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The Summer of Impossible Things
If you could change the past, would you?
How far would you go to save the person you love?
Luna is about to do everything she can to save her mother's life.
Even if it means sacrificing her own.
How far would you go to save the person you love?
Luna is about to do everything she can to save her mother's life.
Even if it means sacrificing her own.
434 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 29, 2017
460 people are currently reading
6127 people want to read
About the author
Rowan Coleman
49 books848 followersRowan Coleman lives with her husband, and five children in a very full house in Hertfordshire. She juggles writing novels with raising her family which includes a very lively set of toddler twins whose main hobby is going in the opposite directions. When she gets the chance, Rowan enjoys sleeping, sitting and loves watching films; she is also attempting to learn how to bake.
Rowan would like to live every day as if she were starring in a musical, although her daughter no longer allows her to sing in public. Despite being dyslexic, Rowan loves writing, and The Memory Book is her eleventh novel. Others include The Accidental Mother, Lessons in Laughing Out Loud and the award-winning Dearest Rose, a novel which lead Rowan to become an active supporter of domestic abuse charity Refuge, donating 100% of royalties from the ebook publication of her novella, Woman Walks Into a Bar, to the charity. Rowan does not have time for ironing.
Rowan would like to live every day as if she were starring in a musical, although her daughter no longer allows her to sing in public. Despite being dyslexic, Rowan loves writing, and The Memory Book is her eleventh novel. Others include The Accidental Mother, Lessons in Laughing Out Loud and the award-winning Dearest Rose, a novel which lead Rowan to become an active supporter of domestic abuse charity Refuge, donating 100% of royalties from the ebook publication of her novella, Woman Walks Into a Bar, to the charity. Rowan does not have time for ironing.
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October 29, 2017
This won Book of the Month on my blog for July 2017:
https://littlemissnosleep.wordpress.c...
The Summer of Impossible Things is the first book I’ve read by this author, despite her books having been recommended to me on many occasions. It’s my usual excuse of so many talented authors, thousands of great books, and not enough hours in the day. If only time would slow down each time I decided to read a book.
Wow! The ‘Author’s Note’ alone at the very beginning had me completely fascinated and bursting with anticipation and excitement. I was fascinated by the idea behind the book and gripped by this wonderful story. It had a feel of Back to the Future, Stephen King’s 11.22.63 and a non-scary version of A Nightmare on Elm Street, due to what appeared to be the ability to bring things back from a dream.
I adored this story and the characters within it. For the days I was reading it, I struggled to think of anything else. I was consumed with concern about what the outcome of this story would be. My mind was working overtime trying to think of all the possibilities. I even found myself thinking about it instead of sleeping, as I felt torn between which outcome I thought would be best for everyone, and worried how I would cope if it didn't turn out as I hoped. I went through a variety of emotions throughout this journey, and yes, I did cry real tears.
I feel so lucky to have read this beautiful, emotional and thought provoking story that introduced the magic of time travel and a lot of love into my life. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves reading, whether you enjoy science fiction, time travel, romance, women’s fiction, family sagas, thought provoking ideas, character led stories or books that make your heart ache and your eyes cry. This story has enough love and magic for everyone.
On that note, I’ll leave you with this quote from the book:
“When humans believe in stories extraordinary things happen."
https://littlemissnosleep.wordpress.c...
The Summer of Impossible Things is the first book I’ve read by this author, despite her books having been recommended to me on many occasions. It’s my usual excuse of so many talented authors, thousands of great books, and not enough hours in the day. If only time would slow down each time I decided to read a book.
Wow! The ‘Author’s Note’ alone at the very beginning had me completely fascinated and bursting with anticipation and excitement. I was fascinated by the idea behind the book and gripped by this wonderful story. It had a feel of Back to the Future, Stephen King’s 11.22.63 and a non-scary version of A Nightmare on Elm Street, due to what appeared to be the ability to bring things back from a dream.
I adored this story and the characters within it. For the days I was reading it, I struggled to think of anything else. I was consumed with concern about what the outcome of this story would be. My mind was working overtime trying to think of all the possibilities. I even found myself thinking about it instead of sleeping, as I felt torn between which outcome I thought would be best for everyone, and worried how I would cope if it didn't turn out as I hoped. I went through a variety of emotions throughout this journey, and yes, I did cry real tears.
I feel so lucky to have read this beautiful, emotional and thought provoking story that introduced the magic of time travel and a lot of love into my life. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves reading, whether you enjoy science fiction, time travel, romance, women’s fiction, family sagas, thought provoking ideas, character led stories or books that make your heart ache and your eyes cry. This story has enough love and magic for everyone.
On that note, I’ll leave you with this quote from the book:
“When humans believe in stories extraordinary things happen."
will-probably-not-finish
September 1, 2017I will not be finishing this book - I have been kinda reading it for like forever and I just can't ever seem to get into the mood to pick it up. This is very much a me-thing and not a reflection on the book. I expected something more in the realm of scifi and less in the realm of family drama. The first is a genre I adore, the second one I frequently struggle with. However, it is wonderfully written and the characters rang true for me: so if you enjoy family dramas with a bit of a twist, this might just be the book for you!
____
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Penguin Random House, Ebury Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that and sorry for not finishing it.
____
I received an arc of this book curtesy of NetGalley and Penguin Random House, Ebury Publishing in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for that and sorry for not finishing it.
August 24, 2018
If you could go back and learn more about your mother and what she was like when she was young, wouldn’t you want to do it? That is the premise of this novel. After her mother’s death Luna finds herself suddenly transported back to 1977 where she comes face to face with her mother as a young woman. That week events transpired that changed her mother’s life and subsequently that of her two daughters, Pia and Luna. Whatever the cost to herself, Luna decides to make every effort to go back and change the events that shaped that week. But even if she can manage to do it what impact will that have not just on her mother’s life but those around her? What impact will it have on Luna herself?
I was very excited to get this book, borrowed from my daughter and start reading it. I fell easily into and was right there with Luna and the intriguing situation she found herself in. While the beginning was interesting, even if it did require a suspending of disbelief, after a while the story bogged down becoming rather repetitive. However I was keen to see how it was resolves. Although there were a couple twist thrown into the story as each time she goes back to try and change things other things change. That made for some interesting reading though I was never convinced by the love interest at all. Then I got to the end and the ending felt illogical and flat in my opinion. When my daughter and I discussed it after I had finished, we both felt similarly on all these aspects. It will be interesting to hear what her book club thinks.
So, what started out so promisingly became in the end interesting but nowhere near as good a read as I expected it to be. My biggest gripe though is reserved for the publisher. Despite its striking cover presentation, the lack of editing throughout this story appalled me. It included a number of sentences where words were wrong, e.g. ‘completion’ instead of ‘competition,’ ‘for’ instead of what should have been ‘from.’ Then there were the sentences where words were missing all together, which became very annoying and dragged this reader out of the story.
