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The Summer of Secrets
One day she was there . . .
and the next day, the day after the fire, she was gone.
In the summer of 1983, when Helen is sixteen, Victoria Dover and her eccentric family move in next door, at once making her lonely world a more thrilling place. But the summer ends with a terrible tragedy, and everyone involved – her father and the entire Dover family – simply disappears.
Then one day, thirty years later, Victoria comes back.
A suspenseful, spell-binding coming-of-age story about young friendship, damaged families and how one simple action on a long, sultry summer can echo through the years. Perfect for fans of Louise Doughty's Apple Tree Yard, Liane Moriarty's The Husband's Secret and Helen Dunmore's The Lie.
and the next day, the day after the fire, she was gone.
In the summer of 1983, when Helen is sixteen, Victoria Dover and her eccentric family move in next door, at once making her lonely world a more thrilling place. But the summer ends with a terrible tragedy, and everyone involved – her father and the entire Dover family – simply disappears.
Then one day, thirty years later, Victoria comes back.
A suspenseful, spell-binding coming-of-age story about young friendship, damaged families and how one simple action on a long, sultry summer can echo through the years. Perfect for fans of Louise Doughty's Apple Tree Yard, Liane Moriarty's The Husband's Secret and Helen Dunmore's The Lie.
352 pages, Paperback
First published August 13, 2015
About the author
Sarah Jasmon
3 books17 followersSarah Jasmon lives on a canal boat in Lancashire, which is also the setting for her two novels – The Summer of Secrets and You Never Told Me. She has written short stories for a wide selection of publications and in 2018 was shortlisted for the Harper’s Bazaar short story competition. She is an Associate Tutor in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University, and is currently studying for a PhD in Creative Geography.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 83 reviews
August 14, 2015
This is quite a slow moving read, not as pacey as I would normally like, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it nevertheless. Sixteen year old Helen lives with her father and they have quite a quiet lifestyle, almost boring in fact. That is until the arrival of the Dovers who are renting a house nearby. A wild bohemian family, they are laid back and casual and Helen is immediately enthralled by them and Victoria Dover in particular. Victoria is 15 and seems to be everything that Helen is not.
The author does a fantastic job of portraying the long hot summer that follows. She is very descriptive and really brings the canalside setting to life. I felt I got to know the characters and there were times that Helen really irritated me but at the same time I often really disliked Victoria. It is a story of friendships and a summer that from the outside seems perfect but all the while there are undercurrents and hints of secrets that must not be told. Every summer comes to an end and this one will end in a tragedy that will have an impact on Helen for the rest of her life.
The story is set in two time frames, mostly that long ago summer of 1983 and also in the present time when we finally learn what exactly happened to end that summer. It is a really enticing read, one which, despite its pace, kept me interested right to the end. Many thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the review copy.
The author does a fantastic job of portraying the long hot summer that follows. She is very descriptive and really brings the canalside setting to life. I felt I got to know the characters and there were times that Helen really irritated me but at the same time I often really disliked Victoria. It is a story of friendships and a summer that from the outside seems perfect but all the while there are undercurrents and hints of secrets that must not be told. Every summer comes to an end and this one will end in a tragedy that will have an impact on Helen for the rest of her life.
The story is set in two time frames, mostly that long ago summer of 1983 and also in the present time when we finally learn what exactly happened to end that summer. It is a really enticing read, one which, despite its pace, kept me interested right to the end. Many thanks to the publisher via Netgalley for the review copy.
May 26, 2026
I found this book interesting, but very difficult to read. Narrated by Helen and mostly taking place in 1983 by a canal in the midlands of England. Helen is living with her father Eric, who is estranged from his wife. A family moves in nearby and Helen's boring life is transformed. A family of five kids and Helen becomes friends with Victoria and her siblings, but is always testing Helen, as well as coming and going. Then tragedy strikes and after living with her mother again, she leaves her and then it's 30 years later in Manchester. Helen goes from a boring good girl to an angry woman without much focus.
To say it was mostly confusing and difficult to follow what was going on would be putting it mildly. What hinted at being a great story kind of fizzled. Helen is the only character we really get to know, we only get snippets of all the others. So in the end, a very unsatisfying read for me, but with hints or snippets of a better written one. 3 stars.
The house was indifferent to her tears. (p. 152).
To say it was mostly confusing and difficult to follow what was going on would be putting it mildly. What hinted at being a great story kind of fizzled. Helen is the only character we really get to know, we only get snippets of all the others. So in the end, a very unsatisfying read for me, but with hints or snippets of a better written one. 3 stars.
The house was indifferent to her tears. (p. 152).
August 19, 2015
The Summer of Secrets is a darkly atmospheric tale of growing up, secrets of the past, and the impact they have on those involved.
This is not a quick thrill of a book, but quite a slow moving, descriptive and somewhat unnerving story that gets under your skin. It took me a few days to read, but it stayed with me, following me around like a rain cloud hanging over me wherever I went.
It is very much a character led story, with an interesting mix of very real feeling characters, and explores the dynamics of the relationships between those characters. One of the characters made me feel nervous. I’m sure we’ve all had those friends as teenagers that we like, but somehow they have an influence over you, that seem to get you into all sorts of trouble.
The reference to the book Ulysses made me feel very nostalgic, as I read it in my late teens. I’m not sure whether I understood a word of it either, to be honest. Somehow this story made me want to read it again though, and has me curious about what other books are on the list of books no one ever finishes.
Something about the atmosphere of this book, and how it made me feel while reading it, reminded me of Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris, who is one of my favourite authors.
The Summer of Secrets is a very well written and believable debut by Sarah Jasmon, full of mystery and secrets, which will have you needing to get to the end to find out the truth, while hoping at the same time there are no secrets inside you that you've been hiding from yourself!
I would like to thank the publisher, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for allowing me a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is not a quick thrill of a book, but quite a slow moving, descriptive and somewhat unnerving story that gets under your skin. It took me a few days to read, but it stayed with me, following me around like a rain cloud hanging over me wherever I went.
It is very much a character led story, with an interesting mix of very real feeling characters, and explores the dynamics of the relationships between those characters. One of the characters made me feel nervous. I’m sure we’ve all had those friends as teenagers that we like, but somehow they have an influence over you, that seem to get you into all sorts of trouble.
The reference to the book Ulysses made me feel very nostalgic, as I read it in my late teens. I’m not sure whether I understood a word of it either, to be honest. Somehow this story made me want to read it again though, and has me curious about what other books are on the list of books no one ever finishes.
Something about the atmosphere of this book, and how it made me feel while reading it, reminded me of Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris, who is one of my favourite authors.
The Summer of Secrets is a very well written and believable debut by Sarah Jasmon, full of mystery and secrets, which will have you needing to get to the end to find out the truth, while hoping at the same time there are no secrets inside you that you've been hiding from yourself!
