Author: Emylia Hall
ISBN: 978-0-7553-9084-7
RRP: $29.99
The Book Of Summers is Emylia Hall’s debut novel and was inspired by childhood holidays spent in rural Hungary. This book evokes a myriad of emotional responses sure to touch everyone who had a childhood shared between separated parents.
Covered in what I can only guess is Morning Glory on a background of glorious sky blue this volume is eye catching and reminiscent of summer. It is a paperback book but has the foldout cover flaps which I always consider using as a bookmark but can never bring myself to.
The Book Of Summers is set in the present but much of the story takes place in the past by way of a trip down memory lane.
From very early on you know that something big has happened to further tear apart an estranged family but you can never be sure just what it is. The answer to this is never even hinted at throughout the book though whenever Aunt Jessica visits you can tell there is something she disapproves of.
Beth is a puzzle to all of those around her, something of an enigma that no-one has been allowed close enough to unravel. For reasons as yet unknown Beth keeps everyone at a distance, never letting anyone close enough to really know her. We learn early on that this is in some way related to her childhood but it isn’t until the closing chapters that we discover the life-changing event that totally changed the course of her life – and her name.
An unscheduled visit from her father sets the wheels in motion for a big discovery, because that’s something that just isn’t done so there is sure to be more to it than a family catch-up. With him he brings a parcel that has arrived in the post, a parcel that resonates with the past and comes very close to being discarded unopened.
Eventually the parcel is opened and found to contain a letter bearing bad news and a photo album with the power to transport Beth to the childhood summers that held such promise when she holidayed in rural Hungary with her mother. Snapshots that thrust her back to that time, that place and allow us to share her time in Hungary. A time of awakening and growing up where she was free to explore and experiment.
As Beth remembers we tag along and hear all about her childhood. The week in Hungary is vivid and detailed allowing us to really share the experience with her, as she grows and matures under the Hungarian summer sun. The rest of the year isn’t completely left out but it is skimmed through briefly with the entire year taking as much time and space as that one magical week.
Beth grows up spending time not only with two separated parents but in two separate countries and in two very different worlds. Hungary is all about life, love, beauty and vivacity which can not compare to the dull and drab existence in England where it’s all about looking forward to the next letter, the next phone call, the next visit – where everything is about the anticipation of Hungary.
All of this takes us on that path down memory lane through the entry into puberty, the first crush, the first kiss, the first smoke, the first drink – all of which take place in Hungary. Almost like life is put on hold in England and all of the living happens in that one magical summer week in Hungary.
So what could possibly happen in that 7th Hungarian summer visit to change the balance so much that the book is shut, along with that place in heart and head where Hungary resides and Beth manages to erase all of Hungary as if it never existed? Well that’s something you are going to have to discover for yourself – I’m not telling.
This is a book that touched me as I think it will touch all who have grown up with separated parents. A book that describes that search for identity where your location changes who you are, different people in different places so who does that make you if something changes?
Our panel members have been reading The Book of Summers, find out what they thought below…
I devour books, vampires and supernatural creatures are my genre of choice but over the past couple of years, I have broadened my horizons considerably. In a nutshell – I love to write! I love interacting with a diverse range of artists to bring you interviews. Perhaps we were perfect before – I LOVE WORDS!
I’ve just received My Book of Summers and can’t wait to get stuck in. In fact I’m going to start it in the park in my lunch break. The presentation looks good and it definitely looks like one of my kind of books.
I loved this book so much. It was such a change from what I have been reading and I loved how each page was another chapter in Beth’s life. I loved how simplistic her life was even though the heartbreak was there it really made me remember the summers of my youth and the fun and silly things young girls worry about, and it’s not very often a book makes me think about things in my life, as I always escape to their world and their places, but this made reminiscing about childhood memories a real joy.
I loved how Beth thought and acted and how her mind worked and processed everything, I loved how the Hungarian landscapes of Villa Serena were described. It really took me away to another place and time.
I enjoyed the flutter of young love with Tamas and Beth and all the awkwardness and doubt that goes along with it, I can’t recall how many times I have felt that way when I was a young to teen girl.
The book is so refreshing and such a great story to read, and it ties together well with the hurt and the seering pain that happens in life, Marika seemed to ignite every sort of emotion in Beth and those around her being the free spirit that she is.
Well worth going and reading, can’t wait to see what Emylia Hall writes next, if it is anything like The Book Of Summers I will definitely be lining up for it.
I really enjoyed this novel. It didn’t grab me instantly, but after twenty pages or so I found myself quite deeply absorbed in it. We know from the blurb on the back that something awful is going to happen at some point in the novel, and it’s surprising just how thoroughly I was caught up in Beth’s happiness, even knowing it was going to go crash at some point. You’d have thought I’d have kept my distance, but Ms Hall sweeps you up in her character’s feelings so thoroughly that you just can’t resist.
It was wonderful how vivid all the emotions in the novel were, without ever becoming cartoon like. Joy, sadness, uncertainty, anger, tentative first love – all very vivid. I could feel some of them right along with the characters. Right up to the end, where the sense of sadness, and resolution, and tentative hope all combined to make a really memorable ending. And I liked the fact that it wasn’t an “easy” ending either – there were still challenges for Beth to face.
