Three Summers

Gr 8 Up—Australian teen Ruth Gower makes life-changing decisions about friendship, love, family, and life in this quiet YA novel. Three Summers gives readers a window into Ruth's life in three periods: as she finishes up high school in her rural town, in her 30s at graduate school in London, and finally, in Sydney in her 50s. With an almost aerial view of the protagonist's life, the loose stories and characters that fill up the novel come together and demonstrate the ties that bind through friendship, family, or simply location. Clarke offers teens a light and slow-paced read, exploring whether someone's past can hold on long enough to shape the future. Because the narrative skips time lines frequently, it is more difficult to follow than the typical YA romance. A novel that could easily be recommended to adult readers, Three Summers will be most enjoyed by romantics and old souls who don't mind a book that kicks off with a languid pace.—Emily Moore, Camden County Library System, NJ