Just two or three books ago, I read Know My Name, memoir of Chanel Miller, the victim in the Brock Turner sexual assault. I wouldn't say that That Summer is the fictionalized version of Know My Name, but it also deals with a sexual assault and the ramifications for the victim and the guilty and the loved ones of the victim. I think having read Know My Name first, I had a different appreciation for That Summer than I might have otherwise. Both references directly deal with the #metoo movement which brings up certain memories of my own.
Because timing is everything, it made me absorb the news that Bill Cosby, found guilty of sexual assault, had his sentence vacated on the day I finished reading That Summer. My first thought was to wonder what horrible impact this must be having on the victims. They must all be wondering why they bothered coming forward. Once again, for whatever the reasons, justice was not served.
In this novel, one of the main characters, Daisy, lost her best friend to cancer and feels the hole in her life left behind. Each time she missed Hannah, I found myself missing my cousin, my best friend, who passed away 5 years ago. The heartache is still there.
That Summer is about friendships, secrets, surviving our pasts, and forging our futures.
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