Recommended: sure
For people open to surprises! For female friendships that are more complex than talking about boys.

Thoughts:
It is so hard for me to talk about this book because I expected something very different than what I got, and I loved it! But this book was so much more than I expected, and that's the kind of surprise we don't get very often anymore. Like Edge's big return to WWE that was kept entirely secret, it made it so much sweeter when it happened!

Another rarity that we find in this book is female friendships that are based on more than just men. Too often we see female characters talk or focus only on defining themselves and each other by their relationships with men. None of that here, or at least to a reasonable daddy-issues level. The possible-love-interest for Daphne was well done, too. It was on her mind, but not exclusively. He was not the focus of the story, despite roles he played in it.

From Daphne's work to love herself as she is to her debates over the pros and cons of being an influencer, there are so many issues addressed in this book. Daddy issues. Social media issues. Body image issues. Friendship issues. Lover issues. Financial issues. Bullying issues. For how many issues there are in this book, it's actually pretty seamless. It never felt forced and was seamlessly integrated with the overall story. My one issue was perhaps in the final discovery at the end, but I can live with that with a bit of a shrug. ( )

Pretty good and very current, all influencery, a solid summer read ( )

I don't typically read contemporary fiction, and I usually stay away from romance. I picked up BIG SUMMER because I'd heard great things about it, and after reading this book, I now remember why this genre just isn't my cup of tea.

While Weiner's writing is witty and occasionally sparkling with insight, and the plot moved along at a fast clip, I found myself rolling my eyes every couple of pages. The dramatic conflict felt forced--from the murder mystery to the police investigation. Besides, none of it rang even a little bit true. Maybe I read too many mystery novels, but I noticed so many obvious blunders made by the detective investigating Drue's death. I cringed through every one of his scenes.

Okay, so I didn't buy into the murder mystery plot. I could have overlooked that, except I didn't particularly like any of the main characters either, including Daphne herself. The way she needed Drue's attention despite the way Drue treated her turned my stomach, and I just couldn't get on board with such a dishrag of a heroine. And then there was the relationship between Daphne and Nick, which also seemed forced -- as though it was there just to point out to the reader, "See?? See?! A fat girl CAN have great sex and land a hottie!"

I'm sure this is one of those "it's not you, it's me" things, but BIG SUMMER didn't work for me... beyond providing a quick, easy read I was happy to finish. ( )

Great “beach read”; revelations about the impact of social media and interesting characters. ( )

2.5. Started great but really went downhill once the “mystery” plot was revealed. ( )