Review: Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

Invincible Summer-Hannah Moskowitz
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: April 19, 2011
Source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab
Author Website

Across four sun-kissed, drama-drenched summers at his family’s beach house, Chase is falling in love, falling in lust, and trying to keep his life from falling apart.  But some girls are addictive....
(Amazon)

I'll say off the bat that this is might not be a book for everyone. Some could find the endless Camus quoting to be a bit pretentious. I can see that, but I remember what it was like to be a teenager and to be passionate to the point of irritating about my interests, so for me, this shows authenticity of character. I also felt that the 'some girls are addictive' line from the synopsis to be a bit misleading. If you pick up this book looking for a beach side romance, well, that's not what you're going to get. Not to knock romance novels, but this book is so much more than that.

Each summer Chase and his family face a crisis, and the strain begins to show on the family. I think this book is about a family in crisis, with a small part of the story being about an addictive, troubled young woman (Melinda) and how she affects Chase and his brother Noah. Chase is almost obsessed with his older brother, and I can see why. Noah is a bit of enigma. I only have one sister, and when she hit her upper teens, she became a bit of an enigma herself, and she remains so to this day. I understand what it's like to be in Chase's shoes. Why doesn't your sibling want to be part of the family? Why do they want to run away? It's frustrating and heartbreaking at the same time.

I could go on and on about what I loved about this book, but I'll end by saying that Invincible Summer really is the best sort of book. It's not always easy to read, and sometimes you want to smack the sh@! out of the characters, but at the same time you care so much you can't help but want what's best for them. Invincible Summer is one my favorite reads of the year so far.