Every summer two sisters who had married two brothers take
their six children to the lake house. Both sisters have
three daughters, who when growing up acted more like sisters
than cousins. Until the summer one of the younger girls
drowns in the lake. After that nothing was the same.
Now a lot of years later, the girls are all grown up. The
two sisters don't speak with each other anymore; no one
really knows the whole story. Charlene, one of the older
cousin's life is falling apart. Her dream job has come to
an end. Her sister Megan is dying of cancer. Megan decides
that the girls should all get together at the beach one more
time. Charlene is all for this; she does need to get away.
Her boyfriend Michael wants them to get married, after all
these years, but Charlene just doesn't know if this is what
she wants.
So the summer at the lake becomes a reality. While Charlene
is there making sure that everything is ready, out in front
of the house is her cousin Krista who has been in jail for
the last twenty years for the murder of her boyfriend.
Krista always claims that she didn't do it, and finally the
courts believe her. Krista knows that she must get a job and
ends up getting one at the hotel on the beach where she
meets Jake.
One of the other cousins Hope always dreamed of nothing but
being rich. Hope thinks that she had it all until her
husband Franklin divorces her and married someone else. Hope
never accepted this and still believes that they are
married. Maybe going to the lake will be the best thing for
her. Except, her life all comes crashing down on her.
Through all of this drama, Charlene is still dealing with
whether she wants to marry Michael. Things really take a
turn when Charlene is introduced to Jake. However she
remembers him a little different, as in back in the day, his
name was Mack, and he and Charlene had a summer affair that
left her pregnant. Mack disappears, and Charlene gives the
baby up for adoption. Will all of them learn to forgive and
forget all that they have gone through?
Once again Robyn Carr writes a great book about growing up.
Anyone who has grown up with cousins knows what it likes. I
grew up very close to my cousins. Now as we are older,
everyone has moved, and we don't really stay in touch,
except for weddings, funerals and sometimes holidays.
Carr writes such a story line that I felt like I was at the
beach with all of them. It certainly is strange how things
turn out. As much as you don't want to grow up, you do and
sometimes things you do as a teenager come back to haunt you.
Buy THE SUMMER THAT MADE US, a Robin Carr book never lets
you down.
Mothers and daughters, sisters and cousins, they lived
for summers at the lake house until a tragic accident
changed everything. The Summer That Made Us
is an unforgettable story about a family
learning to accept the past, to forgive and to love each
other again.That was then…
For the Hempsteads, two sisters who married two brothers and
had three daughters each, summers were idyllic. The women
would escape the city the moment school was out to gather at
the family house on Lake Waseka. The lake was a magical
place, a haven where they were happy and carefree. All of
their problems drifted away as the days passed in
sun-dappled contentment. Until the summer that changed
everything.
This is now…
After an accidental drowning turned the lake house into a
site of tragedy and grief, it was closed up. For good. Torn
apart, none of the Hempstead women speak of what happened
that summer, and relationships between them are uneasy at
best to hurtful at worst. But in the face of new challenges,
one woman is determined to draw her family together again,
and the only way that can happen is to return to the lake
and face the truth.
Robyn Carr has crafted a beautifully woven story about
the complexities of family dynamics and the value of strong
female relationships.