That Summer Feeling

March 13, 2023
Uplifting moments of friendship, family, and self-discovery provide charming texture to this breezily straightforward queer romance from Morrissey (A Thousand Miles). A year after Garland Moore’s husband gave her divorce papers for Valentine’s Day, she accepts an invitation to an adults’ week at a summer camp in Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. There, she encounters a man she never thought she’d see again: the handsome stranger she literally ran into in the airport on the way to her honeymoon, their encounter sparking a cozy vision of an alternate future for herself. Could this be her chance to make that vision a reality? Maybe, but her best camp experiences keep happening with his sister, Stevie, instead, forcing Garland to reevaluate things she thought she knew about herself. Though Garland and Stevie face bumps in the road, the obstacles are easily overcome, and the lack of drama is refreshing despite its occasional improbability: both women’s exes make plays to get them back but are utterly reasonable in the face of newfound rejection. The mild implausibility is more than made up for by the story’s pleasantness; everyday suffering (particularly that faced by the LGBTQ community) exists only as a haze in the background. The result is an ideal vacation read. Agent: Taylor Haggerty, Root Literary.

April 1, 2023

Garland Moore is running late for her honeymoon when she meets a man named Mason at the airport and has a vision of them together in the future. Cut to a few years (and an unexpected divorce) later, when she runs into Mason again at a summer camp for adults that she's attending with her sister. Then she also runs into Mason's sister Stevie--literally. Garland is left trying to figure out what the signs all mean, and if she cares what the universe is trying to tell her anymore. While she attempts to navigate her love life, Garland also takes part in a number of traditional summer-camp activities and builds friendships with a strong cast of supporting characters. VERDICT If readers don't mind the instalove timeframe or singular first-person narrative, they'll find a lot to like in the latest from Morrissey (A Thousand Miles). It tells a story of emotional healing and an adult's discovery of her bisexuality; there are also strong sibling connections and a fun camp setting.--Sydney Ashby

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2023
After her husband gives her divorce papers on Valentine's Day, Garland decides to go to an adult summer camp in the Blue Ridge Mountains with her sister to recover and think about her future. The camp hosts put Garland in a cabin with Stevie, formerly a park ranger, who is there with her three brothers. When she meets Stevie's brother Mason, Garland remembers she ran into him once and had a vision of spending time with him at camp. So naturally she thinks, at first, that she is supposed to be with Mason, but then realizes that she is actually in love with Stevie. While surprised at this discovery about her sexuality, Garland embraces her attraction to Stevie as they team up in competitions and get to know each other. Both women have to put their past behind them and think about the possibility of a future together. Morrissey's use of a summer camp for adults as a setting is unique and makes for a powerful romance.

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