I would like to thank the publisher, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for allowing me a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 21, 2015
This is a book to be experienced. It evokes and recreates for all the senses those endless teenage summer days, the awkwardness and self-consciousness, the intensity of teenage female friendships, the teetering at the edge of adulthood, the excitement of the unusual. Every page is suffused with a stifling heat - the heat of the sun coupled with the tension, much of it driven by the intensity of the relationships and the sexual undercurrents, that makes it into a pressure cooker waiting to explode.
Helen as a teenager, at the story's centre, is a wonderful creation. You feel for her desperately as her father largely ignores her, working on the boat he never entirely plans to finish, drinking himself to oblivion each night. She reminded me of myself at sixteen - a bit of a loner, the awkwardness, the self-consciousness, the reading in the garden. I still have a journal I kept over the long holidays when I was sixteen with some of my very earliest reviews, a record of the five books a week I read over that rather solitary summer (the Dovers never did move in next-door...) - it's a difficult age, even with a good home and a loving family. It's very easy to imagine - and feel - her delight at the arrival of the exotic Dover family, a refuge from her father's misery, a different and exciting world. Helen as an adult is more of a challenge - the events of that summer had such a devastating personal impact.
Every character in this book is quite exquisitely drawn, and I love the slightly distorted lens through which we see them. Actually, I should say "feel" rather than "see" - for a large part of this book, you experience what it's actually like to be drawn into the heart of the chaotic Dover family, and there's a feeling akin to bereavement when you're not part of it any more. The writing is quite beautiful - scenes that remain vivid in the memory, emotions you feel deeply. The canal and its surroundings really become a vivid character and presence in this book - I used to live on the Leeds-Liverpool canal in the early 80s, walking the overgrown towpaths past disused locks, and witnessed the gentrification Helen finds on her return.
Please read this excellent book - I loved every moment of it, and I'm sure you will too.
Helen as a teenager, at the story's centre, is a wonderful creation. You feel for her desperately as her father largely ignores her, working on the boat he never entirely plans to finish, drinking himself to oblivion each night. She reminded me of myself at sixteen - a bit of a loner, the awkwardness, the self-consciousness, the reading in the garden. I still have a journal I kept over the long holidays when I was sixteen with some of my very earliest reviews, a record of the five books a week I read over that rather solitary summer (the Dovers never did move in next-door...) - it's a difficult age, even with a good home and a loving family. It's very easy to imagine - and feel - her delight at the arrival of the exotic Dover family, a refuge from her father's misery, a different and exciting world. Helen as an adult is more of a challenge - the events of that summer had such a devastating personal impact.
Every character in this book is quite exquisitely drawn, and I love the slightly distorted lens through which we see them. Actually, I should say "feel" rather than "see" - for a large part of this book, you experience what it's actually like to be drawn into the heart of the chaotic Dover family, and there's a feeling akin to bereavement when you're not part of it any more. The writing is quite beautiful - scenes that remain vivid in the memory, emotions you feel deeply. The canal and its surroundings really become a vivid character and presence in this book - I used to live on the Leeds-Liverpool canal in the early 80s, walking the overgrown towpaths past disused locks, and witnessed the gentrification Helen finds on her return.
Please read this excellent book - I loved every moment of it, and I'm sure you will too.
September 6, 2015
The Summer of Secrets is a slow burning, hauntingly atmospheric novel - a coming of age tale with a lot of emotional resonance and a real feel for the teenage mentality.
Told in two timelines, we see the relationship between Helen, on holiday and ignored pretty much by her Dad - and Victoria - a girl she meets whilst there. The two become friends, Victoria's family fascinates Helen and she becomes very obsessive about the friendship. Then something happens...something that affects Helen's whole life moving forward..
Years later Helen finds Victoria again - so begins a journey back into the past and a slow but inevitable uncovering of the truth about what happened that night...
This is not a BAM in your face, full on twisty turny mystery that rocks along so if you are expecting that, then you might be diappointed - for me however, Sarah Jasmon's approach to weaving her web is one of consideration and content - a deeper exploration of the human condition and how we form our relationships especially in our formative years.
As a character study it works extremely well - using the mystery element to anchor the plot, giving you something to work towards, whilst delving into the psyche of Helen and Victoria, painting a picture, leading you inexorably towards an emotional conclusion.
Descriptively speaking this is gorgeous - evoking a real sense of those long ago hot summers, the teenage years when one day blends into the next - Sarah Jasmon has a real talent for transporting you there, the sights, the sounds the feelings...this is one of the huge strengths of this novel as a whole.
Overall a really great read. One I will remember.
Happy Reading Folks!
Told in two timelines, we see the relationship between Helen, on holiday and ignored pretty much by her Dad - and Victoria - a girl she meets whilst there. The two become friends, Victoria's family fascinates Helen and she becomes very obsessive about the friendship. Then something happens...something that affects Helen's whole life moving forward..
Years later Helen finds Victoria again - so begins a journey back into the past and a slow but inevitable uncovering of the truth about what happened that night...
This is not a BAM in your face, full on twisty turny mystery that rocks along so if you are expecting that, then you might be diappointed - for me however, Sarah Jasmon's approach to weaving her web is one of consideration and content - a deeper exploration of the human condition and how we form our relationships especially in our formative years.
As a character study it works extremely well - using the mystery element to anchor the plot, giving you something to work towards, whilst delving into the psyche of Helen and Victoria, painting a picture, leading you inexorably towards an emotional conclusion.
Descriptively speaking this is gorgeous - evoking a real sense of those long ago hot summers, the teenage years when one day blends into the next - Sarah Jasmon has a real talent for transporting you there, the sights, the sounds the feelings...this is one of the huge strengths of this novel as a whole.
Overall a really great read. One I will remember.
Happy Reading Folks!
August 15, 2015
The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon was published on 13 August 2015 in paperback by Black Swan (an imprint of Transworld), and is the author's debut novel.
Sometimes slow, often evocative and always beautifully written; The Summer of Secrets is a coming-of-age story set during the summer months of 1983 and is interwoven with the present-day life of lead character Helen.
In 1983, Helen is a lonely, quite introverted girl who lives with her father. Her mother left some time ago. It is the summer holidays and each day seems just like the last, with nothing much to look forward to. That is until Helen's world is turned upside down by the appearance of the Dover family who have moved into a tumbledown cottage just by the canal.
Helen has never met people like the Dovers and become infatuated with them, and especially with elder daughter Victoria. Victoria is the same age as Helen but appears more mature, more exciting. more vibrant, more alive. Helen's life changes considerably; she has a friend at last. Until one day, something happens that is so huge and so life-changing that Helen's life will be defined by it. The Dovers disappear and Helen and Victoria do not meet again for thirty years.