I was very excited to get this book, borrowed from my daughter and start reading it. I fell easily into and was right there with Luna and the intriguing situation she found herself in. While the beginning was interesting, even if it did require a suspending of disbelief, after a while the story bogged down becoming rather repetitive. However I was keen to see how it was resolves. Although there were a couple twist thrown into the story as each time she goes back to try and change things other things change. That made for some interesting reading though I was never convinced by the love interest at all. Then I got to the end and the ending felt illogical and flat in my opinion. When my daughter and I discussed it after I had finished, we both felt similarly on all these aspects. It will be interesting to hear what her book club thinks.
So, what started out so promisingly became in the end interesting but nowhere near as good a read as I expected it to be. My biggest gripe though is reserved for the publisher. Despite its striking cover presentation, the lack of editing throughout this story appalled me. It included a number of sentences where words were wrong, e.g. ‘completion’ instead of ‘competition,’ ‘for’ instead of what should have been ‘from.’ Then there were the sentences where words were missing all together, which became very annoying and dragged this reader out of the story.
June 29, 2017
This book is made entirely of magic.
Beautifully written and stunning in its impact, this is a story about love in all its forms and the things we sacrifice for it.
Also: Time travel and Disco. So what else do you honestly need?
Rowan Coleman writes with such a gorgeous lyrical style that you get caught up in the narrative and come out the other side a little starry eyed. And a little tearful. Luna is such an engaging protagonist, thrown into a strange and unlikely situation, during a very sad time in her life and ultimately making it her own – travelling a path of odd and emotional decision making events.
The 70’s come to life, as we travel back and forth, the author paints the years with different colours, dark and light, shading each decade with it’s own sense of place – I loved it loved it, I couldn’t put it down and it was melancholy yet life affirming – when I got to the end I went back and read portions again just for the sheer joy of it. The ending was genuinely thought provoking and so so exquisite, the fact that the characters are so very alive on the page during the reading just making it more so.
It’s hard to know what to say to be honest because as I started with, The Summer of Impossible Things is just made entirely of magic. Some of it dark magic, some of it light magic but pure pure magic. I think that’s really all you need to know.
Highly HIGHLY recommended. Even for the most cynical readers. In fact even more so for the cynical ones.
Go get it.
Beautifully written and stunning in its impact, this is a story about love in all its forms and the things we sacrifice for it.
Also: Time travel and Disco. So what else do you honestly need?
Rowan Coleman writes with such a gorgeous lyrical style that you get caught up in the narrative and come out the other side a little starry eyed. And a little tearful. Luna is such an engaging protagonist, thrown into a strange and unlikely situation, during a very sad time in her life and ultimately making it her own – travelling a path of odd and emotional decision making events.
The 70’s come to life, as we travel back and forth, the author paints the years with different colours, dark and light, shading each decade with it’s own sense of place – I loved it loved it, I couldn’t put it down and it was melancholy yet life affirming – when I got to the end I went back and read portions again just for the sheer joy of it. The ending was genuinely thought provoking and so so exquisite, the fact that the characters are so very alive on the page during the reading just making it more so.
It’s hard to know what to say to be honest because as I started with, The Summer of Impossible Things is just made entirely of magic. Some of it dark magic, some of it light magic but pure pure magic. I think that’s really all you need to know.
Highly HIGHLY recommended. Even for the most cynical readers. In fact even more so for the cynical ones.
Go get it.
August 23, 2018
This book was on virtually every 'must-read' list for 2017, so I went hunting for it on Netgalley, who thankfully provided me a copy.
We follow Luna and her sister Pia, newly grieving for their Mum. They've headed from England to their Mum's hometown in Bay Ridge to settle her finances and sell her old home. Having recently uncovered a mind-numbing secret about Luna's origins, the girls are trying to fathom how to deal with all this information.
And then something truly bizarre happens to Luna. In normal cases this would be a spoiler, but given that it is actually mentioned in the blurb itself, I won't classify it as such. Luna travels back in time, precisely thirty years in the past, and meets her mother.
At first, Luna is convinced that something is wrong with her. That her vivid hallucinations portend some grave illness she must be suffering, but with each trip, she brings back conclusive evidence, no matter how small, that she actually did travel through time.
She takes it upon herself to use this magical opportunity to right the wrongs of the past and give her mother the life she truly deserved, even at the cost of her own.
The central conceit is an attractive one - who doesn't love time travel. But a lot of the book felt a little derivative of stories past. There's a hint of the darkness we found in Octavia E Butler's Kindred, as well as some of the fairytale outlook of Back to the Future. Set primarily in Bay Ridge, we don't quite get the feel of that area, especially in the 70s, when it has become a hub of tourism due to the filming of Saturday Night Fever.
The copy I received from Netgalley was rife with typos, which made it an annoying read from time to time. It's an easy to read book, the language so simple it doesn't tax the brain in the least. The writer doesn't give her readers much credit - spelling everything out for them a little too slowly. She even falls into the trap of trying to explain the time travel phenomenon - bad idea, never justify yourself, just go with the flow. We have already cottoned on to what is happening to Luna, what her actions will mean for her, etc, long before the writer bothers to let Luna address it.
There's a plethora of cliches included as well. It's the in thing now to have a scientist as the lead female protagonist, hence Luna is a physicist. Her sister is messed up, but gregarious. She is aloof and awkward. Everyone is super hot looking and thin-privileged. There's no variety in the kind of people they meet. It grates on you. Also, aside from Luna, not a single other woman in the book is interested in science. No, she's the only one. Even in the 70s - you mean to tell me, none of those girls she meets ever caught an episode of Star Trek and fell in love with the show? Bizarre!
There's a plot twist near the end of the book, at a point when we're thinking we've wrapped it up. It's a good twist, but comes out of the blue. We have a perpetrator pinpointed from the very beginning, no one negates it. But, suddenly, the bad guy changes and... well we didn't see it coming. I would have understood if others had hemmed and hawed over the name of the villain, but they didn't. It felt like somewhere down the line the editing got jumbled.
There are conveniences thrown into this book that... are just too convenient. The mother in this book leaves behind a whole bunch of filmed tapes recalling the life-changing past incidents and the information they need - how many people would do that? Spoilers ahead:
I think most readers would have guessed that Luna was the product of her mother's assault. It weighs heavily on the girls, and took over the mother's life. She was sad and depressed all her life, eventually leading to her own suicide. The trouble is, partway through, out of the blue, the girls' aunt reveals that the perpetrator did not die the night of the assault. No, the aunt just made the mother think that she had killed that man so she could get away in peace. She left the country that night to be with her future husband in England.
So Luna then lays into the aunt, pretending like it wasn't the rape that destroyed her mother's wellbeing, but the act of killing the perpetrator. Suddenly the bad guy shifts from rapist to protective older sister. There's nary a mention of the horrid, cruel life that said aunt then had to endure for the rest of her existence at the hands of the mobster whose help she took to clean up the mess. I found all of that too cruel and too convenient. Women turning on each other instead of taking down the real bads - it's unfair.
