It’s been years since I’ve written a retro review, and I can’t think of a better retro review than Judy Blume’s 1998 novel, Summer Sisters.
Though Judy Blume is mostly known for writing books for younger audiences, she is has also written for adults. Her books for adults include Wifey, Smart Women, and most recently, In the Unlikely Event. When I came across her book Summer Sisters at one of those Little Free Libraries, I quickly picked it up, and I’m glad I did.
Summer Sisters opens in the early 1990s. Vix is 25, living in New York City, and works in public relations. Out of the blue, she gets a call from Caitlin. Caitlin is getting married and the groom-to-be just happens to be Vix’s old boyfriend Bru. Caitlin asks Vix to be her maid of honor. As Summer Sisters unfolds you learn how Vix and Caitlin have come to this situation.
In Santa Fe, New Mexico Victoria Leonard and Caitlin Somers meet during their 6th grade year. Though they are quite different from each other, they become fast friends. Caitlin is quite privileged and lives with her mother Phoebe. Her father, Lamb (short for Lambert) lives on Martha’s Vineyard. Victoria, who often goes by the name Vix, lives a quite different existence. She’s one of four children (her younger brother, Nathan, has Muscular Dystrophy), her parents are stressed out, and and shoddy finances are a constant worry.
As their school year ends, Caitlin asks Vix to spend the summer with her in Martha’s Vineyard. Vix jumps at the chance and is excited and relieved to be away from the dysfunction of her family home. And year after year, the girls spend their summers together in Martha’s Vineyard.
It’s a cliché that that opposites attract, but sometimes clichés ring true. Vix is down-to-earth and practical. Caitlin is impetuous and wild. Yet, they are drawn to each other as they spend their summers discovering boys, masturbation, and sex, and take on several summer jobs. They both acquire boyfriends during their summers in Martha’s Vineyard. Caitlin starts dating Von, and Vix starts dating Bru.
However, things aren’t always so wonderful. Vix deals with a family tragedy and Caitlin copes with Lamb marrying a lady named Abby. And at a birthday celebration for Vix, Vix deals with something that makes her question her friendship with Caitlin. Yet, somehow the girls are able to patch things up. Vix is drawn into Caitlin’s orbit and does benefit from having Caitlin as her friend. Lamb and Abby think of Vix as another daughter, and Vix gains greatly from their generosity.
After Vix and Caitlin graduate from high school, they go their separate ways. Though originally Caitlin was to attend Wellesley, she has a change of heart and decides to travel all over Europe having a lots of crazy adventures. Vix, on the other hand, goes to Harvard on scholarship. It is there she befriends her roommates Paisley and Maia, and realizes there is a world outside of Caitlin.
After graduation, Vix moves to New York City, rooms with Maia and Paisley, and gets a job with a large public relations firm. Bru asks her to marry him, but she turns him down. And Caitlin gets bored with Europe and ends up in Seattle where she plans to open up a restaurant with two of her gay friends.
Upon finding out about Caitlin’s impending marriage to Bru, Vix decides to go to the wedding. Betrayals are found out and dirty deeds are done, and in the end Vix and Caitlin are in very different places.
Summer Sisters is filled with both the popular culture and social changes and upheavals of the 1970s and 1980s. Chapters are named after hit songs (“Dancing Queen”, “We are the World”) and the AIDS crisis and the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am plane of Lockerbie, Scotland are mentioned. Summer Sisters is mostly told from the point of view of Vix, but other characters also narrate the story.
While reading Summer Sisters, I couldn’t help but compare it to the atrocious Pretty, Little Dirty, which I reviewed over the summer. Both are coming of age novels featuring Gen X girls during the 1970s and 1980s. Yet, Summer Sisters is so much more better written with more dimensional characters and a fascinating tale that draws you in. The main characters in Pretty, Little Dirty just repelled me. And though I found tempestuous and self-absorbed Caitlin way too much to at times, I can understand why the more low-key and relatable Vix was drawn to her. Caitlin is quite charismatic and her upper crust lifestyle is intoxicating.
Summer Sisters is a fabulous read, one I could barely put down. And at the same time, I didn’t want to ever end. Once again, Judy Blume proves why she is such a beloved author. She just writes damn good books.
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