I too was sixteen during the summer of 1983, and reading The Summer of Secrets was at times, just a little painful. Teenage girls often have a cruelty about them that can be incredibly hurtful and quite damaging, and those feelings remain locked away in the brain, sometimes they never reappear, but sometimes they are awakened. Reading this story awakened some memories of mine that I'd really rather had laid dormant.
Sarah Jasmon is a talented writer and creates a sense of place that is realistic, transporting the reader to the canal side, and in amongst the vast cast of unusual and well crafted characters.
This is not a fast moving story, it is more a slowly unfolding tale of friendship, of hidden secrets, of realisations and of the consequences of actions. I did have some questions to ask; I wondered why and how Helen allowed her life to be so marred by these events. I wondered how she had avoided learning the truth for so long. I felt that there was a sense of vagueness about some of the plot, I feel that some of the characters had more to give to the story, and that the reader was left to create some back stories from their own imagination.
The Summer of Secrets is a dark, intense novel that will challenge the reader. The characters are vibrant and well drawn and the setting, both in location and era is sublime.
I look forward to reading more from Sarah Jasmon.
http://randomthingsthroughmyletterbox...
Sometimes slow, often evocative and always beautifully written; The Summer of Secrets is a coming-of-age story set during the summer months of 1983 and is interwoven with the present-day life of lead character Helen.
In 1983, Helen is a lonely, quite introverted girl who lives with her father. Her mother left some time ago. It is the summer holidays and each day seems just like the last, with nothing much to look forward to. That is until Helen's world is turned upside down by the appearance of the Dover family who have moved into a tumbledown cottage just by the canal.
Helen has never met people like the Dovers and become infatuated with them, and especially with elder daughter Victoria. Victoria is the same age as Helen but appears more mature, more exciting. more vibrant, more alive. Helen's life changes considerably; she has a friend at last. Until one day, something happens that is so huge and so life-changing that Helen's life will be defined by it. The Dovers disappear and Helen and Victoria do not meet again for thirty years.
I too was sixteen during the summer of 1983, and reading The Summer of Secrets was at times, just a little painful. Teenage girls often have a cruelty about them that can be incredibly hurtful and quite damaging, and those feelings remain locked away in the brain, sometimes they never reappear, but sometimes they are awakened. Reading this story awakened some memories of mine that I'd really rather had laid dormant.
Sarah Jasmon is a talented writer and creates a sense of place that is realistic, transporting the reader to the canal side, and in amongst the vast cast of unusual and well crafted characters.
This is not a fast moving story, it is more a slowly unfolding tale of friendship, of hidden secrets, of realisations and of the consequences of actions. I did have some questions to ask; I wondered why and how Helen allowed her life to be so marred by these events. I wondered how she had avoided learning the truth for so long. I felt that there was a sense of vagueness about some of the plot, I feel that some of the characters had more to give to the story, and that the reader was left to create some back stories from their own imagination.
The Summer of Secrets is a dark, intense novel that will challenge the reader. The characters are vibrant and well drawn and the setting, both in location and era is sublime.
I look forward to reading more from Sarah Jasmon.
http://randomthingsthroughmyletterbox...
June 29, 2015
I absolutely fell for this wonderfully atmospheric book. It is beautifully written and reminds us of school days and dreamy long hot English summer holidays. The whole book was just a delight from the cover to the last page. We can even forgive Sarah Jasmon the final part of the story where it all becomes so stunningly sad.
Sixteen year old Helen is not looking forward to her summer holidays. She has remained living with her unhappy father after her mother left him. Helen is lonely with no friends, isolated and understandably insecure due to her circumstances.
Then a new family, the bohemian Dovers, move close by and Helen meets the impetuous, slightly mischievous and carefree Victoria Dover. She is attracted to her like a moth to a flame and we are as intrigued by Victoria as Helen is. We needed to go find her or wanted her to turn up to see where she would lead us and Helen next.
Helen is captivated by all of the Dover family. She and Victoria play and explore and while they have their ups and downs it’s turning into a glorious summer of fun and friendship for Helen. But then one day something occurs that will change their lives forever…
Helen can’t remember the details of what happened and even worse the Dovers are gone and she doesn’t know where. That day will influence the course of Helens whole life and in 2013 thirty years later she meets Victoria again. Are the secrets of that fateful day finally revealed? I can highly recommend this book and encourage you to read it to find out for yourself.
August 14, 2015
This review was originally posted on [Between My Lines]
I have a bit of a conflicted feel about this book, parts were FAB but at the same time I struggled to read it at times. So let’s just go with a list of pros and cons and you can see exactly what I’m talking about.
First Line of The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon:
The Pros of The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon:
The writing gave me shivers at the start. It’s descriptive and really carries you right into the setting. There is a ‘but’ though and you’ll see that in my cons.
Speaking of the setting. Huge thumbs up for that; I loved the 1980s English setting. I loved the contrast between the 2 main characters. Helen is lonely, needy and overly concerned about doing things the right way. When Victoria and her bohemian mother and siblings move in down the road, it shakes her life right up. Plus I love coming of age stories, I never get tired of them.
The mystery is well maintained throughout the book and the intrigue of discovering just WHAT happened that summer kept me reading.
The characters are complex and interesting. I won’t say likeable because Victoria got right under my skin! But I loved working out what was driving each character and the knotty moods of the both Victoria and Helen.
The Cons of The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon:
The pace. It was sooooo slow. I wanted things to happen faster. As much as I loved the writing, it was also too descriptive. I would love to see some of the description cut and more action. Less is more for me. Especially in a thriller.
I should have felt more emotion as events unfolded but I just didn’t.
The ending was very ambiguous and I felt that it left too much still to be explained.
Overall it was an enjoyable read but I just wished the pace was snappier.
Who should read The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon?
I do recommend this book if you like atmospheric reads with interesting characters and a coming of age setting. However do be aware that the pace is slow and if this is a deal breaker for you then, then maybe this isn’t the book for you.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK (Transworld) for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
I have a bit of a conflicted feel about this book, parts were FAB but at the same time I struggled to read it at times. So let’s just go with a list of pros and cons and you can see exactly what I’m talking about.
First Line of The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon:
"So much blue."
The Pros of The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon:
The writing gave me shivers at the start. It’s descriptive and really carries you right into the setting. There is a ‘but’ though and you’ll see that in my cons.
Speaking of the setting. Huge thumbs up for that; I loved the 1980s English setting. I loved the contrast between the 2 main characters. Helen is lonely, needy and overly concerned about doing things the right way. When Victoria and her bohemian mother and siblings move in down the road, it shakes her life right up. Plus I love coming of age stories, I never get tired of them.
