was ok….
September 5, 2014
(My reviews are intended for my own info as a language arts teacher: they serve as notes and reflections for teaching and recommending to students. Therefore, spoilers may be present but will be hidden.)
*Note: I received this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.*
SUMMARY: First-time YA author Una LaMarche is clearly a talented writer. On that note, I did have some problems with Five Summers.
The narration is a combo of multiple third person limited POVs that jump back and forth in time. At first, I thought this would lead to a very confusing plot, but LaMarche pulls it off well. Emma is the main character, and the book begins as she is preparing to attend the Camp Nedoba former camper reunion. From age ten to fourteen, some of her happiest memories (many told in flashbacks) took place at summer camp with pals Skylar, Maddie, and Jo, so she looks forward to the weekend. Emma also has some mixed feelings about seeing former crush Adam...and getting that kiss she missed out on three years ago. The seventeen-year-olds try to pick up from where they'd left off during their camp days, but they quickly realize that secrets and time gone by may have come between them.
Overall, the plot is predictable and a little cookie-cutter, but fun. Emma's BFF Skylar had been hooking up with Adam, and of course . I loved the dialogue between the girls, which was clever and really funny at times. I liked the backdrop of a summer camp for the plot events, too, but I wish LaMarche would have played it up even more. (Read: more camp-related shenanigans, less character introspection about make-out sessions.)
READABILITY: The unique narration style and sequence of the book may pose a slight challenge to middle school students, but each chapter lists the focus character's name and year of summer camp. I did think that there wasn't much of a difference between the characters, but the POV didn't allow for much distinction anyway.
APPROPRIATENESS: My girl students would absolutely devour this, but I hesitate to keep it in my class library because of the multiple (er, almost constant) references to sex and hooking up. Teen drinking happens often and is presented in a practically positive light. (In one scene, Jo "finally lightens up" and drinks a beer.) I don't think the events are unrealistic to how high school juniors might act on a barely-supervised weekend away from home, but it's probably not something my eighth graders need to read about yet.
*Note: I received this book through a Goodreads First Reads giveaway.*
SUMMARY: First-time YA author Una LaMarche is clearly a talented writer. On that note, I did have some problems with Five Summers.
The narration is a combo of multiple third person limited POVs that jump back and forth in time. At first, I thought this would lead to a very confusing plot, but LaMarche pulls it off well. Emma is the main character, and the book begins as she is preparing to attend the Camp Nedoba former camper reunion. From age ten to fourteen, some of her happiest memories (many told in flashbacks) took place at summer camp with pals Skylar, Maddie, and Jo, so she looks forward to the weekend. Emma also has some mixed feelings about seeing former crush Adam...and getting that kiss she missed out on three years ago. The seventeen-year-olds try to pick up from where they'd left off during their camp days, but they quickly realize that secrets and time gone by may have come between them.
Overall, the plot is predictable and a little cookie-cutter, but fun. Emma's BFF Skylar had been hooking up with Adam, and of course . I loved the dialogue between the girls, which was clever and really funny at times. I liked the backdrop of a summer camp for the plot events, too, but I wish LaMarche would have played it up even more. (Read: more camp-related shenanigans, less character introspection about make-out sessions.)
READABILITY: The unique narration style and sequence of the book may pose a slight challenge to middle school students, but each chapter lists the focus character's name and year of summer camp. I did think that there wasn't much of a difference between the characters, but the POV didn't allow for much distinction anyway.
APPROPRIATENESS: My girl students would absolutely devour this, but I hesitate to keep it in my class library because of the multiple (er, almost constant) references to sex and hooking up. Teen drinking happens often and is presented in a practically positive light. (In one scene, Jo "finally lightens up" and drinks a beer.) I don't think the events are unrealistic to how high school juniors might act on a barely-supervised weekend away from home, but it's probably not something my eighth graders need to read about yet.
September 10, 2016
Often I look for books that will give me feels like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series from years past. I look for something summery that is heavily focused on friendship. Although the Traveling Pants books are still number one in my heart, I did enjoy this book.