Then, when Luna think she's saved her mother, she alters her life a little too much. Her mother is alive because she didn't kill her assailant, and Luna is happy. But it doesn't bother her at all that the man going scot-free for so many years would have affected other women. She (and by extension the reader) is hit over the head with a young woman's account of what happened to her at a very young age at the hands of this man, and only then does Luna decide to act. Why didn't she think her mum needed saving from the entire incident? Or that other people would need saving too? End spoilers.
The writing detracted greatly from the story - I found it lacking throughout, especially in the initial stages when the girls are working through their grief. The dialogue was mechanical - even if they weren't able to process what had happened, no one would speak like that.
The uber-fairytale ending was a little too happy and convenient - except for one bit which I don't know if it's supposed to be dreamy or ick. It drew too many parallels to Back to the Future. But then we probably need a few feel-good books and movies in our lives.
I can see why this book comes so highly recommended. It's good, but the writing could have been better. And the typos... They need to fix the typos.
We follow Luna and her sister Pia, newly grieving for their Mum. They've headed from England to their Mum's hometown in Bay Ridge to settle her finances and sell her old home. Having recently uncovered a mind-numbing secret about Luna's origins, the girls are trying to fathom how to deal with all this information.
And then something truly bizarre happens to Luna. In normal cases this would be a spoiler, but given that it is actually mentioned in the blurb itself, I won't classify it as such. Luna travels back in time, precisely thirty years in the past, and meets her mother.
At first, Luna is convinced that something is wrong with her. That her vivid hallucinations portend some grave illness she must be suffering, but with each trip, she brings back conclusive evidence, no matter how small, that she actually did travel through time.
She takes it upon herself to use this magical opportunity to right the wrongs of the past and give her mother the life she truly deserved, even at the cost of her own.
The central conceit is an attractive one - who doesn't love time travel. But a lot of the book felt a little derivative of stories past. There's a hint of the darkness we found in Octavia E Butler's Kindred, as well as some of the fairytale outlook of Back to the Future. Set primarily in Bay Ridge, we don't quite get the feel of that area, especially in the 70s, when it has become a hub of tourism due to the filming of Saturday Night Fever.
The copy I received from Netgalley was rife with typos, which made it an annoying read from time to time. It's an easy to read book, the language so simple it doesn't tax the brain in the least. The writer doesn't give her readers much credit - spelling everything out for them a little too slowly. She even falls into the trap of trying to explain the time travel phenomenon - bad idea, never justify yourself, just go with the flow. We have already cottoned on to what is happening to Luna, what her actions will mean for her, etc, long before the writer bothers to let Luna address it.
There's a plethora of cliches included as well. It's the in thing now to have a scientist as the lead female protagonist, hence Luna is a physicist. Her sister is messed up, but gregarious. She is aloof and awkward. Everyone is super hot looking and thin-privileged. There's no variety in the kind of people they meet. It grates on you. Also, aside from Luna, not a single other woman in the book is interested in science. No, she's the only one. Even in the 70s - you mean to tell me, none of those girls she meets ever caught an episode of Star Trek and fell in love with the show? Bizarre!
There's a plot twist near the end of the book, at a point when we're thinking we've wrapped it up. It's a good twist, but comes out of the blue. We have a perpetrator pinpointed from the very beginning, no one negates it. But, suddenly, the bad guy changes and... well we didn't see it coming. I would have understood if others had hemmed and hawed over the name of the villain, but they didn't. It felt like somewhere down the line the editing got jumbled.
There are conveniences thrown into this book that... are just too convenient. The mother in this book leaves behind a whole bunch of filmed tapes recalling the life-changing past incidents and the information they need - how many people would do that? Spoilers ahead:
I think most readers would have guessed that Luna was the product of her mother's assault. It weighs heavily on the girls, and took over the mother's life. She was sad and depressed all her life, eventually leading to her own suicide. The trouble is, partway through, out of the blue, the girls' aunt reveals that the perpetrator did not die the night of the assault. No, the aunt just made the mother think that she had killed that man so she could get away in peace. She left the country that night to be with her future husband in England.
So Luna then lays into the aunt, pretending like it wasn't the rape that destroyed her mother's wellbeing, but the act of killing the perpetrator. Suddenly the bad guy shifts from rapist to protective older sister. There's nary a mention of the horrid, cruel life that said aunt then had to endure for the rest of her existence at the hands of the mobster whose help she took to clean up the mess. I found all of that too cruel and too convenient. Women turning on each other instead of taking down the real bads - it's unfair.
Then, when Luna think she's saved her mother, she alters her life a little too much. Her mother is alive because she didn't kill her assailant, and Luna is happy. But it doesn't bother her at all that the man going scot-free for so many years would have affected other women. She (and by extension the reader) is hit over the head with a young woman's account of what happened to her at a very young age at the hands of this man, and only then does Luna decide to act. Why didn't she think her mum needed saving from the entire incident? Or that other people would need saving too? End spoilers.
The writing detracted greatly from the story - I found it lacking throughout, especially in the initial stages when the girls are working through their grief. The dialogue was mechanical - even if they weren't able to process what had happened, no one would speak like that.
The uber-fairytale ending was a little too happy and convenient - except for one bit which I don't know if it's supposed to be dreamy or ick. It drew too many parallels to Back to the Future. But then we probably need a few feel-good books and movies in our lives.
I can see why this book comes so highly recommended. It's good, but the writing could have been better. And the typos... They need to fix the typos.
August 24, 2018
The reign of mediocrity ends with this delightfully charming book!!!
Luna sets out on an adventure to save her mother; running the risk of losing herself in the process.
After the suicide of their mother (no spoiler it’s in the blurb I promise you) Luna and her sister Pea take a trip to Bau Ridge Brooklyn to sell their mothers house with their estranged Aunt Stephanie.
Along the way Luna discovers she can time travel. She can time travel back to 1977 to the exact day and time her mother was raped to try and save her.
The story that ensues is heartwarming and charming and I loved it.
It reminded me a little of the time travellers wife and Jodi Picoult so any fans of either of those would love this novel.
Luna sets out on an adventure to save her mother; running the risk of losing herself in the process.
After the suicide of their mother (no spoiler it’s in the blurb I promise you) Luna and her sister Pea take a trip to Bau Ridge Brooklyn to sell their mothers house with their estranged Aunt Stephanie.
Along the way Luna discovers she can time travel. She can time travel back to 1977 to the exact day and time her mother was raped to try and save her.
The story that ensues is heartwarming and charming and I loved it.
It reminded me a little of the time travellers wife and Jodi Picoult so any fans of either of those would love this novel.
August 25, 2017
Finished this book last night and I can't stop thinking about it.
It was wonderful and exciting and magical and sad and I wish I could lean back and watch it as a series.
Detailed review will follow shortly. :)
Alright, here's my full review:
The Summer of Impossible Things is a book about making sacrifices for the people you love.