The mystery is well maintained throughout the book and the intrigue of discovering just WHAT happened that summer kept me reading.
The characters are complex and interesting. I won’t say likeable because Victoria got right under my skin! But I loved working out what was driving each character and the knotty moods of the both Victoria and Helen.
The Cons of The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon:
The pace. It was sooooo slow. I wanted things to happen faster. As much as I loved the writing, it was also too descriptive. I would love to see some of the description cut and more action. Less is more for me. Especially in a thriller.
I should have felt more emotion as events unfolded but I just didn’t.
The ending was very ambiguous and I felt that it left too much still to be explained.
Overall it was an enjoyable read but I just wished the pace was snappier.
Who should read The Summer of Secrets by Sarah Jasmon?
I do recommend this book if you like atmospheric reads with interesting characters and a coming of age setting. However do be aware that the pace is slow and if this is a deal breaker for you then, then maybe this isn’t the book for you.
Thanks to Netgalley and Random House UK (Transworld) for giving me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.
November 30, 2015
Sarah Jasmon has written a stunning debut novel evocative of youth, the long hot days we all insist lasted all summer long, the search for friendship and acceptance and the ache of loneliness. It's almost a coming of age novel but it has a small part set now and a much greater part set in the 1970s.
The main character Helen really resonated with me, I am almost embarrassed to admit how much of her I could see myself in.
The part which begins in the present day sees Helen as an adult, she seems to have a pretty nice life, working in a bookshop with her own flat above it, it's only later in the book that the cracks begin to reveal themselves. She sees an advert for a photography exhibition which open the floodgates of memory and take her back to the time she was a teenager and one particular summer when everything began to change.
An only child with few friends living in a rather isolated old house (this was when the recognition began to ring bells with me) she is delighted to find a new family have moved in to one of the canalside cottages at the top of her road and when the first tentative inroads of friendship are made she grasps the chance to become involved with anothe family where live although hectic and erratic seems far more interesting than living at home largely ignored by her depressed father, following the departure of her Mother.
As summer passes she becomes embroiled in this rather hippy dippy families secrets and foibles and we can feel all is not going to end as well as we would hope for everyone concerned.
The writing is fabulously descriptive and amazingly atmospheric with a hazy dreamlike qaulity at times which nevertheless makes it all seem more like real memories which are never that clear but blur more as time passes. I love the nostalgic feel of the past and the languid pace which nevertheless kept me turning the pages. Reading this book is effortless and compelling. I loved this book, was really saddened how Helens life actually turns out especially as it seemed in so many ways her past emulated my childhood and had a huge lump in my throat by the final chapter as the past it creates is so authentic.
My huge thanks to the author Sarah Jasmon for providing me with a copy to read and review, via #bookconnectors.
The main character Helen really resonated with me, I am almost embarrassed to admit how much of her I could see myself in.
The part which begins in the present day sees Helen as an adult, she seems to have a pretty nice life, working in a bookshop with her own flat above it, it's only later in the book that the cracks begin to reveal themselves. She sees an advert for a photography exhibition which open the floodgates of memory and take her back to the time she was a teenager and one particular summer when everything began to change.
An only child with few friends living in a rather isolated old house (this was when the recognition began to ring bells with me) she is delighted to find a new family have moved in to one of the canalside cottages at the top of her road and when the first tentative inroads of friendship are made she grasps the chance to become involved with anothe family where live although hectic and erratic seems far more interesting than living at home largely ignored by her depressed father, following the departure of her Mother.
As summer passes she becomes embroiled in this rather hippy dippy families secrets and foibles and we can feel all is not going to end as well as we would hope for everyone concerned.
The writing is fabulously descriptive and amazingly atmospheric with a hazy dreamlike qaulity at times which nevertheless makes it all seem more like real memories which are never that clear but blur more as time passes. I love the nostalgic feel of the past and the languid pace which nevertheless kept me turning the pages. Reading this book is effortless and compelling. I loved this book, was really saddened how Helens life actually turns out especially as it seemed in so many ways her past emulated my childhood and had a huge lump in my throat by the final chapter as the past it creates is so authentic.
My huge thanks to the author Sarah Jasmon for providing me with a copy to read and review, via #bookconnectors.
June 23, 2015
Sixteen year old Helen doesn't have any friends from school to spend the summer holidays with. Her parents have split up, her Mum moved away and Helen lives with just her Dad who is busy working on his boat. When the Dover family move in next door they seem exciting to Helen and provide a welcome distraction from her loneliness. But something happens during that summer, something that changes everything.
This is a very impressive debut novel and I loved all the characters, especially Helen. The story is mainly set during 1983 with a few chapters in the present day.
Thank you to Transworld Publishers Netgalley for my review copy.
This is a very impressive debut novel and I loved all the characters, especially Helen. The story is mainly set during 1983 with a few chapters in the present day.
Thank you to Transworld Publishers Netgalley for my review copy.
December 27, 2015
Thanks to the Publishers and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review. I gave this a 4 stars or 8/10.
Told as a dual time frame story with alternating modern day and past told at the same time. Helen is a lonely teenager who lves with her father, she has few friends that she can claim as her own. Enter the Dover family they live a carefree lifestyle completely opposite to Helen.
Helen sparks up a friendship wth Victoria and as I read the story, I found myself trying to second guess what was going to happen as you could tell that the tension was building slowly. I was surprised at what had happened and I hadn't been able to guess, which was an eye opener for me.
When the story opens we meet Helen as an adult who is struggling to remember what had happened in the past. At the back of her mind she knows that something happened, but she can't recall what it was. This is a coming of age story, can we all remember what happened to us as teenagers, as I know that there are things that happened to me at that age that I don't remember.
This was a great debut story from this Author and I look forward to reading more by her. This was a character driven story, with a great mix of characters. I loved the younger siblings of Victoria, who always seemed to get up to some typical childhood escapades. In some ways it reminded me of my childhood and teenage years as it was set around a similar time to the one that I was growing up in.
Told as a dual time frame story with alternating modern day and past told at the same time. Helen is a lonely teenager who lves with her father, she has few friends that she can claim as her own. Enter the Dover family they live a carefree lifestyle completely opposite to Helen.
Helen sparks up a friendship wth Victoria and as I read the story, I found myself trying to second guess what was going to happen as you could tell that the tension was building slowly. I was surprised at what had happened and I hadn't been able to guess, which was an eye opener for me.
When the story opens we meet Helen as an adult who is struggling to remember what had happened in the past. At the back of her mind she knows that something happened, but she can't recall what it was. This is a coming of age story, can we all remember what happened to us as teenagers, as I know that there are things that happened to me at that age that I don't remember.
