Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

Summer is everything for the McGill family. They spend every summer at the beach with the Hathaways, another family, next door. It’s their tradition. But this tradition, no matter how long-lived or strong, may not be enough to keep the family together when there are so many thing that are tearing them apart from the inside out. Even the seemingly silliest things like hair color and girl-next-door Melinda seem to present imaginary dividing lines. They can rarely agree on anything, like what’s best for Gideon, whose deafness presents a myriad of problems, and whether Noah will be home for Chase’s birthday. Four summers can change everything. The only question is what will still remain.

The title and cover image of this novel might imply that this Invincible Summer is your generic summer read, but it is anything but. Told over the span of four different summers from Chase McGill’s point of view, this story is really about family, about the complexities of each familial relationship, about the problems that affect everyone, and about falling apart and finding away to come together again. Moskowitz is a seriously powerful writer, and this really comes across through Chase’s voice and the emotionally raw ordeals he and his family must deal with. I frequently found myself overcome by the magnificence of it all; Moskowitz’s beautiful writing and the tragic situations even brought me to tears. That’s how good she is. I love how she can turn the summer novel into something just laden with depth, hardship, and meaning, because as much as well all love our summer guilty pleasures, sometimes we need to be reminded that there are screwed up things in the world—but also that we can overcome them. The situations portrayed in this book may not apply specifically to every reader’s life, but people everywhere will be able to relate to Chase’s coming-of-age struggles as a whole. Moskowitz’s second novel is amazing, incredibly realistic, and not to be missed.

Fans of Moskowitz’s debut novel Break will immensely enjoy Invincible Summer, as will fans of The Lost Summer by Kathryn Williams.

Rating: 4.5

Review copy from publisher Simon & Schuster