Growing up, my best friend used to leave me in the summer for a couple weeks to go to camp. I was not a camp person so this made me pretty unhappy. Through Five Summers, it was nice to read about what camp is all about. Despite never going myself, a camp setting is so summery to me and was exactly what I was looking for in early June.
This book covers what distance can do to a friendship. It's so convenient to be friends with someone when you're around them. The real test is how your friendship carries on when you are separated by distance. This hit close to home because things like college, jobs, marriage, and family can take you away from friendships that seemed so easy when you'd see each other every day.
Through multiple summers and points of view, this book gave me what I was looking for: a fun, summer read. I was a little disappointed by some things the friends did/said to each other. Overall, I liked Five Summers but I didn't love it.
"You guys," Jo asked once the laughter died down. "When did we stop being best friends?" "We never stopped," Emma said. "We just lapsed."
Growing up, my best friend used to leave me in the summer for a couple weeks to go to camp. I was not a camp person so this made me pretty unhappy. Through Five Summers, it was nice to read about what camp is all about. Despite never going myself, a camp setting is so summery to me and was exactly what I was looking for in early June.
This book covers what distance can do to a friendship. It's so convenient to be friends with someone when you're around them. The real test is how your friendship carries on when you are separated by distance. This hit close to home because things like college, jobs, marriage, and family can take you away from friendships that seemed so easy when you'd see each other every day.
Through multiple summers and points of view, this book gave me what I was looking for: a fun, summer read. I was a little disappointed by some things the friends did/said to each other. Overall, I liked Five Summers but I didn't love it.
"You guys," Jo asked once the laughter died down. "When did we stop being best friends?" "We never stopped," Emma said. "We just lapsed."
June 12, 2015
Parts of this were really good and felt so authentically "camp", even though it is one of those weird lax New England camps without enough rules where the counselors are too young. (So sad to have to finish your career as a camper at 14. Technically 14 was also my last year as a regular camper, but my next year as a part-time dishwasher and the two after that as a CIT were really still being a camper.) But I got a little weary of the storyline after a while, which dragged out forever, and never really got a feel for what Skylar's redeeming features were. I also never got a very good sense of the camp and its layout and traditions and why anyone loved going there so much. I also wondered why the girls always sounded a little sneery about their counselors, instead of hero-worshipful. Especially I didn't buy that they made fun of 22-year-olds who came back for camp reunion. Unless the camp is really so sad that only 17-year-olds want to be there. But I THINK even at weird New England camps they still have some staff in their early twenties. And 17-year-olds would still look up to them. 50-100 pages less and I would have liked this better, I think... but really I think I would have liked the whole book about their camper years better. This doesn't measure up to the other classic summer camp books, whether about campers or counselors.
August 21, 2013
More like 3.5 stars.
I thought this was well written--the language was lovely and the imagery was pitch perfect. This is what summer camp is like, and it's something many young girls will relate to. Even if they haven't been to camp, they'll relate to the trials and triumphs of friendships and crushes. I found the book very readable overall and enjoyed tearing through it.
That said, at the reunion, I felt like the main characters WERE the girls in their 20s. Generally, they didn't seem like 17 year olds so much as 20-somethings. And the 20-somethings seemed more like 30-somethings.
Still, I think middle school girls would really love this book. I know I would have when I was that age!
I thought this was well written--the language was lovely and the imagery was pitch perfect. This is what summer camp is like, and it's something many young girls will relate to. Even if they haven't been to camp, they'll relate to the trials and triumphs of friendships and crushes. I found the book very readable overall and enjoyed tearing through it.
That said, at the reunion, I felt like the main characters WERE the girls in their 20s. Generally, they didn't seem like 17 year olds so much as 20-somethings. And the 20-somethings seemed more like 30-somethings.
Still, I think middle school girls would really love this book. I know I would have when I was that age!
September 26, 2013
My sister really liked this book a lot. I also thought it looked interesting, so I gave it a try. I thought it was really good and really sweet. I like books tat have a plot with a group of friends in summer with crushes, bonfires, broken hearts, love triangles, etc. I thought the plot was really sweet and told a lesson that everyone should know about friendship. I just loved it! I was able to finish this in three days, I would have done it in two, but i was really busy with school and stuff. I liked how there were chapters in each of the girl's views along with when they were younger at camp. I loved the characters and thought they were great friends. The characters were created perfectly. I loved the lesson which was friends will be there for everything and that you shouldn't let boys, lies, or anything else get in the way. There will be many boys, but your friends will always be there for you and help you in anyway. Fantastic book!!!! Hope you enjoy it!!!!!!!