This was a great debut story from this Author and I look forward to reading more by her. This was a character driven story, with a great mix of characters. I loved the younger siblings of Victoria, who always seemed to get up to some typical childhood escapades. In some ways it reminded me of my childhood and teenage years as it was set around a similar time to the one that I was growing up in.
July 13, 2015
Helen is bored, living with her father as her mother has moved away. He spends a lot of time with his boat and she feels a bit neglected. When Victoria and her family move in next door she is thrilled. They seem so exciting and enticing. The descriptive style takes you back to your own childhood summers. The characters are so interesting and well drawn.
But after a tragedy everyone disappears including her father. What happened? It affects the rest of Helen’s life.
After 30 years Victoria reappears. Will she finally find out what happened to everyone?
I really enjoyed this book and would love to thank Net Galley and the publishers for a copy of the book.
But after a tragedy everyone disappears including her father. What happened? It affects the rest of Helen’s life.
After 30 years Victoria reappears. Will she finally find out what happened to everyone?
I really enjoyed this book and would love to thank Net Galley and the publishers for a copy of the book.
August 6, 2015
In 1983 Helen is an introverted sixteen year old living a rather sad existence. Her mother is no longer on the scene having left the family home some time ago, leaving both Helen and her father with a palpable air of abandonment. Helen is apathetic and the ennui of a summer holiday stretching ahead of her offers no charm or promise of anything resembling fun. That is, until, the enigmatic Dover family, move into one of the nearby canal cottages, bursting into Helen's life with a bohemian air of adventure and an overwhelming sense of excitement. Helen is mesmerised by the Dover children, and immerses herself so deeply into their lives that it becomes difficult to imagine her life without them in it. But then, one day something happens, which changes everything and leaves Helen with a sense of desolation which changes the course of her life forever.
The Summer of Secrets is quite unhurried, slow and considered in places, with a real sense of atmosphere. I had a distinct sense of time and place and could picture the canal side very easily. The characters are realistic, both charming and perplexing in equal measure, and with a distinct air of mystery which is fascinating to observe. I liked the way the story took in two time frames, and whilst the bulk of the story is set in the summer of 1983, the continuation of the story, thirty years later, in 2013, is done in a sympathetic and entirely appropriate way and very cleverly shows the vulnerability of loneliness and the way in which our memories are often distorted by events of the past.
This interesting coming of age debut story cleverly reflects the weariness which all too often enfolds teenagers, who seem to meander through life with little focus or meaning. All it takes is just one unexpected act to hurtle them out of their supposed apathy and into a world which is far more exciting than their own.
The Summer of Secrets is a commendable debut novel by a talented new author and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.
The Summer of Secrets is quite unhurried, slow and considered in places, with a real sense of atmosphere. I had a distinct sense of time and place and could picture the canal side very easily. The characters are realistic, both charming and perplexing in equal measure, and with a distinct air of mystery which is fascinating to observe. I liked the way the story took in two time frames, and whilst the bulk of the story is set in the summer of 1983, the continuation of the story, thirty years later, in 2013, is done in a sympathetic and entirely appropriate way and very cleverly shows the vulnerability of loneliness and the way in which our memories are often distorted by events of the past.
This interesting coming of age debut story cleverly reflects the weariness which all too often enfolds teenagers, who seem to meander through life with little focus or meaning. All it takes is just one unexpected act to hurtle them out of their supposed apathy and into a world which is far more exciting than their own.
The Summer of Secrets is a commendable debut novel by a talented new author and I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next.
July 5, 2015
Sarah Jasmon has written a wonderfully atmospheric coming-of-age story set mostly in the 1980s. She has described perfectly the long hot summers that we all think we remember. In 2013, Helen sees a poster for an art exhibition by Victoria Dover which affects her profoundly. Her reaction makes it clear that something has happened with Victoria which has had an effect on her throughout her life. We are transported back to the long hot summer of where we start to learn just what that something is.
Helen is a lonely teenager and I felt that Sarah Jasmon captured beautifully that desire to belong that teenagers feel. Helen's mother has left home, her father spends most of his time drinking, smoking and ignore her so I could really empathise with her desire to make friends with the bohemian, chaotic Dover family who move into a nearby cottage for the summer. I could really sense her loneliness and her need for that intense kind of friendship that teenagers seem to experience. Victoria seems to reciprocate her friendship but there are times when Helen still feels like an outsider.
This feeling leads to something happening which Helen has tried, relatively successfully, to forget most of her life. Although, as we come to realise, she was never actually told the full story of what really happened - perhaps she didn't really want to know.
With its beautiful cover and the haunting, evocative writing, this book is a very impressive debut. Sarah Jasmon is skilled at describing the oppressive heat and claustrophobia of that summer. She also brilliantly describes Helen's intense teenage feelings and how her adult life has been effected by what happened that summer. I look forward to seeing what she writes next.
Helen is a lonely teenager and I felt that Sarah Jasmon captured beautifully that desire to belong that teenagers feel. Helen's mother has left home, her father spends most of his time drinking, smoking and ignore her so I could really empathise with her desire to make friends with the bohemian, chaotic Dover family who move into a nearby cottage for the summer. I could really sense her loneliness and her need for that intense kind of friendship that teenagers seem to experience. Victoria seems to reciprocate her friendship but there are times when Helen still feels like an outsider.
This feeling leads to something happening which Helen has tried, relatively successfully, to forget most of her life. Although, as we come to realise, she was never actually told the full story of what really happened - perhaps she didn't really want to know.
With its beautiful cover and the haunting, evocative writing, this book is a very impressive debut. Sarah Jasmon is skilled at describing the oppressive heat and claustrophobia of that summer. She also brilliantly describes Helen's intense teenage feelings and how her adult life has been effected by what happened that summer. I look forward to seeing what she writes next.
July 26, 2015
In this story we follow Helen, in 1983 and the present.
In 1983 Helen is 16, she lives with her father and has no friends then she meets the Dover family and becomes friends with Victoria, who is the same age as her. Even though they have their ups and downs they have a wonderful summer together, until something happens one night. Helen wakes up the next day not remembering what had happened and the Dovers have disappeared.
Then in the present she see's an opening for an art exhibition which will have the artist there and the artist is no other than Victoria, so Helen goes to find her and she wants to get some answers from her about that summer, and about thing she can't remember.
I loved this story. It was beautifully written and I was gripped from the very first page to the last. Each few chapters we swap between 1983 and the present and I liked that. We get to read about her past and how she is coping in the future.
I have to admit, I was not expecting that ending. I was reading the book and I was kind of guessing what was going to happen but the ending just blew my mind.
This book was fantastic and for a debut novel, it was brilliant.
I could not recommend this book more.
In 1983 Helen is 16, she lives with her father and has no friends then she meets the Dover family and becomes friends with Victoria, who is the same age as her. Even though they have their ups and downs they have a wonderful summer together, until something happens one night. Helen wakes up the next day not remembering what had happened and the Dovers have disappeared.