The most beautiful part of the book is, that it’s such a wonderful and heart-breaking story of a daughter’s love for her mother. There are so many stories about all the sacrifices mothers do for their children and this book turned it around. Now it is Luna who wants to sacrifice herself for her mother. That's a fantastic, refreshing and emotional way to tell the story. Something I've never read before and Rowan Coleman did an amazing job in bringing so much feelings into this novel. I was captivated from page one and instantly felt like I was a part of this story. It was magical. I adore Rowan for making me sit in a rollercoaster filled with the highest ups and the saddest lows.
And no one's mentioned the foreword! It was so well written and thought-provoking. As soon as I finished reading it, I had to read it again.
Fantastic book, magical setting, emotional rollercoaster...I am in awe of Rowan Coleman!
It was wonderful and exciting and magical and sad and I wish I could lean back and watch it as a series.
Detailed review will follow shortly. :)
Alright, here's my full review:
The Summer of Impossible Things is a book about making sacrifices for the people you love.
The most beautiful part of the book is, that it’s such a wonderful and heart-breaking story of a daughter’s love for her mother. There are so many stories about all the sacrifices mothers do for their children and this book turned it around. Now it is Luna who wants to sacrifice herself for her mother. That's a fantastic, refreshing and emotional way to tell the story. Something I've never read before and Rowan Coleman did an amazing job in bringing so much feelings into this novel. I was captivated from page one and instantly felt like I was a part of this story. It was magical. I adore Rowan for making me sit in a rollercoaster filled with the highest ups and the saddest lows.
And no one's mentioned the foreword! It was so well written and thought-provoking. As soon as I finished reading it, I had to read it again.
Fantastic book, magical setting, emotional rollercoaster...I am in awe of Rowan Coleman!
October 21, 2017
If this book had finished 50 or so pages earlier it probably would have got a 3-4 star review from me and was already contemplating interesting things to say about it. However, the ending left me genuinely upset. This is a book dealing with genuinely complex themes of suicide, rape, PTSD, addiction, abuse of power and more besides. As such I was not happy to see this swept away in the later pages to be a love story and a warm and fuzzy happy ending.
A lot of people much smarter than I am loved this book and maybe if I went in just wanting to read this as a love story I would have felt differently. However the handling of these elements was troubling to me and I finished with a bad taste in my mouth.
A lot of people much smarter than I am loved this book and maybe if I went in just wanting to read this as a love story I would have felt differently. However the handling of these elements was troubling to me and I finished with a bad taste in my mouth.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 21, 2017
I loved this book the first I have ever read by this author and it definitely won't be the last.
It really made me wonder what anyone of us would do if we could go back through time to be with someone we loved and lost.
Would we want to return to the present time and leave them behind. Maybe it would be hard not to cry when we see the person we loved so much. If we went back before we where even born and we are a stranger to the person we loved so very much.
Maybe we could alter things in the past so that person is still alive today even though the consequences of doing this might alter many things,even our own existence.
I think I would go back in a heartbeat if I had the chance to sit and talk awhile, wouldn't you?
I listened to the audiobook version of this story and the narration was absolutely brilliant.
One of the best audiobooks that I have ever listened to,better than good more like exceptional. Highly recommended.
It really made me wonder what anyone of us would do if we could go back through time to be with someone we loved and lost.
Would we want to return to the present time and leave them behind. Maybe it would be hard not to cry when we see the person we loved so much. If we went back before we where even born and we are a stranger to the person we loved so very much.
Maybe we could alter things in the past so that person is still alive today even though the consequences of doing this might alter many things,even our own existence.
I think I would go back in a heartbeat if I had the chance to sit and talk awhile, wouldn't you?
I listened to the audiobook version of this story and the narration was absolutely brilliant.
One of the best audiobooks that I have ever listened to,better than good more like exceptional. Highly recommended.
September 2, 2017
A really great book! This book really is the whole package. It contains romance, suspence, sisterhood, the love of a mother and even bit of comedy. I really don't get how a book like this, doesn't get more attention but other YA novels that are so unoriginal and cheesy get whole movie made out of them! So much better than I had anticipated😊💟
November 27, 2017
Find all my book reviews, plus fascinating author interviews, exclusive guest posts and book extracts, on my blog: https://whatcathyreadnext.wordpress.com/
10 Things I Loved About...The Summer of Impossible Things
1.How we see the power and immutability of love played out before our eyes – romantic love, maternal love, love of friends and community: “Love outlasts even death. It’s present in every moment, even those filled with darkness; it’s never exhausted, it never gives up or wavers. It’s the one force of the universe that will never be captured by an equation or […] science.”
2.The picture of sisterhood we get in the relationship between Luna and Pia – borrowing each other’s possessions, doing each other’s make-up, irritating each other (sometimes), supporting each other (always)
3.How it cleverly explores the way that actions have consequences, like ripples in a pond
4.The belief in the power of stories – to unite us, to transform: ‘Stories are the only thing that can ever really change the world. The stories that people believe in are the only ones that matter. Those are the stories that have the power to change everything we think we understand.’
5.That authors are even able to come up with ideas like this!
6.How it conjures up the atmosphere of New York – the music, the clothes, the food and drink – so you feel you’re walking the streets with Luna and Pia, inhaling the smell of bagels, hearing the roar of the traffic
7.It’s about grabbing the moment and following your dream: “What I’m trying to say is, you might as well try as hard as you can to follow your dreams, otherwise what are they for, except to remind you of everything you didn’t do.”
8.That ending…you made me cry, Rowan Coleman!
9.That I won this as a prize from a giveaway organised by the lovely Kelly at Love Books Group
10.The gorgeous cover – so beautiful. Make sure you check out the front and back of the cover or you’ll miss a clever detail from the book in the design!
(4.5 stars)
10 Things I Loved About...The Summer of Impossible Things
1.How we see the power and immutability of love played out before our eyes – romantic love, maternal love, love of friends and community: “Love outlasts even death. It’s present in every moment, even those filled with darkness; it’s never exhausted, it never gives up or wavers. It’s the one force of the universe that will never be captured by an equation or […] science.”
2.The picture of sisterhood we get in the relationship between Luna and Pia – borrowing each other’s possessions, doing each other’s make-up, irritating each other (sometimes), supporting each other (always)
3.How it cleverly explores the way that actions have consequences, like ripples in a pond
4.The belief in the power of stories – to unite us, to transform: ‘Stories are the only thing that can ever really change the world. The stories that people believe in are the only ones that matter. Those are the stories that have the power to change everything we think we understand.’
5.That authors are even able to come up with ideas like this!
6.How it conjures up the atmosphere of New York – the music, the clothes, the food and drink – so you feel you’re walking the streets with Luna and Pia, inhaling the smell of bagels, hearing the roar of the traffic
7.It’s about grabbing the moment and following your dream: “What I’m trying to say is, you might as well try as hard as you can to follow your dreams, otherwise what are they for, except to remind you of everything you didn’t do.”
8.That ending…you made me cry, Rowan Coleman!
9.That I won this as a prize from a giveaway organised by the lovely Kelly at Love Books Group
10.The gorgeous cover – so beautiful. Make sure you check out the front and back of the cover or you’ll miss a clever detail from the book in the design!