October 4, 2015
This book would have made much more sense and been more interesting if the girls had actually been seniors in high school and not seniors at camp which is equivalent to....sophomores?? Juniors?? Why are they having sex and drinking and driving/flying hundreds of miles for a camp reunion when they are barely old enough to drive?!
Read
August 26, 2019Gave up after the 50 page threshold-- the writing isn't very good and the story isn't compelling. Since I love the summer camp theme I thought I'd give it a shot, but I think it just isn't crossover YA.
Want to read
January 2, 2015I want this book to live up to my expectations so badly.
October 16, 2014
i really didn’t enjoy this book
December 20, 2015
For a book where the only male characters are secondary, at best, these 4 teenage girls seem to talk/think/obsess about little else. Not good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2021
4,5/5🌟
June 13, 2021
Honestly, I didn't really care for this book. I liked the premise of it but the characters just ended up annoying me. I didn't really like any of them and couldn't relate to any of them at all. They all felt so petty imo. I also felt as though they were one dimensional; like you had a cookie cutter 'sporty chick', the 'shy nerdy one' and the 'pretty girly one'. And the boys were even more one dimensional, they all kind of blended together in my mind except for maybe Nate. I don't know, Five Summers isn't the worst book that I've read and I was able to finish it but it didn't meet my expectations.
I also wasn't really fond of all of the virgin jokes either tbh. With this book I was hoping for summer camp shenanigans (with some romance) but it was almost all sex talk and romance and that just doesn't appeal to me.
I also wasn't really fond of all of the virgin jokes either tbh. With this book I was hoping for summer camp shenanigans (with some romance) but it was almost all sex talk and romance and that just doesn't appeal to me.
November 20, 2021
DNF @ 38%
Alternating POVs confused me and this time it wasn’t because the audiobook had one narrator. (She did a good job, imo). The execution of this story was just ... bad? There are four POVs in 3rd person that sound the same and a shifting timeline of five years within the chapters themselves. It was confusing and long so I just lost interest.
I just wanted a fun camp setting with stupid adventures.
Alternating POVs confused me and this time it wasn’t because the audiobook had one narrator. (She did a good job, imo). The execution of this story was just ... bad? There are four POVs in 3rd person that sound the same and a shifting timeline of five years within the chapters themselves. It was confusing and long so I just lost interest.
May 29, 2025
I read this entire book in a single day. Cute cliche YA Jew-coded summer camp story about the friendship between 4 girls. Tried to play with time in a way that didn’t add much to the story. Fun and easy read.
May 13, 2018
Enjoyed it for what it was...a simple, nostalgic book about camp, hanging on to special friends while growing up, crushes, etc.
August 12, 2024
if carrie, miranda, charlotte and samantha were teens and in a summer camp:
August 30, 2017
This book was entertaining at times, but also felt tedious. It's kind of reminiscent of The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants, but not nearly as endearing. All in all, the plot was fairly predictable. Lots of guy drama, a bit of fighting, make up in the end. I've never been to camp so maybe I would have enjoyed it a bit more if I had. I liked Emma and Maddie, Jo was alright, I couldn't stand Skylar. I found it rather generic and don't have much to say. 2.75/5
September 5, 2022
This was a borrowed book from a friend, unfortunately I think I’ve officially outgrown YA and also this one being older didn’t help. It did give me Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants vibes, but I did find the girls annoying 🫣 The back and fourth between summers and the main characters was a bit confusing at points.
August 21, 2013
Review originally posted on Rather Be Reading Blog
In Estelle world, comparing a book to Summer Sisters by Judy Blume and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares is like hitting the jackpot. Those titles have been some of my favorites for years and years now. It’s also kind of scary to see two of your favorite books written on the back of a brand new one because your expectations might skyrocket and the possibility of getting disappointed is so much greater.