Then in the present she see's an opening for an art exhibition which will have the artist there and the artist is no other than Victoria, so Helen goes to find her and she wants to get some answers from her about that summer, and about thing she can't remember.
I loved this story. It was beautifully written and I was gripped from the very first page to the last. Each few chapters we swap between 1983 and the present and I liked that. We get to read about her past and how she is coping in the future.
I have to admit, I was not expecting that ending. I was reading the book and I was kind of guessing what was going to happen but the ending just blew my mind.
This book was fantastic and for a debut novel, it was brilliant.
I could not recommend this book more.
August 15, 2015
This is a really atmospheric book that brought back memories of my own teenage years in the 80s and the feel of those long summer days when there was no school.
In 1983 Helen becomes friends with the mysterious Drover children, especially the 15 year old Victoria. They have appeared almost overnight to live in a cottage by the canal. Helen is bored and living with just her Dad so the excitement of this almost magical family becomes what her summer is about. In the present day Helen comes across the grown up Victoria, whom she hasn't seen since the family disappeared one day that summer. Memories long buried are about to come to the surface.
This was a gentle tale based around an historical mystery that brought to mind the summers of childhood where nothing mattered except the long days of finding entertainment during the holidays. I could almost feel and smell the sleepy, sunny, insect buzzing innocence of that time. I will certainly be looking out for more books by this author in the future.
I received a copy of this book via netgalley in return for an honest review.
In 1983 Helen becomes friends with the mysterious Drover children, especially the 15 year old Victoria. They have appeared almost overnight to live in a cottage by the canal. Helen is bored and living with just her Dad so the excitement of this almost magical family becomes what her summer is about. In the present day Helen comes across the grown up Victoria, whom she hasn't seen since the family disappeared one day that summer. Memories long buried are about to come to the surface.
This was a gentle tale based around an historical mystery that brought to mind the summers of childhood where nothing mattered except the long days of finding entertainment during the holidays. I could almost feel and smell the sleepy, sunny, insect buzzing innocence of that time. I will certainly be looking out for more books by this author in the future.
I received a copy of this book via netgalley in return for an honest review.
July 29, 2015
This compelling debut evokes the enchanted atmosphere of the summers of our youth: hot, dreamy days, when anything seems possible. There’s a dark, brooding undercurrent, beautifully sustained and coming to the fore at the climax.
Sixteen year old Helen is bored and isolated; her mother recently left home, her father is preoccupied with his own troubles, and she finds it hard to fit in at school. When the bohemian Dover family moves in nearby, she is thrilled, and she becomes increasingly drawn to them, especially to the impulsive Victoria. An awful tragedy brings the summer to an abrupt end and the Dovers disappear, without explanation. It isn’t until Victoria reappears in Helen’s life thirty years later that she can finally begin to piece together what happened.
This is a flawlessly written novel, with strongly drawn characters you get involved with despite (or perhaps because of) their flaws. It’s an acute portrait of friendship between adolescent girls, and a study of how early events indelibly shape us. I thoroughly recommend it and I look forward to many more by Ms Jasmon.
Sixteen year old Helen is bored and isolated; her mother recently left home, her father is preoccupied with his own troubles, and she finds it hard to fit in at school. When the bohemian Dover family moves in nearby, she is thrilled, and she becomes increasingly drawn to them, especially to the impulsive Victoria. An awful tragedy brings the summer to an abrupt end and the Dovers disappear, without explanation. It isn’t until Victoria reappears in Helen’s life thirty years later that she can finally begin to piece together what happened.
This is a flawlessly written novel, with strongly drawn characters you get involved with despite (or perhaps because of) their flaws. It’s an acute portrait of friendship between adolescent girls, and a study of how early events indelibly shape us. I thoroughly recommend it and I look forward to many more by Ms Jasmon.
July 23, 2015
This novel will stay with you for a long time.
Did you ever want to be exciting and fun, but your stupid parents were getting in the way and spoiling everything?
Then you'll relate to 16-year old Helen, the narrator of The Summer of Secrets
Did you ever wish you could be part of a cool family who always seemed to be doing interesting things?
Then you'll love the Dover family who move in near to Helen.
Do you secretly regret being so conventional, and wish you could turn your back on it all and live a different life?
Then you should read The Summer of Secrets.
Did you ever want to be exciting and fun, but your stupid parents were getting in the way and spoiling everything?
Then you'll relate to 16-year old Helen, the narrator of The Summer of Secrets
Did you ever wish you could be part of a cool family who always seemed to be doing interesting things?
Then you'll love the Dover family who move in near to Helen.
Do you secretly regret being so conventional, and wish you could turn your back on it all and live a different life?
Then you should read The Summer of Secrets.
July 21, 2015
This is a beautifully written coming-of-age mystery with a dash of thrilleresque plot and a stark reminder of how relationships and events from our earlier years burden the present or future.
Helen is intrigued by the Dovers, a family that unexpectedly move into the neighbourhood with their secrets, mayhem and friendship. The repercussions of that summer and the sudden disappearance of the family has far-reaching effects on Helen's life.
This has it all: great, flawed characters, twists and unexpected revelations, and all told with a serene and original voice. Poignant, moving and stunning.
*I received a free copy from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
Helen is intrigued by the Dovers, a family that unexpectedly move into the neighbourhood with their secrets, mayhem and friendship. The repercussions of that summer and the sudden disappearance of the family has far-reaching effects on Helen's life.
This has it all: great, flawed characters, twists and unexpected revelations, and all told with a serene and original voice. Poignant, moving and stunning.
*I received a free copy from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.
February 10, 2016
Told in dual timelines, this gently unfolding coming-of-age story pulls you into its web with each turn of the page. On the surface it’s an evocative tale of a carefree summer in the 1980s, a story full of period detail and charting the developing friendships between the teenaged main character, Helen, and the bohemian Dover family. However, beneath the depiction of lazy summer days spent by the canal there’s a much darker and deeper story at its heart. Atmospheric, intriguing and beautifully written, this is an assured debut from Sarah Jasmon.
June 30, 2015
This book beautifully captures the emotions and senses of the half-forgotten summers of our youth. Those dreamy, lazy days, the stifling boredom which is relieved when someone intriguing moves in nearby, the depth of the pain when that person toys with your feelings... ah, it took me right back!
Terrifically well-written and perfectly imagined, the feelings of the book stayed with me long after I had finished reading.
Terrifically well-written and perfectly imagined, the feelings of the book stayed with me long after I had finished reading.