Beth was a great character, one that I think a lot of people will empathise with. I appreciated the way she changed throughout the book – her growth from a child to a young woman to an adult was depicted very well, in a subtle and indirect way that nevertheless made her changing personality and understanding very clear to the reader.
This is a book about “real” people with real emotions and real problems, and it’s one of the best of it’s kind that I’ve read for ages. It’s a really solidly realistic novel and I think it’ll linger in my memory for a while – and that’s saying something because I read a lot.
Well I just finished the book last night and found it to be a very evocotive and moving story. It keeps you engaged to the end with a feeling that something is going to happen but you are not sure what. I was unprepared for the twist and did not see it coming I must admit. My only disappointment was not finding out what happened to Tamas, but this is a really good read!
I have just finished ‘The Book of Summers’ and I enjoyed it immensely! Like some of the other reviewers I found the first few pages a little hard to get into but I was soon caught up in the story of Erzsi and here magical summers with her Hungarian mother, escaping the humdrum existence in Devon with her Dad.
The rich depictions of Hungary, the landscape and the people are a delight! Also the richness of her relationship with her mother and the more reserved one with her father are beautifully detailed as is the big secret, that brings the Hungarian summers to an end and changes Erzsi to Beth.
I would have loved a couple more chapters on what happened next (Tamas! Zoltan!). But even as I write this I am imagining it all in my mind…… A great read and well worth the journey!
The Book of Summers is the perfect read when looking to extend your usual taste in your reading style. I found it difficult to get into initially but as the story of Beth and the book of summers progressed I was really glad I stuck with it.This book is a coming of age tale about longing and belonging. It is where childhood memories emerge illustrating both the lies told, shared truths, and a hidden secret that is revealed in Beths last summer in Hungary. An incredibly enticing and visually desriptive read.
I loved this book. I loved the way it was written, and found the phrasing to be descriptive and kind of quirky. I would like to say a big thank you to Beauty & Lace for giving me the opportunity to read and review ‘The Book of Summers’.
Beth relives her childhood summers in rural Hungary through the pages of a scrapbook called ‘The Book of Summers’. These summers represented some of the best days of her life, as well as some of the most painful. There is a certain feeling to those long summer days of childhood, when the summer seems to go on forever and the days are hot and languid . . . and this book evoked those feelings so magically. I found myself remembering my own childhood summers, and although they were not spent anywhere nearly as exotic as Hungary, I remembered those times in my life with the same longing and bittersweet feelings that Beth felt.
The author did a fantastic job of illustrating the strong, topsy-turvy and often melodramatic emotions of childhood and the early teen years, so much so that I actually found the character of Erzsi / Beth somewhat frustrating. She refused to live her life, simply counting the days until she could be in Hungary again. When she got there, she would become upset that Marika, Zoltan and Tamas had in fact continued to live their own lives despite her absence. I tried so hard to understand how hurt and confused she must have felt when the big secret was revealed, but couldn’t come to terms with the fact that she NEVER let it go until it was too late. Her hard-hearted decision seemed to me to be mostly about ego and the humiliation she was feeling, and her actions affected not only her own life but the lives of the four other people who loved her the most.
This book reminds me that family is not just biological . . . family are those people who are in our hearts, those who are part of the fabric of our lives. We need to love and appreciate them each day because they may not be around forever.
If you like a book with ups and downs, happiness and heartbreak and lots of emotion, definitely give The Book of Summers a go!
I was drawn into not putting this down. It did take a few pages to be pulled in though but after that – well what can I say, it was brilliant.
The characters are like real people, people you see everyday.
Beth is like the girl next door, everyone knows her and will empathise with her. Its almost as if you are with the characters and you know them personally. Everything is described extremely well so that you do feel you are there.
Well worth the read!!
I am going to be honest about this novel The Book Of Summers, when I first started reading it, I thought I dont know how I am going to finish this. I just couldnt get into it, but I am one of those people that never give up and I certainly wasnt going to on this occassion.
At first it didnt really feel like the story was going anywhere, but the further you delve into Beths life, the more that you realise that there is an underlying secret that really needs to be disclosed. I read the first few chapters and realised that the main story was going to be about Beths short holidays to Hungary to visit her mother and mothers partner Zoltan. It does explain that Beths father David and mother Marika have split but in kind of unusual circumstances.
The whole time I was reading this novel, I knew that there was something big coming, but had no idea what that was.
We go through each summer holiday visit with Beth from a young girl through to a teenager, and all of the wonderful discoveries and emotions and insecurities that these times bring.
I ended up finding this to be a very interesting read and was not prepared for the twist in the story, but if you really want to know what that is, you will just have to read the book for yourself. You wont be disappointed.
The Book of Summers isn’t a book I would ever think to purchase to be honest. After the first chapter I was hooked…even reading it whilst cooking and trying to busy my children with activities so I could hurry through it. Emylia Hall has such a way with words that you can literally visualise yourself in the moment – she describes each part with great detail. I found myself lost in the chapters and all the while wanting so badly to know why on earth Beth erases her past. The twist really got me, I imagined something totally different. The twist is really sad and I found myself angry with Beth, Marika really deserved more but then again being young it’s hard to manage emotions all that well. This is a book I’ll be passing on and thinking of for some time to come that’s for sure. Great read !