Well.
While Five Summers didn’t exactly reach the Summer Sisters/Traveling Pants level for me, it did have the same essence of those two classics: the joys and the difficulties of friendships, the years that bring people together and pull them apart, secrets kept that once seemed necessary but risk ruining everything.
I think most of us know that friendships can be rough. Especially when you don’t see each other every single day. (Which is most cases, actually.) So for Emma, Skylar, Maddie, and Jo to create such a bond at 9 years old, spend 5 summers enjoying every moment of summer camp, and then reuniting after not seeing each other for 3 years (and not keeping the best touch)? That’s a lot of time to miss each other, and a lot of time to grow apart.
Through flashbacks and alternating POVs from each of the girls, we get to find how the girls became friends in the first place and where they are now. LaMarche gives each of the them relatable challenges and problems, and I liked that. Anyone could understand feelings of embarrassment, fear of moving forward, working way too hard, and pressure from parents. I did favor Emma and Skylar’s stories best, though. I felt like I was always waiting for their turn to come around again. Their locked in a love triangle (though Emma doesn’t know it) and it’s created some distance between them. I really enjoyed their closeness though and I was really rooting for them to cut the crap, tell the truth, and regain their best friendship again.
The object of this love triangle is Emma’s long-time crush, Adam. I’ll admit. I would have fallen for him too. Utterly charming but so real when he is talking to you one-on-one. What is it about guys like these? After failing to share her true feelings with him on their last day of camp, seeing him 3 years later hits Emma like a ton of bricks. One last chance to make something happen and all those romantic notions, right? Sigh. This portion of the story had me feeling a mix of things: regret, excitement, and anger.
Five Summers was really an enjoyable read for me. I really felt for these friendships, and hoped these girls would make it out of their 3-day reunion to the other side with something stronger. While I didn’t always agree with the structuring of the book (the placement of the flashbacks made it jarring at times and while I understand the sentimentof the last chapter, I didn’t think it was necessary there) and the characters could have used more sculpting to make them feel a bit more different from each other (not just in circumstance but in tone), it still felt fast-paced and kept me interested.
I’m kind of a sucker for a summer camp story, too. So that was just icing on the cake.
In Estelle world, comparing a book to Summer Sisters by Judy Blume and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series by Ann Brashares is like hitting the jackpot. Those titles have been some of my favorites for years and years now. It’s also kind of scary to see two of your favorite books written on the back of a brand new one because your expectations might skyrocket and the possibility of getting disappointed is so much greater.
Well.
While Five Summers didn’t exactly reach the Summer Sisters/Traveling Pants level for me, it did have the same essence of those two classics: the joys and the difficulties of friendships, the years that bring people together and pull them apart, secrets kept that once seemed necessary but risk ruining everything.
I think most of us know that friendships can be rough. Especially when you don’t see each other every single day. (Which is most cases, actually.) So for Emma, Skylar, Maddie, and Jo to create such a bond at 9 years old, spend 5 summers enjoying every moment of summer camp, and then reuniting after not seeing each other for 3 years (and not keeping the best touch)? That’s a lot of time to miss each other, and a lot of time to grow apart.
Through flashbacks and alternating POVs from each of the girls, we get to find how the girls became friends in the first place and where they are now. LaMarche gives each of the them relatable challenges and problems, and I liked that. Anyone could understand feelings of embarrassment, fear of moving forward, working way too hard, and pressure from parents. I did favor Emma and Skylar’s stories best, though. I felt like I was always waiting for their turn to come around again. Their locked in a love triangle (though Emma doesn’t know it) and it’s created some distance between them. I really enjoyed their closeness though and I was really rooting for them to cut the crap, tell the truth, and regain their best friendship again.
The object of this love triangle is Emma’s long-time crush, Adam. I’ll admit. I would have fallen for him too. Utterly charming but so real when he is talking to you one-on-one. What is it about guys like these? After failing to share her true feelings with him on their last day of camp, seeing him 3 years later hits Emma like a ton of bricks. One last chance to make something happen and all those romantic notions, right? Sigh. This portion of the story had me feeling a mix of things: regret, excitement, and anger.