(4.5 stars)
June 23, 2017
Confession time- I purely wanted to read this book based on the fabulous, classy cover. I love it! ❤ My thanks to Netgalley and Ebury Press for providing me a review copy.
Beautiful and ugly, romantic and heartbreaking, possible and impossible. The Summer of Impossible Things explores it all.
Watching my mother’s face for the first time since the night she died, I am altered. I am unravelled and undone – in one instant becoming a stranger in my own skin.
A mother has died, leaving behind two heartbroken adult daughters and utterly loving and committed husband. Luna and Pia, sisters, travel to Brooklyn to settle the affair of their mother’s birth home. With their arrival, Luna starts experiencing more than her scientific degree could possibly explain away and as all the past’s dark secrets start to unravel, Luna has a choice to make. Risk losing her soul for the sake of guaranteeing the life and happiness her loved ones deserve, or deal with the pain of loss, let go of everything she has experienced and simply accept life as it is and just move on.
Past, present and future- that is how we make sense of the world. But sometimes, the one thing we forget, for all of our rules, theories and ideas that we impose on this strange unfathomable place we miraculously exist in, is that we didn’t make the Universe. The Universe made us.
There are so many little details to this story, so much beautiful time stopping writing full of love and yearning, made even more intimate and impactful by the first person narrative from Luna’s POV.
But this is not just a love story entwined with time travel elements. A crime was committed in a small, tight knit community where everyone is well known and the mafia presence implies that a lot gets swept under the rug. It is this crime- bad, ugly thing- that Luna tries to prevent from ever happening to her mother which made her go on a downward spiral. But first, she needs to find out what exactly happened to her mother. This process reveals emotionally painful episodes from the sisters’ childhood that they had forgotten, as well as unearth an ugly truth that places Luna into a position where she feels she should never have been. The second task is to master the time travel aspect, and third- she needs to find a way to alter the events for a best possible outcome for all involved.
Throughout this book, I had so many theories as to how the story was going to come to an end. Every page, turn of events and chapter brought about a flood of ideas and expectations to what I imagined the end game was going to be. The ending though? Was something I didn’t expect. The romantic notions throughout the book were so powerful and time bending, the ending, in a way, so unexpected for me, that I had an overdose warm fuzzy feelings and all the bad, the ugly and the dark was overpowered by the power of love. Love for your siblings, love for your parents, love for that special someone to share your life with. (I feel all sappy btw!)
Actually, there were a lot of things in this book I didn’t expect. Just when I thought we had a clear direction with the story, a little hint was dropped but I decided at the time it must have been put there to muddy the waters and I thought nothing about it until BOOM! Something I didn’t expect was revealed and I felt as if my brain and thoughts up until that moment of reading had to undertake a mental time travel journey of their own to add all the pieces together again! It threw me for a loop and I admit, some small bits are still fuzzy and questionably but explainable.
I have probably mentioned at some stage that I don’t do well with time travel plots. I think I just read a really poor example in the past to put me off. The Summer of Impossible Things redeemed time travel for me. It really did… Luna travels to 70s. The era of disco and cringy clothing. To the town where her mother grew up. The town where Travolta was filming a movie, a town where Luna’s father was a photographer… The two timelines were so well tied together, I didn’t feel like they should have been two separate books (like I had with me first experience of a time travel plot!). How and what triggered her time travel was really neat and executes beautifully on the feelings that this book was trying to portray. The Summer of Impossible Things made me feel like the impossible was possible!
All of the side characters were well thought out and had their role to play- the story fit together like a perfect picture with a good flow and great balance in between the present and the past. One of the characters, Michael, was that piece that made me wonder about all those possible different outcomes. I was wondering was he the one that would make the impossible even more impossible? Where he was involved though- those moments were as much exhilarating, as they were downright romantic and at times heartbreaking.
Stories are the only things that can ever really change the world. The stories that people believe in are the only ones that matter. Those are the stories that have the power to change everything we think we understand.
Overall: This book is about life that is no longer… but with time travel, could a life be again? It’s about making the right decision: to go and cause a Butterfly Effect risking one soul for the sake of others or risk living with regret. It’s about righting the wrongs… and maybe it’s even a bit about what it really means to sacrifice something, or someone that you really love for the good of other loves in your life. Yes, there is quite a lot of impossible in this book because of time travel but the impossible was beautiful! *****
So, are you ready to take a magical time travel journey? If yes, be prepared to face some dark demons of the past, but remember in this book- love does conquer!
Beautiful and ugly, romantic and heartbreaking, possible and impossible. The Summer of Impossible Things explores it all.
Watching my mother’s face for the first time since the night she died, I am altered. I am unravelled and undone – in one instant becoming a stranger in my own skin.
A mother has died, leaving behind two heartbroken adult daughters and utterly loving and committed husband. Luna and Pia, sisters, travel to Brooklyn to settle the affair of their mother’s birth home. With their arrival, Luna starts experiencing more than her scientific degree could possibly explain away and as all the past’s dark secrets start to unravel, Luna has a choice to make. Risk losing her soul for the sake of guaranteeing the life and happiness her loved ones deserve, or deal with the pain of loss, let go of everything she has experienced and simply accept life as it is and just move on.
Past, present and future- that is how we make sense of the world. But sometimes, the one thing we forget, for all of our rules, theories and ideas that we impose on this strange unfathomable place we miraculously exist in, is that we didn’t make the Universe. The Universe made us.
There are so many little details to this story, so much beautiful time stopping writing full of love and yearning, made even more intimate and impactful by the first person narrative from Luna’s POV.
But this is not just a love story entwined with time travel elements. A crime was committed in a small, tight knit community where everyone is well known and the mafia presence implies that a lot gets swept under the rug. It is this crime- bad, ugly thing- that Luna tries to prevent from ever happening to her mother which made her go on a downward spiral. But first, she needs to find out what exactly happened to her mother. This process reveals emotionally painful episodes from the sisters’ childhood that they had forgotten, as well as unearth an ugly truth that places Luna into a position where she feels she should never have been. The second task is to master the time travel aspect, and third- she needs to find a way to alter the events for a best possible outcome for all involved.
Throughout this book, I had so many theories as to how the story was going to come to an end. Every page, turn of events and chapter brought about a flood of ideas and expectations to what I imagined the end game was going to be. The ending though? Was something I didn’t expect. The romantic notions throughout the book were so powerful and time bending, the ending, in a way, so unexpected for me, that I had an overdose warm fuzzy feelings and all the bad, the ugly and the dark was overpowered by the power of love. Love for your siblings, love for your parents, love for that special someone to share your life with. (I feel all sappy btw!)
Actually, there were a lot of things in this book I didn’t expect. Just when I thought we had a clear direction with the story, a little hint was dropped but I decided at the time it must have been put there to muddy the waters and I thought nothing about it until BOOM! Something I didn’t expect was revealed and I felt as if my brain and thoughts up until that moment of reading had to undertake a mental time travel journey of their own to add all the pieces together again! It threw me for a loop and I admit, some small bits are still fuzzy and questionably but explainable.
