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Three Summers
The path of Ruth's life was shaped in one fateful moment when, as a baby, she was tossed clear from a car wreck. Her grandmother raised her, with a fierce hope that she would one day go to university and see every marvellous place in the world.
When Ruth and her best friend Fee finish school, Fee chooses motherhood and marriage. Ruth knows that she must leave town, but that means leaving Tam Finn, the elusive yet entrancing boy so unlike any other she has ever met.
An extraordinary story of friendship, longing and the saving grace of love.
'This story, which begins in rural Australia in 1959 but reaches into the past and the future, is written with Judith Clarke?s magnificent precision and lightness, that makes you feel for a moment when you have finished it that you have actually lived someone else's life.' Ursula Dubosarsky
When Ruth and her best friend Fee finish school, Fee chooses motherhood and marriage. Ruth knows that she must leave town, but that means leaving Tam Finn, the elusive yet entrancing boy so unlike any other she has ever met.
An extraordinary story of friendship, longing and the saving grace of love.
'This story, which begins in rural Australia in 1959 but reaches into the past and the future, is written with Judith Clarke?s magnificent precision and lightness, that makes you feel for a moment when you have finished it that you have actually lived someone else's life.' Ursula Dubosarsky
Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
3 people are currently reading
67 people want to read
About the author
Judith Clarke
50 books22 followersJudith Clarke was born in Sydney and educated at the University of New South Wales and the Australian National University in Canberra. She has worked as a teacher and librarian, and in Adult Education in Victoria and New South Wales.
A major force in YA fiction both in Australia and internationally, Judith Clarke's novels include the multi-award-winning Wolf on the Fold, as well as Friend of my Heart, Night Train, Starry Nights, One Whole and Perfect Day, and the very popular and funny Al Capsella series. She is unsurpassed in her ability to convey complex emotional states with acute understanding and compassion.
A major force in YA fiction both in Australia and internationally, Judith Clarke's novels include the multi-award-winning Wolf on the Fold, as well as Friend of my Heart, Night Train, Starry Nights, One Whole and Perfect Day, and the very popular and funny Al Capsella series. She is unsurpassed in her ability to convey complex emotional states with acute understanding and compassion.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 5, 2012
Review originally posted in: http://forget8me8not.blogspot.com.au/...
Cover:
The cover is quite gorgeous. I love how the girl's hair seems to be blown away by the wind and the summer feeling in the cover!
Story:
A story of life, friendship and love...
Three Summers is a book about love, school, life which is mostly set during summer. The book started out quite slow and romance wasn't a main aspect in the book yet it was still enjoyable. Written from Ruth's POV, the book explores Ruth's life from her friendship with Fee, her scholarship achievement to go to University in Sydney and her love for Tam Finn, the mysterious and elusive boy. The book is split into three sections to show the things happening in Ruth's three summers and I loved Judith Clarke's writing style. Sadly, the story plot didn't quite hooked me into the book and at times, the book was really slow paced and there weren't many things happening between Ruth and Tam. The ending was quite disappointing and it was definitely not what I expected.
Characters:
Ruth was an enjoyable character to read. She lives with her grandmother who wants her to go to University and when she got the scholarship, she is happy and sad at the same time. She's happy because her grandmother will definitely be happy yet she is sad because it means leaving her home and her love, Tam Finn. I enjoyed reading her friendship with Fee and the scenes between her and Tam. I just wished there were more scenes between Ruth and Tam because it was really enjoyable to read about. Fee was an awesome friend who really understands Ruth and Ruth's grandmother was a loving figure who keeps Ruth 'on track' with her life.
Overall:
Three Summers is a story of friendship, life, love and making decisions. This Aussie YA was overall an enjoyable read although the story didn't quite hooked me and I wished there were more scenes between Ruth and Tam in the story. If you're interested in Aussie YA, you should definitely give this book a try!
Thank you Allen & Unwin for the review copy!
Cover:
The cover is quite gorgeous. I love how the girl's hair seems to be blown away by the wind and the summer feeling in the cover!
Story:
A story of life, friendship and love...
Three Summers is a book about love, school, life which is mostly set during summer. The book started out quite slow and romance wasn't a main aspect in the book yet it was still enjoyable. Written from Ruth's POV, the book explores Ruth's life from her friendship with Fee, her scholarship achievement to go to University in Sydney and her love for Tam Finn, the mysterious and elusive boy. The book is split into three sections to show the things happening in Ruth's three summers and I loved Judith Clarke's writing style. Sadly, the story plot didn't quite hooked me into the book and at times, the book was really slow paced and there weren't many things happening between Ruth and Tam. The ending was quite disappointing and it was definitely not what I expected.