August 18, 2015
Helen meets Victoria and her siblings in her garden in the summer of 1983. Thus begins a summer of excitement, experimentation, friendship and heartache. Helen is living with her father after her mother leaves, Victoria lives with her mother. The story toggles between the present day and that summer. Secrets are revealed and hearts are broken. As a debut novel, Sarah Jasmon has written an absolute winner. A fantastic read that draws the reader in from the first chapter.
June 21, 2015
Provided by Netgalley and publisher. Helen is lonely and a bit of a misfit so is really happy when the Bohemian Dovers move in nearby - but only for the summer. The author captures Helen's awkwardness and the Dover's couldn't care less and selfish attitude so well. What a brilliant debut - a fantastic book with characters who will be hard to forget!
June 12, 2015
A lovely coming-of-age story about one long hot summer in 1983, when Helen bored and lonely meets the bohemian and eccentric Dover family and is immediately cast under their spell especially the capricious Victoria. A wonderfully atmospheric first novel.
July 26, 2015
A no spoilers review here of a gorgeous debut https://lindasbookbag.wordpress.com/2...
August 13, 2025
A lot of people say this had a slow start, but I didn’t notice as I was so caught up in the atmosphere of their summer - it really took me back. Back to that age when others impress you SO much that all you want is to be part of their lives.
The sense of impending doom gathers pace & culminates in a heart breaking & impactful ending for all.
A great read.
The sense of impending doom gathers pace & culminates in a heart breaking & impactful ending for all.
A great read.
February 6, 2019
Poignant and beautiful
July 26, 2015
The Summer of Secrets, by Sarah Jasmon, is simmering, evocative and charged with an undercurrent of apprehension. The author perfectly captures the concerns of the teenage protagonist, Helen, as she struggles to deal with her parents’ separation and rejection by her peers. When the bohemian Dover family appear on Helen’s doorstep it is no surprise that she is drawn to them. Their friendship will prove devastating for both families.
Helen is sixteen years old and is looking forward to a summer of peace and freedom. Home life has been chaotic since her mother left, her father seeking solace in drink. Helen welcomes the cessation of their bitter rows, and the relaxation of her mother’s strictly imposed orderliness. She is angry and lonely but also relieved.
Lying on the grass in her garden by the canal Helen wonders how she will fill the balmy days ahead. Her question is answered when a young girl unexpectedly appears in her hedge. Thus she meets the Dovers, who she discovers have recently moved into a nearby cottage, and is drawn to their enigmatic lives.
Victoria Dover is of a similar age to Helen and they soon become friends. They are not, however, equals. Victoria relishes her dominance, forever pushing at Helen’s trained reticence. As the summer progresses Helen ingratiates herself with the whole family before Victoria starts to push her away.
The author intersperses the story of the summer of 1983 with a narrative set thirty years later. Forty-six year old Helen spots a poster on the wall of new art gallery advertising an exhibition of photographs by award winning Victoria Dover. We learn that she has neither seen nor heard from any of the Dover family since that fateful summer, a summer that has scarred her life.
Helen’s life pivots on a night near the end of the summer, which she can barely remember. As the tension builds the reader knows that some tragedy is about to unfold. The denouement does not disappoint.
The byline on the cover of this book reads ‘One day she was there… And the next she was gone’. I did not feel that this represented what the story was about. It is a coming of age tale; it was not just Victoria that Helen lost.
It was good to be reminded that in 1983 there could be ramshackle cottages by an overgrown and neglected canal, before developers saw potential and tidied nature away. Likewise children could run free, time unfilled by planned activities not viewed as wasted. It is redolent of a time that is gone.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I do not quite understand why Helen’s life was impacted to such a degree by the events revealed, shocking as they were. I do not quite understand why she did not seek answers sooner. Perhaps this is the point. The denouement suggests that it was everyone else’s selfish inability to understand Helen’s needs which led to the cataclysmic outcome.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the Curtis Brown Book Group
Helen is sixteen years old and is looking forward to a summer of peace and freedom. Home life has been chaotic since her mother left, her father seeking solace in drink. Helen welcomes the cessation of their bitter rows, and the relaxation of her mother’s strictly imposed orderliness. She is angry and lonely but also relieved.
Lying on the grass in her garden by the canal Helen wonders how she will fill the balmy days ahead. Her question is answered when a young girl unexpectedly appears in her hedge. Thus she meets the Dovers, who she discovers have recently moved into a nearby cottage, and is drawn to their enigmatic lives.
Victoria Dover is of a similar age to Helen and they soon become friends. They are not, however, equals. Victoria relishes her dominance, forever pushing at Helen’s trained reticence. As the summer progresses Helen ingratiates herself with the whole family before Victoria starts to push her away.
The author intersperses the story of the summer of 1983 with a narrative set thirty years later. Forty-six year old Helen spots a poster on the wall of new art gallery advertising an exhibition of photographs by award winning Victoria Dover. We learn that she has neither seen nor heard from any of the Dover family since that fateful summer, a summer that has scarred her life.
Helen’s life pivots on a night near the end of the summer, which she can barely remember. As the tension builds the reader knows that some tragedy is about to unfold. The denouement does not disappoint.
The byline on the cover of this book reads ‘One day she was there… And the next she was gone’. I did not feel that this represented what the story was about. It is a coming of age tale; it was not just Victoria that Helen lost.
It was good to be reminded that in 1983 there could be ramshackle cottages by an overgrown and neglected canal, before developers saw potential and tidied nature away. Likewise children could run free, time unfilled by planned activities not viewed as wasted. It is redolent of a time that is gone.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I do not quite understand why Helen’s life was impacted to such a degree by the events revealed, shocking as they were. I do not quite understand why she did not seek answers sooner. Perhaps this is the point. The denouement suggests that it was everyone else’s selfish inability to understand Helen’s needs which led to the cataclysmic outcome.
My copy of this book was provided gratis by the Curtis Brown Book Group
June 18, 2016
This is a beautifully written coming-of-ages mystery story. It is very atmospheric, also very dark and it is becoming terrible sad at the end.
Helen is fifteen and she is not looking forward for her long lonely summer holiday. She lives with her father after the separation of her parents. Then a bohemian family moves in one of the nearby cottages. Helen meets first Pippa, one of the siblings, a girl who is all chatter and excitement. Will is her twin, and then there is the charismatic and good-looking Seth. And of course Victoria, about the same age as Helen. Helen is fascinated by this family, especially by Helen and Seth. She begins to spend every day with them. But as we follow them though their summer, with all the things they do, there is also always something subliminal. There is this mystery story about Helens Father. Why is Helens mother so absent minded, always away in her room, letting her children take care of her. What is it about Helens parents? All these things are there but nobody speaks about them.
We also met Helen 30 years later. Leading a quite life still influenced from that time and something terrible that happened in this summer. She sees a poster on the wall of an art gallery about a photographer. It is Victoria. After all these years Helen knows where she is. She is going to see this exhibition. But it is a bit later when she finally sees Victoria again.