I have probably mentioned at some stage that I don’t do well with time travel plots. I think I just read a really poor example in the past to put me off. The Summer of Impossible Things redeemed time travel for me. It really did… Luna travels to 70s. The era of disco and cringy clothing. To the town where her mother grew up. The town where Travolta was filming a movie, a town where Luna’s father was a photographer… The two timelines were so well tied together, I didn’t feel like they should have been two separate books (like I had with me first experience of a time travel plot!). How and what triggered her time travel was really neat and executes beautifully on the feelings that this book was trying to portray. The Summer of Impossible Things made me feel like the impossible was possible!
All of the side characters were well thought out and had their role to play- the story fit together like a perfect picture with a good flow and great balance in between the present and the past. One of the characters, Michael, was that piece that made me wonder about all those possible different outcomes. I was wondering was he the one that would make the impossible even more impossible? Where he was involved though- those moments were as much exhilarating, as they were downright romantic and at times heartbreaking.
Stories are the only things that can ever really change the world. The stories that people believe in are the only ones that matter. Those are the stories that have the power to change everything we think we understand.
Overall: This book is about life that is no longer… but with time travel, could a life be again? It’s about making the right decision: to go and cause a Butterfly Effect risking one soul for the sake of others or risk living with regret. It’s about righting the wrongs… and maybe it’s even a bit about what it really means to sacrifice something, or someone that you really love for the good of other loves in your life. Yes, there is quite a lot of impossible in this book because of time travel but the impossible was beautiful! *****
So, are you ready to take a magical time travel journey? If yes, be prepared to face some dark demons of the past, but remember in this book- love does conquer!
May 31, 2020
Това е една необикновена и вълшебна книга за пътуване във времето. Но не целенасочено пътуване или някаква фантастика свързана с машини на времето, няма и времеви портали или други особености за преминаване. Вълшебна е, защото връщането във времето всеки път коригира миналото до момента и настоящето, всеки път се сформират нови спомени и преживяното се променя. И все пак нормално ли е да имаме желание да заличим нещо случило се в миналото и така да си променим генерално живота?! За Луна е не само желание, но и необходимост. Тя е човек на науката, квантов физик и не е сигурна какво точно й се случва, когато за първи път се озовава през 1977г в Бруклин. Но пък ако успее да промени злината случила се тогава с майка й, може би ще бъде удовлетворена и щастлива в настоящето. Така, че тя се впуска в това приключение без да знае първоначално как да контролира нещата. Пътуването във времето обаче крие и други рискове. Възможно ли е дотолкова да промени събитията случили се през 1977г, така че нейното раждане в последствие никога да не се случи? Тогава коя ще бъде тя и къде ще отиде като приключи мисията си, ако е заличила сама себе си? Или пък ненадейно ще се изпари във въздуха? Луна си задава всички тези въпроси, но прекалено много е загрижена за майка си и е решена дори себе си да заличи и никога да не се роди само и само майка й да е щастлива. Много приятна за четене книга, с къси глави, която се чете бързо и неусетно. 3,5 почти 4*
Read
March 17, 2017It’s a gorgeous, rapturous novel, intensely atmospheric. Reading it, I was transported back to Brooklyn in the summer of 1977, with the heat and music and shadows and disco. It was like watching a film and stepping right into it. The stakes are so high for Luna and her family and the rug-pulling moment, near the end, nearly took my breath away. I think my favourite part about it, though, was that it’s a beautiful and heart-wrenching story of a daughter’s love for her mother. We so often read stories about mothers sacrificing for their children and this one turned that neatly on its head in such a satisfying, poignant way. Like all Rowan’s novels, it’s life-affirming and shows the best of what humans can be; I felt that the world was a better place when I put it down. As a novel about impossible things, it made me think that anything was possible.
February 19, 2017
Firstly, my thanks to the publisher, Netgalley and Rowan Coleman for the advance copy. I will admit to not reading the blurb before starting this book, so I wasn’t sure what to expect except if Rowan had written it – I was bound to love it. The Summer of Impossible Things is basically a book about making sacrifices for the people you love. I admit to only reading one other time travel book before (11.22.63 by Stephen King) so this isn’t a topic I know much about, but what I do know is how the book made me feel. The Summer of Impossible Things is a book that made me question how far I would travel to protect my family, what would I do to ensure my loved ones are happy and safe? This wonderful story about Luna and Pea and their journey to save their mother was both moving and beautiful and thought-provoking (and whilst reading it I was hoping Hollywood would make this into a film too!)
March 21, 2017
Gosh, where to start with The Summer of Impossible Things? An amazing setting - 1970s Brooklyn. Wonderful characters - in the shape of slightly socially awkward Luna and her loving, recovering addict sister, Pea. Not forgetting their wise Brooklyn landlady, Mrs Finkle. I already know this will be one of my favourite books of the year. It's the kind of novel I'm keen to press on/discuss with friends, that I'll remember long after I've finished reading. It's about love and hurt and time travel and the lengths a family is prepared to go to to ensure the best for each other. Rowan Coleman's characters and writing are so superb that she makes it easy to believe in time travel. Something fantastical happens when reading The Summer of Impossible Things - time vanishes - whilst enjoying 'just one more chapter.' A brilliant read.
February 10, 2018
A magical story quite unlike anything I have read before. If you could go back in time would you change anything? I cannot think of anything significant in my life that I would really want to change but this book certainly makes you think. Brings 1970s Brooklyn to life.
October 21, 2018
I was fortunate to get a copy of The Summer of Impossible Things at my first ever Lush Book Club. It was a wonderful evening, full of bookish chat, Lush bath bombs, and delicious cupcakes. I was unfamiliar with the story up until the event – that's what's so great about the book club! – and it has taken me a while to pick it up because I have Too Many Books (as my family keep telling me), but this summer I was determined to read it. And so I met Luna, our time-travelling protagonist, and her sister Pea.
Continue reading this review over on Pretty Books.
Continue reading this review over on Pretty Books.
July 16, 2021
3.5 ⭐️
May 12, 2017
I absolutely loved The Summer of Impossible things by Rowan Coleman, it was a fabulous book. The chance to go back in time to change something that has gone wrong, is something I think a lot of people would like to do. The story had me hooked from the beginning. The characters were interesting and likeable. I did not want to put the book down. This is a book I will read again and again. I would like to thank NetGalley for my e-copy in exchange for an honest review.
August 24, 2017
4-4,5 Sterne
April 23, 2018
Loved this wonderful, hopeful, sensitive and heartwarming story.
Read
September 12, 2018Now, I just want to watch The Lakehouse.
July 2, 2017
Book reviews and more on www.snazzybooks.com
This is a really special book; it's one that made me think and made me cry, ultimately leaving me pondering the story after I'd finished it.
