As October creeps by, summer seems to be getting farther and farther away. However, we firmly believe in a girl’s right to enjoy good summer reads any time of the year, and Hannah Moskowitz’s tantalizing Invincible Summer is a delicious, sun-soaked read. Moskowitz’s book has all the charm of summer—romance, family, old friends—but is much more complex and emotional than your average beach read. It follows 15-year-old Chase McGill and his charming yet deeply dysfunctional family through four drama-filled, emotional summers. Readers get a deep insight into Chase’s mind as he grows up, all while watching him struggle to keep his family from falling apart.
To be honest, we hesitate to read Young Adult books from a male perspective- popularly known as “Bro YA.” However, Moskowitz’s Chase is so emotionally perceptive and real that we couldn’t help but root for him. In fact, the entire McGill family captures our heart—Chase’s harried yet loveable parents, brooding and sensitive older brother Noah, rebellious little sister Claudia, and (best of all) quirky five-year-old Gideon, who was born deaf. Moskowitz develops all of these characters vividly, making their emotional struggles heartbreaking and raw.
Moskowitz’s novel covers a wide array of topics as Chase grows up. The McGill’s neighbors, the Hathaways, add an interesting set of characters to the mix, including Melinda, the object of Chase’s lust, who just happens to be sleeping with his older brother. This love triangle leads to delicious drama of soap-opera proportions. Aside from falling in and out of hormonal lust, Chase struggles to maintain a fraying friendship with Shannon, Melinda’s brother. With all of these different themes, it would be easy for Invincible Summer to become too heavy and convoluted, yet Moskowitz’s simple and frank writing reads as breezily as a day at the beach.
For all of its beauty, Moskowitz’s book can be a tad bit unrealistic if you think too literally about it. For example, Chase’s deep understanding and perception of his feelings is pretty unrealistic for a young teenage boy. However, his sensitivity is what makes his character so endearing and relatable, as well as interesting. Chase also tends to quote Albert Camus incessantly, which got to be a little preachy (we get it, Chase. You’re well on your way to becoming a Philosophy major) Also, what fifteen-year-old has paragraph long Camus quotes ready to recite at the dinner table? Despite small annoyances, the book’s philosophical undercurrents did add more depth to an already reflective read.
If you’re a self-professed sap, don’t be surprised to sob at the end of the book (no spoilers here—you will have to read the book to see what the real tearjerker is). The trials and tribulations of Chase and the McGill family leave the reader heavy with a bittersweet sentimentality. Whatever the season, Invincible Summer hits all the right heartstrings.