One Golden Summer

Reading One Golden Summer felt like spending time in a particular mood than it was like following a plot, and there were several moods as I waded through the book. I got into it pretty easily in the beginning. The beginning, where Alice turns to the picture she took at the age of seventeen, was immediately captivating to me, and the description of the lake and the cottage and her memories was soothing and nostalgic. I liked the idea that she returned to Barry's Bay with her grandmother (Nan) after the hospital scenes, as it seemed like the book was laying the groundwork for something warm and healing, not dramatic. The first few chapters were my favourite to read, since everything was fresh and there was such potential, like the beginning of summer when anything could happen.

The reading experience changed a bit for me once Alice gets to the lake and Charlie enters the story. This part was fun, but more about the characters than the setting and my interest started to dip in and out based on what was going on between the characters. I enjoyed Alice's personality and the realisation that she has been living her life for others and I really liked her relationship with Nan, which was natural and warm when they were on the page together. Charlie was interesting too, but for a while there, I felt like the book was just going round and round the same feelings without moving forward, as it took a long time to understand what was happening with Charlie. The flirting, and teasing were entertaining in the beginning, but after a time they began to feel a bit redundant.

In the middle of the book, my interest slowed down the most. There was nothing wrong with it per se, but for a long time the story remained in the same emotional zone, and I was waiting for something more to happen. I liked the summer bucket list idea and the scenes around the lake, but there was a need for more tension in the writing, and I wanted the setting to be more real. I liked that Charlie's past was brought up later and why he does what he does. That added a bit more depth to the romance, but it was a bit too late and the middle was a little lengthy.

I was again drawn into the latter portion of the book. After Charlie's motivations begin to be revealed, the narrative begins to gain momentum, and the emotions are more authentic. I loved the emphasis in the end on growth rather than just the romance, particularly for Alice, because I feel like that book was more about her finding herself again than it was about her falling in love. I didn't find it shocking or surprising, but it was satisfying in a quiet way, which is what the book was from the beginning.

The book overall was a little bit of a disjointed experience, but still fun to read. I enjoyed the beginning for its atmosphere, I wanted more action in the middle, and I enjoyed the ending of the story once it finally revealed itself. It was like a book that was more about the feel of a summer than about the events of one, which was fine for me most of the time, although I would have liked more action at times. I would give it 3 out of 5 stars, because I liked the setting, characters, mood but it didn't maintain the same level of interest throughout.