Characters:
Ruth was an enjoyable character to read. She lives with her grandmother who wants her to go to University and when she got the scholarship, she is happy and sad at the same time. She's happy because her grandmother will definitely be happy yet she is sad because it means leaving her home and her love, Tam Finn. I enjoyed reading her friendship with Fee and the scenes between her and Tam. I just wished there were more scenes between Ruth and Tam because it was really enjoyable to read about. Fee was an awesome friend who really understands Ruth and Ruth's grandmother was a loving figure who keeps Ruth 'on track' with her life.
Overall:
Three Summers is a story of friendship, life, love and making decisions. This Aussie YA was overall an enjoyable read although the story didn't quite hooked me and I wished there were more scenes between Ruth and Tam in the story. If you're interested in Aussie YA, you should definitely give this book a try!
Thank you Allen & Unwin for the review copy!
June 29, 2012
Ok don't get me wrong, I think Judith Clarke is a fantastic author!
The only few problems I find in this book is the way that the story is constantly flicking between different narrators- I think we go through 8 people in the space of the book and do you never really get a constant feel or understanding of the character.
Secondly, there is no depth to the story- it's only a light read which I'm sure may still attract many readers.
And finally, the ending of the book I can not stand! There is no absolute resolution! I feel like there is a lot of unfinished business that needs to be attended to. However, I believe this may just be Clarke's writing style (unresolved resolutions) as she has other novels similar to this.
Overall, I was still content with having read it, yet I was not sattisfied at all! It is one of those reads that end the way you don't want it to, and leaves behind a bitter dissapointment and some what angry sadness as a result of all the vented frustration.
I give this read 4 stars, purely because the language stylw was quite nice and because the better half of the novel is set in the traditional Aussie background- which always manages to make for an interesting read.
Therefore I finish by saying, that if you're the kind of person who doesn't like to get too involved with what they are reading- then I highly recommend this book.
Full of love- the true, real thing.
The only few problems I find in this book is the way that the story is constantly flicking between different narrators- I think we go through 8 people in the space of the book and do you never really get a constant feel or understanding of the character.
Secondly, there is no depth to the story- it's only a light read which I'm sure may still attract many readers.
And finally, the ending of the book I can not stand! There is no absolute resolution! I feel like there is a lot of unfinished business that needs to be attended to. However, I believe this may just be Clarke's writing style (unresolved resolutions) as she has other novels similar to this.
Overall, I was still content with having read it, yet I was not sattisfied at all! It is one of those reads that end the way you don't want it to, and leaves behind a bitter dissapointment and some what angry sadness as a result of all the vented frustration.
I give this read 4 stars, purely because the language stylw was quite nice and because the better half of the novel is set in the traditional Aussie background- which always manages to make for an interesting read.
Therefore I finish by saying, that if you're the kind of person who doesn't like to get too involved with what they are reading- then I highly recommend this book.
Full of love- the true, real thing.
December 9, 2024
This book portrayed generational trauma and anxiety on women and the specific historical pressures and expectations they faced. I think it was also interesting how each women although free spirited and radical for their sense of independence from males, still allowed for the “what if” of love to rule their lives and arguably captivate most of their thoughts, keeping them from finding true love. In the end I think the three main female characters did break from their fantasy of love were able to be content and embrace the love that was already surrounding them. As for the religious aspects of the book wrapped in the writing significantly demonstrated how women were oppressed because of the power of men in the church of the time period, however the hymns were in many ways comforting to the MFCs
January 10, 2018
Really enjoyed this book a lot it such a great Australian story it also made me cry a few times too.
May 17, 2020
It was a sweet story but very slow moving and didn’t have a clear plot line, things that I usually appreciate in novels.
February 9, 2024
An easy read. But without any depth. It jumps around and doesn't really go anywhere. It certainly doesn't end up where you hope it does, which is disappointing.
January 12, 2025
A story that had potential but really went nowhere.
December 15, 2015
This was a beautifully constructed story with realistic, flawed, and yet entrancing characters in a domestic romance that spans thirty years easily.
The main character, Ruth, struggles with her desire for romance (particularly with the town’s resident charmer and despoiler) and her desire to live her own life. I mean that quite literally: she really, actually struggles to balance these two desires. She is tempted to dismiss her own academic achievements and aspirations in order to be seduced by the boy of her fantasies. Complicating her struggle is a full backing cast of her family, friends and the townsfolk who are at times contemptuous of her dreams and supportive of her broken family alternatively encourage and discourage her from one path or the other, and darker family secrets so common in the early 50s of Australia.