From the brilliant characters - hugely likable Luna and sister, dad and mum, as well as those around her in both the present day narrative and the one situated in the past - to the poignant, wistful feeling of possibly being able to change the past... everything comes together in The Summer of Impossible Things to create a wonderful read.
I love books about time travel, specifically being able to change what's happened before you and how that could impact the future, so I knew this would be an intriguing read. The whole subject is so fascinating, and whilst storylines like this can often be a little bit 'mind boggling' as you try to keep up with what will change what another element in the future, this book manages to keep it all understandable. It kind of makes sense, even if the story is all about something that (as far as we know right now) is scientifically impossible, because it's written so convincingly by Rowan Coleman.
There are some parts and some bits of dialogue which are very romantic and, some might feel, a little cheesy, but it all works with what is at stake for Luna and her family, even if not everyone else realises it. The writing is wonderful and the magical elements aren't too ridiculous to put me off - I'm not a huge fan of fantasy novels apart from the obvious popular choices, I have to say, but this was just right. I teared up, and indeed cried a little, at certain points and I felt the ending was just right for me. I don't want to give anything else away but just recommend that anyone looking for an emotional, smart and thoughtful read gives The Summer of Impossible Things a go.
* Many thanks to Ebury Publishing for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review. *
This is a really special book; it's one that made me think and made me cry, ultimately leaving me pondering the story after I'd finished it.
From the brilliant characters - hugely likable Luna and sister, dad and mum, as well as those around her in both the present day narrative and the one situated in the past - to the poignant, wistful feeling of possibly being able to change the past... everything comes together in The Summer of Impossible Things to create a wonderful read.
I love books about time travel, specifically being able to change what's happened before you and how that could impact the future, so I knew this would be an intriguing read. The whole subject is so fascinating, and whilst storylines like this can often be a little bit 'mind boggling' as you try to keep up with what will change what another element in the future, this book manages to keep it all understandable. It kind of makes sense, even if the story is all about something that (as far as we know right now) is scientifically impossible, because it's written so convincingly by Rowan Coleman.
There are some parts and some bits of dialogue which are very romantic and, some might feel, a little cheesy, but it all works with what is at stake for Luna and her family, even if not everyone else realises it. The writing is wonderful and the magical elements aren't too ridiculous to put me off - I'm not a huge fan of fantasy novels apart from the obvious popular choices, I have to say, but this was just right. I teared up, and indeed cried a little, at certain points and I felt the ending was just right for me. I don't want to give anything else away but just recommend that anyone looking for an emotional, smart and thoughtful read gives The Summer of Impossible Things a go.
* Many thanks to Ebury Publishing for providing a copy of this novel on which I chose to write an honest and unbiased review. *
October 10, 2018
With echoes of the film ‘Back to the Future’, this particular time-travelling journey takes us back to the Seventies and the whole ‘summer of love’ scene with its disco music, drugs and sexual-freedom.
A family mystery drama, combining romance and SiFi , with themes of depression, suicide, alcohol and drug addiction, would not seem to have much chance of delivering a feel-good factor - but other reviewers here give it rave reviews, find it uplifting, and even suggest it as perfect holiday-reading material (not my idea of a beach read!)
My own aversion to magical realism always ruins any chance of my being able to suspend my disbelief and therefore to full engage with the story, but I can envisage that the 'issues' raised will make it ideal book-club material.
A family mystery drama, combining romance and SiFi , with themes of depression, suicide, alcohol and drug addiction, would not seem to have much chance of delivering a feel-good factor - but other reviewers here give it rave reviews, find it uplifting, and even suggest it as perfect holiday-reading material (not my idea of a beach read!)
My own aversion to magical realism always ruins any chance of my being able to suspend my disbelief and therefore to full engage with the story, but I can envisage that the 'issues' raised will make it ideal book-club material.
April 22, 2018
Интересен и различен автор е Роуан Колман.
Това е втора среща с нейна книга и не ме разочарова.
Историята си я бива,въпреки че има и други подобни .
Малко не ми достига за да съм напълно удовлетворена.
Това е втора среща с нейна книга и не ме разочарова.
Историята си я бива,въпреки че има и други подобни .
Малко не ми достига за да съм напълно удовлетворена.
October 15, 2019
This was great. It was a bit confusing, but I found that the mix of character development, scenes in the past, and action moments were a perfectly congregated to create a compelling book. I highly recommend it.
March 2, 2017
What if you could change just one thing in the past of someone you love?
I was so lucky to be approved by NetGalley for a preview copy of this book, I absolutely loved it - it's already my best read so far this year and it could well be my favourite book of 2017.
It does require a bit of imagination, you have to travel back in time to 1977, but it's worth the stretch and if you loved the Time Traveler's Wife then you'll love this too.
Luna and her younger sister, Pia, are devastated by the death of their mother, but she had suffered from depression for many years and struggled to hold things together for the family.
She had moved to UK to marry their father in 1977, but her childhood home had been Bay Ridge, in Brooklyn and there was a family house there that needed to be sold. Luna and Pia travel to Brooklyn to finalise the sale, hoping to find out something about their mother's life before she married their father.
What they discover is the basis of the story, but that's not all, because Luna finds that she can go back in time to those last days while Marissa was still a vibrant young woman, before something happened that shattered her life. And if Luna can go back and meet her mother in that time, is it possible that she might also be able to change things just slightly so that Marissa's life takes a slightly different path - and if she does so, what are the implications?
Beautifully written with wonderful characters and subtle twists, this was an excellent read. The only problem is that it's not out until June, but put it on your Wish List now, because this is one book you won't want to miss.
I was so lucky to be approved by NetGalley for a preview copy of this book, I absolutely loved it - it's already my best read so far this year and it could well be my favourite book of 2017.
It does require a bit of imagination, you have to travel back in time to 1977, but it's worth the stretch and if you loved the Time Traveler's Wife then you'll love this too.
Luna and her younger sister, Pia, are devastated by the death of their mother, but she had suffered from depression for many years and struggled to hold things together for the family.
She had moved to UK to marry their father in 1977, but her childhood home had been Bay Ridge, in Brooklyn and there was a family house there that needed to be sold. Luna and Pia travel to Brooklyn to finalise the sale, hoping to find out something about their mother's life before she married their father.
What they discover is the basis of the story, but that's not all, because Luna finds that she can go back in time to those last days while Marissa was still a vibrant young woman, before something happened that shattered her life. And if Luna can go back and meet her mother in that time, is it possible that she might also be able to change things just slightly so that Marissa's life takes a slightly different path - and if she does so, what are the implications?
Beautifully written with wonderful characters and subtle twists, this was an excellent read. The only problem is that it's not out until June, but put it on your Wish List now, because this is one book you won't want to miss.
