The Sinclairs are a perfectly WASPy family, which of course is never perfect behind closed doors. All of the blonde haired, blue eyed clan spends the summer on their private island, Beechwood, where each of the patriarch’s three daughters have their own home with their families. The eldest children from each of these families have formed a tightly knit group, one that holds a painful secret.
As Summer Seventeen begins, narrator Cadence explains that she has suffered some sort of accident that has left her with debilitating migraines and memory loss. When she returns to the island, she tries to piece everything together when it is clear everyone is holding back.
It is a bit confusing at first. We only have the same bits of information Cadence has, and they are offered in the same jerky manner as her brain seems to now operate post-accident. However, that seems to build anticipation. E. Lockhart has managed to combine suspense with coming-of-age for an ending that is tragic yet satisfying.
5 out of 5 Stars.
Peaches to Apples 