Helen has no memory about what happened that last night she saw Helen and her family. Something bad happened. It even affects Helens father. And Helen carried those unsaid things and the non existing memory with her all the time. Her subconsciousness tells her that there is something she needs to remember, but she did not allow it for 30 years to come to the surface.
This is a very dark story. It is becoming so sad at the end. Helen and Victoria have both a very destructive personality. While Victoria is more destructive and offending to other people, Helen is quite the opposite. She keeps it all inside. She gets humiliated by Helen several times, but she takes it as it she deserves it. But when it comes to this fatal night, with drugs and alcohol, something bad reveals inside Helen.
This book is not an easy read. It is written very well and nicely, but, as I said before, very dark. I did not like Victoria very much. At the beginning I felt sorry for Helen. I could not understand, why she never asked anybody about this night. After 30 years she still does not know about what happened. I could hardly believe it. But at the end you know why. And you know why she is like she is to herself.
“Summer of Secrets” is an impressing, depressing and in many ways very good book
Helen is fifteen and she is not looking forward for her long lonely summer holiday. She lives with her father after the separation of her parents. Then a bohemian family moves in one of the nearby cottages. Helen meets first Pippa, one of the siblings, a girl who is all chatter and excitement. Will is her twin, and then there is the charismatic and good-looking Seth. And of course Victoria, about the same age as Helen. Helen is fascinated by this family, especially by Helen and Seth. She begins to spend every day with them. But as we follow them though their summer, with all the things they do, there is also always something subliminal. There is this mystery story about Helens Father. Why is Helens mother so absent minded, always away in her room, letting her children take care of her. What is it about Helens parents? All these things are there but nobody speaks about them.
We also met Helen 30 years later. Leading a quite life still influenced from that time and something terrible that happened in this summer. She sees a poster on the wall of an art gallery about a photographer. It is Victoria. After all these years Helen knows where she is. She is going to see this exhibition. But it is a bit later when she finally sees Victoria again.
Helen has no memory about what happened that last night she saw Helen and her family. Something bad happened. It even affects Helens father. And Helen carried those unsaid things and the non existing memory with her all the time. Her subconsciousness tells her that there is something she needs to remember, but she did not allow it for 30 years to come to the surface.
This is a very dark story. It is becoming so sad at the end. Helen and Victoria have both a very destructive personality. While Victoria is more destructive and offending to other people, Helen is quite the opposite. She keeps it all inside. She gets humiliated by Helen several times, but she takes it as it she deserves it. But when it comes to this fatal night, with drugs and alcohol, something bad reveals inside Helen.
This book is not an easy read. It is written very well and nicely, but, as I said before, very dark. I did not like Victoria very much. At the beginning I felt sorry for Helen. I could not understand, why she never asked anybody about this night. After 30 years she still does not know about what happened. I could hardly believe it. But at the end you know why. And you know why she is like she is to herself.
“Summer of Secrets” is an impressing, depressing and in many ways very good book
August 28, 2015
http://www.pagetostagereviews.com/201...
It's 1983 and Helen's boring and rather lonely summer is turned upside down when a little girl by the name of Pippa walks into her garden and demands to be played with. While Pippa is the catalyst to the change in Helen and that time in her life, it's actually Pippa's older sister Victoria that provides the greatest influence that summer. With a physically absent father and mentally absent mother, Victoria seems wise beyond her years and it doesn't take long for Helen to fall under her spell and that of Victoria's Bohemian family.
What on the surface seems a carefree summer spend with friends and tackling difficult novels, actually has a far greater impact on Helen. Something happened that time in her life that changed everything for her and meant that she lost touch not only with her new friends before the end of the season, but also everything she'd known her entire life up until that point. However, what causes this this and what secrets are hiding in Helen's subconscious are only uncovered in the novel's gripping and tense conclusion.
This book was such an unexpected treat. Helen's summer sizzled with anticipation through the scenes set in the present that foreshadowed (backshadowed?) that the seemingly tranquil time with Victoria wasn't quite so innocent and carefree. While Helen recounting that part of her life could have easily resulted in a dull book, the tension rippling along the edges was palpable and created an exciting reading experience.
And though the focus was on Helen slowly uncovering the horrifying event she had blocked out of her memory for most of her adult life, there were many excellent additions to the story that made this such an interesting novel from the get-go; from Helen and Victoria's mission to read the books that most people leave unfinished, to the subtle hints to a much more impactful backstory for Victoria's parents, which made the Dover family even more intriguing in Helen's eyes.
The Summer of Secrets recounts one teenager's languid and almost mundane summer holiday; lazy days spend in the garden, sometimes in solitude, other times with her new friends in tow. It doesn't sound like a hugely compelling set-up, yet Sarah Jasmon's beautiful writing, combined with the enthralling hints to a far greater event taking place that summer, resulted in a hugely engrossing and satisfying read.
It's 1983 and Helen's boring and rather lonely summer is turned upside down when a little girl by the name of Pippa walks into her garden and demands to be played with. While Pippa is the catalyst to the change in Helen and that time in her life, it's actually Pippa's older sister Victoria that provides the greatest influence that summer. With a physically absent father and mentally absent mother, Victoria seems wise beyond her years and it doesn't take long for Helen to fall under her spell and that of Victoria's Bohemian family.
What on the surface seems a carefree summer spend with friends and tackling difficult novels, actually has a far greater impact on Helen. Something happened that time in her life that changed everything for her and meant that she lost touch not only with her new friends before the end of the season, but also everything she'd known her entire life up until that point. However, what causes this this and what secrets are hiding in Helen's subconscious are only uncovered in the novel's gripping and tense conclusion.
This book was such an unexpected treat. Helen's summer sizzled with anticipation through the scenes set in the present that foreshadowed (backshadowed?) that the seemingly tranquil time with Victoria wasn't quite so innocent and carefree. While Helen recounting that part of her life could have easily resulted in a dull book, the tension rippling along the edges was palpable and created an exciting reading experience.
And though the focus was on Helen slowly uncovering the horrifying event she had blocked out of her memory for most of her adult life, there were many excellent additions to the story that made this such an interesting novel from the get-go; from Helen and Victoria's mission to read the books that most people leave unfinished, to the subtle hints to a much more impactful backstory for Victoria's parents, which made the Dover family even more intriguing in Helen's eyes.
The Summer of Secrets recounts one teenager's languid and almost mundane summer holiday; lazy days spend in the garden, sometimes in solitude, other times with her new friends in tow. It doesn't sound like a hugely compelling set-up, yet Sarah Jasmon's beautiful writing, combined with the enthralling hints to a far greater event taking place that summer, resulted in a hugely engrossing and satisfying read.
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