The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall

I think everyone must have memories of that one perfect summer. The one where you look back and the sun was always shining, the sky always blue and everything was just perfect. Beth had seven perfect summers spent in Hungary and then, she chose to forget them. That is until her father brings her a package, sent from Hungary. The package contains a book entitled “The book of summers” and contains photos and memories from her 7 childhood summers, from the age of 9 to 16. After years of forgetting and pushing back the memories, Beth needs to go through the book to confront her past.
The highest praise I can give is that this book is a pure delight to read from beginning to end. The story moves along at a steady pace, encouraging the reader and drawing you in further and further with each summer that is remembered. From the very start you know that it is building up to something and the author keeps the tension just right, with just a few hints of foreboding, so that when the conclusion comes, along with the shock, is the relief of the knowing. Rather like a summer thunderstorm.
One of the things I enjoyed the most about the book was the author’s colourful descriptions of summers spent in Hungary versus the grey and bland life in Devon. This not only vividly brings Beth’s memories to life but allows the reader to feel and see what Beth experienced and helps to understand the division between her “Hungarian Summers” and the rest of her life in between. All the characters are described beautifully and come to life within the pages of the book. The author doesn’t drag out the memories or the act of remembering them. Instead it’s a quick breather between each summer and then the next, which means the story keeps its flow. This was another page turner for me, and the only consolation my family has is that now I’ve stopped reading and raving about it, they get to read it to see what all the fuss is all about.