September 6, 2017
That line in the blurb for this book “If you could change the past, would you?” really did evoke so many conflicting emotions for me as I (like many others I suspect!) have often wondered what my life would have been like were I able to go back in time and make different decisions. So initially I had put off reading The Summer of Impossible Things due to its subject matter but having seen some sumptuous reviews from others (who are always recommending I try this author) I decided to treat myself to a copy. Seeing it compared to The Time Travellers Wife also piqued my interest as I’m a huge fan of that book so knew the themes involved here would be ones I would find interesting, if maybe a little difficult to handle emotionally. And I’m so glad I made that decision as this stunning book has now become one of my all time favourites and I know it will be one I want to read it again (I have already re-read certain passages as they were just spellbinding!)
Yes, you do have to suspend belief a little at the plot here but it IS fiction you now! Think Back to the Future crossed with The Time Travellers Wife by way of The Butterfly Effect-all of which are favourites of mine by the way, I do love a time traveller! Rowan Coleman has the most amazing imagination plus she has the enviable writing talent to be able to make every scenario she creates seem perfectly plausible. I loved Luna from the moment I met her. She was an intriguing and relatable protagonist who was having to deal with the impact of her mothers death whilst also having to travel to New York with younger sister Pea to sort out her mothers estate. Her opportunity to travel back to a time before her birth and meet her mother as a teenager was certainly an unexpected one, but Luna handled this strange phenomenon with a quiet intensity as her scientifically trained brain tried to process what had happened to her and how she could use it to save her mother.
There was an ethereal quality to the engaging writing style here and a mystical, almost fairy tale, feel to its beautifully crafted narrative. I found myself becoming hypnotised by each and every word on the page as the story unfolded in front of me-I’m getting goosebumps even now just thinking about it! Added to that, the setting of 1970s New York was cleverly brought to life capturing the hedonistic buzz of the Saturday Night Fever era whilst contrasting it with the crime and corruption that took place in the suburbs during that period.
This exquisite and thought provoking book has shot straight to the top of my Best books of 2017 list and for days after I didn’t want to read another book as I want it to stay on top of that list! I now want everyone to read it and love it was much as I do. Its a poignant, but ultimately life-affirming, journey through time which I thoroughly and wholeheartedly recommend. Just stunning! And I’m now off to play catch up with Rowan Colemans previous books as anyone who can bring out these sort of emotions in me deserves a few more afternoons of my time.
Yes, you do have to suspend belief a little at the plot here but it IS fiction you now! Think Back to the Future crossed with The Time Travellers Wife by way of The Butterfly Effect-all of which are favourites of mine by the way, I do love a time traveller! Rowan Coleman has the most amazing imagination plus she has the enviable writing talent to be able to make every scenario she creates seem perfectly plausible. I loved Luna from the moment I met her. She was an intriguing and relatable protagonist who was having to deal with the impact of her mothers death whilst also having to travel to New York with younger sister Pea to sort out her mothers estate. Her opportunity to travel back to a time before her birth and meet her mother as a teenager was certainly an unexpected one, but Luna handled this strange phenomenon with a quiet intensity as her scientifically trained brain tried to process what had happened to her and how she could use it to save her mother.
There was an ethereal quality to the engaging writing style here and a mystical, almost fairy tale, feel to its beautifully crafted narrative. I found myself becoming hypnotised by each and every word on the page as the story unfolded in front of me-I’m getting goosebumps even now just thinking about it! Added to that, the setting of 1970s New York was cleverly brought to life capturing the hedonistic buzz of the Saturday Night Fever era whilst contrasting it with the crime and corruption that took place in the suburbs during that period.
This exquisite and thought provoking book has shot straight to the top of my Best books of 2017 list and for days after I didn’t want to read another book as I want it to stay on top of that list! I now want everyone to read it and love it was much as I do. Its a poignant, but ultimately life-affirming, journey through time which I thoroughly and wholeheartedly recommend. Just stunning! And I’m now off to play catch up with Rowan Colemans previous books as anyone who can bring out these sort of emotions in me deserves a few more afternoons of my time.
July 4, 2017
When I'd turned the final page of The Summer of Impossible Things I felt as though my heart had been ripped out, screwed up and thrust back into my chest. This story consumed me, the characters became my companions, the setting is wonderful, the writing is exquisite, I felt as though I was living the story, alongside Luna and Pea, and of course, with Michael.
So, I'll admit that when I discovered that Rowan Coleman's latest book was a time-travel story, I felt a tiny bit scared. I wasn't sure that this was going to be my 'thing', I wasn't sure if this was actually going to be Rowan Coleman's 'thing'. What a waste of time those worries were; she's absolutely nailed it. She's written a story that is beautifully structured; a story that the reader can really believe it, a story that is satisfying and startling and quite perfect.
Luna's mother has died and she and her younger sister Pea are in New York, dealing with the sale of a property that their mother Riss and her sister Stephanie owned for many years. This building is the place in which Riss and Stephanie grew up, where they began to love and be loved. It also holds many memories and keeps dark secrets. Luna has already learnt one of the darkest of her mother's secrets and feels that her life has changed forever. However what she has learnt also makes sense of the feelings that she has secretly harboured for most of her life.
The Summer of Impossible Things is a simple story of love and betrayal, and long-held fears, yet it is also a complex and multi-layered tale that incorporates such diverse subjects, ranging from physics to film sets; Saturday Night Fever to mental illness, but most of all, it is about love.
This review is not a re-telling of the story. Why would I do that when Rowan Coleman has already written such an emotional and compassionate novel? No, my words are a gentle encourage to readers, to go out and buy this book, and read it and savour it.
The Summer of Impossible Things is magical and captivating. The characters are superbly drawn and the 1970s New York setting is beguiling and entrancing. The essence of love seeps from the pages, it truly is a wonderful story.
https://randomthingsthroughmyletterbo...
So, I'll admit that when I discovered that Rowan Coleman's latest book was a time-travel story, I felt a tiny bit scared. I wasn't sure that this was going to be my 'thing', I wasn't sure if this was actually going to be Rowan Coleman's 'thing'. What a waste of time those worries were; she's absolutely nailed it. She's written a story that is beautifully structured; a story that the reader can really believe it, a story that is satisfying and startling and quite perfect.
Luna's mother has died and she and her younger sister Pea are in New York, dealing with the sale of a property that their mother Riss and her sister Stephanie owned for many years. This building is the place in which Riss and Stephanie grew up, where they began to love and be loved. It also holds many memories and keeps dark secrets. Luna has already learnt one of the darkest of her mother's secrets and feels that her life has changed forever. However what she has learnt also makes sense of the feelings that she has secretly harboured for most of her life.
The Summer of Impossible Things is a simple story of love and betrayal, and long-held fears, yet it is also a complex and multi-layered tale that incorporates such diverse subjects, ranging from physics to film sets; Saturday Night Fever to mental illness, but most of all, it is about love.
This review is not a re-telling of the story. Why would I do that when Rowan Coleman has already written such an emotional and compassionate novel? No, my words are a gentle encourage to readers, to go out and buy this book, and read it and savour it.
The Summer of Impossible Things is magical and captivating. The characters are superbly drawn and the 1970s New York setting is beguiling and entrancing. The essence of love seeps from the pages, it truly is a wonderful story.
https://randomthingsthroughmyletterbo...
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