This was my first book by Judith Clarke, and I found her ability to change narrators and pov to the unreliable and reliable so easily entrancing. She could quite clearly empathise with all the figures who appear in this novel, and gave each of them a voice.
It is an easy read, with an uncomplicated plot. It is more a character study – with the ache, sexual tension, rumours and gossips of the characters coming to the surface as the text progresses. But ultimately it is about love and forgiveness – and though it seems trite to say identify those as the themes of this text, I believe Clarke has truly captured the love and forgiveness that comes with growing maturity. It is not for those wanting a simple, easy resolution with a charming but insignificant romance – it is a real romance where love doesn’t find an easy path.
The main character, Ruth, struggles with her desire for romance (particularly with the town’s resident charmer and despoiler) and her desire to live her own life. I mean that quite literally: she really, actually struggles to balance these two desires. She is tempted to dismiss her own academic achievements and aspirations in order to be seduced by the boy of her fantasies. Complicating her struggle is a full backing cast of her family, friends and the townsfolk who are at times contemptuous of her dreams and supportive of her broken family alternatively encourage and discourage her from one path or the other, and darker family secrets so common in the early 50s of Australia.
This was my first book by Judith Clarke, and I found her ability to change narrators and pov to the unreliable and reliable so easily entrancing. She could quite clearly empathise with all the figures who appear in this novel, and gave each of them a voice.
It is an easy read, with an uncomplicated plot. It is more a character study – with the ache, sexual tension, rumours and gossips of the characters coming to the surface as the text progresses. But ultimately it is about love and forgiveness – and though it seems trite to say identify those as the themes of this text, I believe Clarke has truly captured the love and forgiveness that comes with growing maturity. It is not for those wanting a simple, easy resolution with a charming but insignificant romance – it is a real romance where love doesn’t find an easy path.
January 11, 2013
To be quite honest, this story was very up and down for me, in some moments it was slow and then the next interesting, it was like riding a roller coaster. At the beginning it was really slow and confusing until I continued reading and realized what it had meant. My favourite part in this book would be near the middle where it was about Ruth and Tam, leaving for college and her friendship between Fee and her. I don't see how Ruth actually liked Tam very much, he was a bit of a jerk to me and I couldn't see much romance between the two happening in the book. But when there was a spark of romance it slightly changed my mind. Towards the end and how the years went by, I felt as though they went by too quickly. Overall I think it was a good book about friendship, family and life but not so much romance. A couple of mistakes I spotted but the writing was very explanatory for me to get what you were trying to interpret.
July 1, 2016
This book is about friendship, young love and choices, but it was a bit up and down for me. There were parts I really enjoyed, but then there were others which I felt were quite irrelevant. The plot was fairly slow, but the writing was touching and the book had a gentle, old-fashioned feel about it. I'm not sure about the appeal of of this book for YA readers.
October 6, 2012
It's an OK book. This books goes into as much as 30+ years and then to adopting someone who has her first loves eyes.
Like REALLY???
I'd prefer maybe a bit more romance into it than just keep feelings to yourself
Like REALLY???
I'd prefer maybe a bit more romance into it than just keep feelings to yourself
February 14, 2012
Outstanding work of fiction looking at three generations, starting in the 1950's. Australian country life and attitudes are brought to life in a vivid and compassionate way.
March 23, 2012
The characters were really good, and easy to connect to, but I didn't really like how it skipped over most of their lives so quickly. Other than that i loved it!
June 8, 2012
An interesting read that I think girls would like.
September 28, 2012
I felt sorry for her twin. And I don't think it's wrong to take her twin sister's boyfriend.
September 16, 2012
Quite a peculiar book, enjoyable but slightly left-wing. Would recommend to 'Indie' or slightly more adventurous readers who like books off the beaten track.
April 28, 2013
It took me a while to get into this, about half-way through I was loving it. Then it skipped forward about 40 years and lost me, I just didn't feel the connection between the 3 stories.
June 3, 2013
Sweet and sad!
November 5, 2013
a great writer although this seems to start well but loses a little in the second half of the book.
August 8, 2014
Good, past ideals future dreams and all the while in and out of the minds of people who don't always think the same way. Tainted by past hinted whith future
July 27, 2012
Not as good as The Winds of Heaven, yet still beautifully written, with lovely characters.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews