Book Review: "The Summer of Songbirds" by Kristy Woodson Harvey

I'm not emotional, you are. (Well, maybe it's me.)

As some of you may know, I spent 10 summers at a sleepaway camp in New York's Catskills Mountains. It was such an incredible experience, being a camper and eventually a counselor, and some of the friendships I made all those years ago still remain. That's one of the reasons that I couldn't wait to read Kristy Woodson Harvey's newest novel, The Summer of Songbirds.

When she was six years old, Daphne met her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart, at Camp Holly Springs, following in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother. The camp is owned by Daphne's aunt June, who is excited that her niece will get to experience the joys of a summer getaway given the difficulties she has faced in her childhood.

The three women remain the best of friends even in their 30s, and have helped each other through some challenging times. But Daphne faces two difficult dilemmas—one personal and one professional. Both require her to keep secrets from one of her best friends, and have the potential to ruin her future. Does she choose happiness or friendship?

As plans for Lanier's wedding progress, she starts having suspicions about her fiancé, which dampens some of her happiness, and makes her nostalgic for her first love. And when she discovers two things being kept from her, she doesn't know where to turn, and wonders if she should end a friendship that has lasted most of her life.

Meanwhile, June has a secret of her own: this very well may be the last summer of Camp Holly Springs, because she can no longer keep the camp afloat financially. She's owned the camp for 30 years, and it's really been the only thing in her life, as she's sacrificed nearly everything else. But when Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart find out that the camp might close, the three women spring into action to do all they can to save this place that means so much to them.

What I love so much about Kristy Woodson Harvey's books is that she creates likable yet flawed characters that you truly care about. Like many books, there aren't a lot of surprises, but I found myself hooked on this story. I thought about how I'd react if the camp I spent so much of childhood at faced closure (I doubt that's possible because the camp owner now owns 4 or 5 camps, but still). Harvey is a definite auto-buy author for me, and I will eagerly await her next book! (Many thanks to my friend Heather for hosting a giveaway with Gallery Books that I was lucky to win!