A Summer for the Books: A Touching Novel of Friendship, Adoption and Family Secrets Uncovered on a Summer Adventure

Fans of Jennifer Weiner and Sunny Hostin will love this emotional dual-timeline novel about two former besties finding their way back to each other.

To heal their friendship, they'll have to face their past.

Jewel Stone has it all--the perfect marriage, a bestselling author career, her dream home--or so she likes everyone to believe. But between her writer's block and her husband losing his job, her picture-perfect life is in shambles. And inspiration just isn't hitting...until she receives a call she never expected: her former best friend needs her help.

When Shelby Andrews wakes up in the hospital after a biking accident, she can't remember the last twelve years. She knows she owns a bookstore on the beach, but she has no memory of Lacey, her nineteen-year-old adopted daughter who's away for the summer. There's only one person who can help Shelby through this--her bestie, Jewel.

With so many secrets and heartbreaks between them, Jewel and Shelby haven't spoken in years. Yet Jewel can't turn away from the friend who doesn't remember their fallout. Besides, the best writing she's ever done was with Shelby...

But when they learn Lacey's really spending her summer searching for her birth parents, their tentative reunion might just unravel along with all of their secrets.

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Published Jul 15, 2025

352 pages

Average rating: 8

1 RATING

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Community Reviews

ktetterton
Aug 22, 2025
8/10 stars
yes it was a summer, spring, fall and winter for the books. with the multiple timelines, it did feel like I was in different seasons. but what always remained the same was this secret! A secret that would change too many lives if it got out. Then you have to live with that choice and decision of not telling and keeping it for so long. You always sitting back wondering.. Will anyone ever know. What I liked about this book was that the "secret" wasnt revealed to people till later in life... but when you look back... you realized you already told it.... by the actions you have taken since then. its right there in front of your face all along... This book also follows another book that I recently read that had the topic of foster care and adoption. and I asked peoplw, is it ever a good time to tell the truth or let it remain a "secret".

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