*Review* : Invincible Summer - Hannah Moskowitz

Book Review of Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

Released : 19th April 2011

Finished : 9th April 2011

Source :  S&S Galley Grab
Plot : 4/5
Cover : 4/5
Page Turner : 4/5

Characters : 4/5
Ending : 4.5/5

Overall Rating :

.

Noah’s happier than I’ve seen him in months. So I’d be an awful brother to get in the way of that. It’s not like I have some relationship with Melinda. It was just a kiss. Am I going to ruin Noah’s happiness because of a kiss?
Across four sun-kissed, drama-drenched summers at his family’s beach house, Chase is falling in love, falling in lust, and trying to keep his life from falling apart. But some girls are addictive....
Not your typical beach read.

This review is so hard to write BUT no matter what, l will say this – 

Invincible Summer is a roller-coaster of a read with strong emotions that makes you see the world from another person's eyes.

Yay! A book written from the male POV, although it took me a few pages to know for sure he was a male, l was very glad when l realised. These sorts of books are so rare and l’m not just talking about the male POV but the emotion and difficulties within this book.

At some points l just couldn’t get on with this book and l felt the writing didn’t make the characters feel very real but l then came to realise that this is how author wants the characters/family to come across. For example, l liked the characters as they were all very different but somehow still fitted together as a family in a strange way. The family dynamics in this book is something which very much interested me and are so different from anything l know, it was both hard and interesting to read this. I think this took me sometime to grasp that Hannah wanted the family to be like this and she wasn't just making the characters do random actions or say random things, everything mean't something. 

I think if l was to pinpoint something which made it hard to connect with this book it would be the ages of the characters. If l wasn’t told the ages of these characters l would find it so hard to tell, for so many reasons. Noah’s actions constantly change his age from sounding like he is 13 to then 18 and the same with the family members around Noah, especially his sister. 

Another reason for giving it a 4/5 and not 4.5/5 is because of family actions towards each other. Like l just said, the family dynamics were great to read about but was both a positive and a negative thing, even if none of them were random. For me, l am lucky to have a stable family who cares and loves me and in this book, at times, the family were so strange with not watching their children, not seeming to care about them and then completely changing in another page of the book. There is particularly one point in this book which lead me to struggle to keep an understanding – Explained below, spoiler.

The family seemed at least kind of normal until this time. I also found Noah very clingy and needy which l could understand with parents like his but it also felt a bit repetitive at some points. 

Anyway away from the characters and the family difficulties the story line is very intense, when a book is written from someone’s POV then l always feel the emotions are so much stronger and the characters don’t necessarily need to be talking about their feelings to the reader, it can be things they think or do which also shows their emotions strongly. Things are always happening in this book and you never seem to really have a moments rest because more and more things are thrown at you which you have to deal with quickly. I certainly felt very sorry for the family.

I love how this book involved more than just one summer as it meant it was spaced out over time which made the book to be very fast paced and is something which l really enjoyed.

Overall this is a great read, very unique and stands out from any other book which l have read. One minute you will be smiling and the next have a tear in your eye! 

**Spoiler**

When the family broke up l didn’t understand how the parents came to an understanding to split them up just like that. How selfish? I know it happens in the real world but l just found it hard to grasp. Maybe a positive part of the book as it made me think and realise things.