The Summer Pact

Starred review from May 15, 2024
People-pleaser Hannah, brash Lainey, and intense Tyson had their world turned upside down when athletic Summer, the fourth in their tight-knit circle, took her own life not long before college graduation. Devastated, the remaining three vowed to support each other through any crisis, so when, a decade later, Hannah catches her fianc� cheating on her, she immediately calls Lainey and Tyson. Up-and-coming actress Lainey blows off an audition, and Tyson, a brilliant attorney, leaves a big case to be by Hannah's side. The trio decides to go on a whirlwind trip; first up is Texas, where Hannah hopes Lainey will finally have the courage to introduce herself to her two half-sisters, who have no idea Lainey exists. After that, they head to Capri, a place Summer longed to visit, where secrets each of the three are keeping as well as Lainey's complicated relationship to alcohol threaten their bond. Giffin is at her best when she's delving into the hard and sometimes outwardly questionable choices that her characters make in their pursuit of happiness, and her latest harks back to her bold, layered debut, Something Borrowed (2004). This thirtysomething coming-into-one's-own tale feels true to life, messy in all the best ways, and hopeful. A triumph.

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May 15, 2024
The suicide of a friend creates a lifelong bond among three college classmates. The latest from the author of Something Borrowed opens at the University of Virginia, where four freshmen are about to find the connection that will sustain them through the next four years. They are Lainey, an aspiring actor from California; Tyson, a Black man with law in his future; Summer, a star scholar and varsity athlete; and Hannah, whose conservative Southern mother is going to be very disappointed that she'd rather hang with these three than pledge a sorority. Shortly before their graduation, the unthinkable happens: For reasons no one will ever fully understand, Summer takes her own life. This leads to the eponymous pact: The trio of survivors agree never to take "drastic steps" before reaching out. They are in their early 30s when the first reach-out occurs: Hannah has walked in on her fiance screwing the local Instagram influencer in the bed she just bought for their future marital home. Lainey, now a Hollywood actor on her way up, drops everything and jets in from California to extricate Hannah and exact revenge. Tyson shows up, too, though he has to quit his job and ditch his girlfriend to get there. Once that mess is cleaned up, the three leave on a fantasy getaway on which each gets to pick a stop. The rest of the story unfolds mostly on Capri, always a desirable setting in fiction, where our protagonists hit places like "that beach club [from] TikTok," La Fontelina. (Do Google it.) Though shocking life changes befall each member of the trio during their Italian sojourn, none are much of a surprise to the reader, who will likely notice the exact moment each plot twist became inevitable. Be quiet and drink your Aperol Spritz. The time-honored post-breakup trip--"Eat, Shop, Party"--has life-changing results you needn't believe to enjoy.

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July 26, 2024

Best-selling Giffin (Meant To Be) offers a novel of friendship and self-discovery, timed for summer. Four college freshmen forge a close friendship, and when a tragedy devastates them, they make a pact to always be there for each other. Ten years later, Hannah calls on the pact and her friends, launching them on a life-changing adventure. Prepub Alert.

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