Haven is a fifteen-year-old girl who has grown tall and awkward and spends the summer in a beach town. Her older sister Ashley is getting married, and her family is in disarray, with a father who has left. Then Sumner, Ashley's former boyfriend, returns, and Haven finds herself drawn to the past, remembering a summer a few years earlier when she was a skinny, unnoticed girl. Over the weeks, Haven comes to terms with her changing body, her family, and what she wants. The story is told with warmth.
A fit for young adult readers who enjoy summer coming-of-age stories. It is an early novel by Sarah Dessen and suits teens interested in family and first love.
Practical, inward-looking and clear-cut; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Curious Generalist. Which reader are you?
Insights from That Summer
Losing a parent to a new family is a quiet kind of grief. Haven watches her father start over while she is still stuck in the old story.
“I was five feet eleven inches tall. I was fifteen years old. I was a freak.”
Haven feels like a giant in her own skin since she hit six feet. Growing up is mostly just feeling out of place while everyone else carries on.
Ashley’s wedding preparations feel so hollow compared to the summer she spent with Sumner Lee. Some memories stay bright while the present feels like a blurry rehearsal.
“He was the one who remembered.”
Sumner Lee was the only one who really looked at Haven. It hurts when the person who saw you best becomes a stranger over time.
- Published
- 1996
- Publisher
- Viking Books for Young Readers
- ISBN
- 9780670061105