Five Summers was really an enjoyable read for me. I really felt for these friendships, and hoped these girls would make it out of their 3-day reunion to the other side with something stronger. While I didn’t always agree with the structuring of the book (the placement of the flashbacks made it jarring at times and while I understand the sentimentof the last chapter, I didn’t think it was necessary there) and the characters could have used more sculpting to make them feel a bit more different from each other (not just in circumstance but in tone), it still felt fast-paced and kept me interested.
I’m kind of a sucker for a summer camp story, too. So that was just icing on the cake.
February 22, 2015
Emma, Jo, Skylar, and Maddie attend Camp Nedoba every summer and are the best of friends. One summer they make a promise to be good friends and support one another. Many years later, they aren't the best of friends as they had hoped, but meet up for a camp reunion. Things start to go haywire for all the girls due to boys (of course!), secrets, and lies. There's Maddie, who has a secret about her family and hasn't been forthcoming with any of the girls. Then there's Jo whose Dad runs the camp and everyone views her as being just like her Dad, which doesn't help out in the dating department. Emma is the resident "good girl" who has a long time crush on Adam, another camp goer, but he is secretly seeing someone else. Lastly, there's artsy Skylar, who also has issues with her family and feels like a she isn't good enough for her artist father. All the girls must address their issues and what better place to do that than at their beloved camp? Una LaMarche's debut, Five Summers, is a story about friendship and the difficult hands that sometimes life deals us. Fans of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series will gravitate to this similar read.
I connected the most with Emma as she seemed the most relatable to me in Five Summers. Readers get to know her through first person narration and flashbacks to camp when she was younger. Her obsession with Adam is the main focus and during the reunion weekend, she wants to spark things back up with him. She had the opportunity to kiss him many years ago, but didn't take it and has regretted it since then. But Adam is pretty much a player and is seeing someone else. If Emma knew who he was seeing, it would break her heart and this secret is dying to come to the surface.
The other girls are interesting enough in Five Summers, but not as much as Emma's storyline in my opinion. The narration also jumps to flashbacks to former summers focusing on each girl as well as third-person narration of the reunion's events. It's a bit jumpy and I would have preferred the focus narrowed a bit more. I think the LaMarche was trying to make it similar to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in that we get into the head of each girl; but ultimately, in combination with the many flashbacks, this made for a choppy read.
The setting of Camp Neroba was a lot of fun in Five Summers and this was my favorite part of the book. I loved reading about their adventures from day to day and what they did at camp in the past as young girls. I wish more young adult "summertime" books would take place at camp. There's something magical about it and the possibilities seem endless.
Five Summers is geared toward younger teen readers and I can see middle grade females who are looking to fill a void left from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants liking this story as well as the idea of friendship conquering all. But my bottom line: Although Five Summers is a cute read, I think Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants does this concept a bit better.
I connected the most with Emma as she seemed the most relatable to me in Five Summers. Readers get to know her through first person narration and flashbacks to camp when she was younger. Her obsession with Adam is the main focus and during the reunion weekend, she wants to spark things back up with him. She had the opportunity to kiss him many years ago, but didn't take it and has regretted it since then. But Adam is pretty much a player and is seeing someone else. If Emma knew who he was seeing, it would break her heart and this secret is dying to come to the surface.
The other girls are interesting enough in Five Summers, but not as much as Emma's storyline in my opinion. The narration also jumps to flashbacks to former summers focusing on each girl as well as third-person narration of the reunion's events. It's a bit jumpy and I would have preferred the focus narrowed a bit more. I think the LaMarche was trying to make it similar to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in that we get into the head of each girl; but ultimately, in combination with the many flashbacks, this made for a choppy read.
The setting of Camp Neroba was a lot of fun in Five Summers and this was my favorite part of the book. I loved reading about their adventures from day to day and what they did at camp in the past as young girls. I wish more young adult "summertime" books would take place at camp. There's something magical about it and the possibilities seem endless.
Five Summers is geared toward younger teen readers and I can see middle grade females who are looking to fill a void left from Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants liking this story as well as the idea of friendship conquering all. But my bottom line: Although Five Summers is a cute read, I think Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants does this concept a bit better.
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