Two Summers - Aimee Friedman

Two Summers by Aimee Friedman
Genre: YA Fiction

Blurb (on back of book): ONE SUMMER in the French countryside, among sun-kissed fields of lavender . . . 
ANOTHER SUMMER in upstate New York, along familiar roads that lead to surprises . . . 
When Summer Everett makes a split-second decision, her summer divides into two parallel worlds. In one, she travels to France, where she’s dreamed of going: a land of chocolate croissants, handsome boys, and art museums. In the other, she remains home, in her ordinary suburb, where she expects her ordinary life to continue — but nothing is as it seems.
In both summers, she will fall in love and discover new sides of herself. What may break her, though, is a terrible family secret, one she can't hide from anywhere. In the end, it may just be the truth she needs the most.
From New York Times bestselling author Aimee Friedman comes an irresistible, inventive novel that takes readers around the world and back again, and asks us what matters more: the journey or the destination.

MY OPINION: ***

I liked the whole plotline of this book. I thought it was unique and really went out on a tangent that has been kind of explored but not fully expounded (is that a word?). However, something about just wasn't fulfilling and I wasn't able to give it a full five stars.

I mean, I thought that the characters just weren't well-developed, which is something that I really try to look for when I read. Even if this is maybe a "lighter" read, I would have expected deeper characters with more than just physical appearances and ulterior motives. (I feel like a hypocrite because if you read my Wattpad stories, my characters are just not fulfilling what I want.)

Ruby was kind of a horrible best friend! I mean, I understand the whole moving on thing and getting some space but would it have been that hard just to explain? And did she have to pick the populars of all people? Like, she was just trying to get rid of her not-so-popular friend just to rise up in the social hierarchy. She also didn't seem to care about Summer at all (I cannot believe I just forgot Summer's name...)

Jacques... shall we even talk about this guy? Like at one point, I actually appreciated him and loved who he was! I thought that he was funny and even romantic! I really shipped him with Summer rather than Hugh Tyson who I just thought didn't fit what I wanted.

But alas. People aren't always as they seem.

One thing I liked about Jacques was this: he was a real-life representation of what boys are like nowadays. They flirt with everyone and lead a girl on, only to drop them and move on to another girl. Not that that was what necessarily happened, but Jacques and Summer weren't meant to be.

Hugh Tyson was kind of a strange character. He seemed to be just there and he was almost stand-offish. However, as the story progressed, he definitely grew on me until I shipped it.

The whole plot twist thing, which I will NOT talk about in this review, was a little strange but almost predictable.

Eloise and her mother seemed so opposite from each other but I knew that there would have to be some reason that Eloise acted the way she did because nobody hates a person at first sight. I don't think.

I love the use of French in this book (since I'm taking French) and the opportunity to test out my translation.

I would recommend this book to people who are looking for a lighter read.

Main Character: Summer
Sidekick(s): Ruby, Jacques, Hugh, etc
Villain(s): Misunderstanding, lying, etc
Fiction Elements: All of this was fictional.