The Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable

The Summer I Met JackThe Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to tell you that I don't often voluntarily pick up historical fiction novels that aren't book club reads. It's just not a genre that I am often drawn to. I had the opportunity to meet this author at an event where she spoke about this book and the premise just drew me in.

I haven't read much about the Kennedy's generally. The closest thing I can think of is 11.22.63 by Stephen King (which was SO good). But I do enjoy Hollywood themed books where you get a glimpse into the life of the wealthy and famous so I guess that is what caught my attention.

At a little over 500 pages, I really expected to be reading this over the course of a week. Instead, I found myself flying through the story and almost reading the entire thing in one day! It was very well written and well-paced.

The main character Alicia is likeable. She is a modern girl in a not-so-modern time. You get introduced to all the Kennedy's (there are SO many of them!) and you get a glimpse into some of their lifestyle. There was definitely some tongue-in-cheek references throughout that I won't spoil for you, but I promise you will get a few chuckles out of this one throughout.

The entire books spans about 15 years from 1950 - 1965 or so, but alongside that you are jumping forward to 2015 where there is another storyline. The big twist wasn't so surprising, I had it figured out early, but that did nothing to minimize the story.

It was my first book by this author, but I will definitely read more because I thought she wrote this so well. I have another of hers on my shelf right now so I will be picking that up soon!

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