The Myth of Perpetual Summer is set in 1960s Mississippi. A tale of family dysfunction, tragedy, and escape in the South. A truly captivating read that I have added to my must read authors list!

Another great work of historical fiction by Susan Crandall that takes place in the 1960s in Mississippi. I absolutely love Crandall’s writing style that makes you feel like you are there while everything unfolds.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Myth of Perpetual Summer.

Tallulah is returning home after being away for so long. Her long lost younger brother is being accused of a crime, and she needs to return to see how she can help, and discover the truth. In this visit she is forced to face so many people, and hard truths from her past.

Aaaargh, I have guilt, because I really wanted to dive into this and get completely woven into this muggy southern tale. I just couldn't do it. I don't know why it didn't land, maybe too much jumping back and forth? Inconsistent story telling? I don't even feel that it's fair to blame the story, all I know is that I fought tooth and nail to sink into this story, and I was never quite able to get there.

The Myth of Perpetual Summer was a melancholy drama of a dysfunctional family, mixed with mystery and southern charm. Was a great story, built up with excellent characters, depicting heartbreak and strength. Thank you NetGalley, Publisher and the author Susan Crandall for the review copy. All opinions are my own.

A southern coming of age story that takes place in the 1960s, when Tallulah decides to leave Mississippi and head to Southern California. She learns quickly that California isn't going to erase her past and she has to return home to face the realities of her childhood and life. This was an enjoyable book that really drew me in.

Full of tragedy and family conflict, this is overall, not a feel-good tale. It is, however, one that draws you in and keeps you rooting for the main characters. While the last quarter of the book felt rushed, this was a compelling read.

Good story, but it felt a bit disconnected at times. Overall, I enjoyed reading it. Tallulah was a good main character; I found myself rooting for her.

Loved it! Dysfunctional Southern family where the mom and dad are totally messed up and the kids are just struggling to survive. Talluleh James is drawn back to her home town after seeing on TV that her younger brother has been charged with murder. Lots of flashbacks of Talluleh's life gives meaning to the reasos why she and her brothers and sister are the way they are. Reminiscent of Ordinary Grace which is one of my all time favs.

The Myth of Perpetual Summer
by Susan Crandall

I chose this book from NetGalley because I love Crandall’s writing. While this book covers some similar territory as Whistling Past the Graveyard, I love to read a good southern saga, and I appreciate Crandall’s tendency to place her young female protagonists in charge of their family’s destiny. Tallulah James is just one of many memorable characters; Crandall suffuses them with a natural warmth and kindness despite the tumultuous times and their unpredictable, often destructive, family. Set in an era revered for its righteous outrage —civil rights marches, Vietnam war protests — Tallulah discovers that not everyone’s motives are pure, and that often, they come at a grave cost. This is a perfect coming of age story, with courage in the face of hardship and uncertainty, and friendships that survive over time and tragic loss.



For Goodreads:

Why I picked it — Because I enjoyed Crandall’s other books, Whistling Past the Graveyard, and The Flying Circus.
Reminded me of… Crandall’s other books, and also, for its southern theme and complicated family, Karen White’s, The Sound of Glass
For my full review — click here

I really enjoyed this. And I love the author’s writing. She is a great storyteller!

To quote another reader who said it perfectly:

This book contains everything you would expect about the south. Racial tension, southern charm, sit ins and protests.
But this story also contains the impact of mental illness, the destruction a parent, who never should have had children, can sow, and the roots of family and friendships.

The tale of the difficulties a girl faces growing up in a small Southern town where everyone knows (and gossips about) your family's troubles. Tallulah does her best to keep up appearances, but finally heads to California to escape all the dysfunction. As an adult, however, she has to go back to deal with a new issue: her sweet younger brother is accused of murder. The author did a great job bringing the setting to life and showing how parental dysfunction affects children, even years later. I also liked how secrets finally bubble up and are exposed!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for a free e-ARC of this book.

From Mississippi to Southern California, The Myth of Perpetual Summer is a captivating coming of age story!

Note: I received this book from the author/publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a solidly good read, especially for anyone looking for a book that's not completely fluffy good times but also not overly depressing. I think Crandall did a good job balancing the happy moments with the more stressful/tumultuous moments in the book so the general feeling was always hopeful. The plot itself is interesting and included a dual timeline narrative that was handled very well. I liked the characters and the setting was very atmospheric. However, I didn't love how many story lines this book had. It seemed like there was so much going on that I couldn't care as deeply about certain characters/situations because I had already been invested in the previous situations. Like, this book has a lot going on and it can be a little overwhelming to have to keep track of all of the loose threads. I enjoyed the overall story and thought it was well written but I wish some parts had been excluded so we could focus on some of the topics a little more.

I really enjoyed this book. Thanks to Netgalley, for this free copy. My opinion was my own. I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to have a free, digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I would compare this book to To Kill a Mockingbird. This has got to be the best fictional book I have read in a long time. Tallulah James ran away from her southern home to escape a dysfunctional family. She ends up in San Fransisco. She has not intentions of returning until she sees on the news that her baby brother has been arrested for murder. Intent on trying to save him, she goes back home and relives her past along the way. Her past is filled with a father with undiagnosed manic depression, a mother who would rather save Africa than be a mother, and many past family secrets. The book goes back and forth between what Tallulah is discovering on her journey back home and her encounters when she ran away from home. At the end, Tallulah discovers that the myth of perpetual summer (in the south and in California) is truly a myth.

The Myth of Perpetual Summer was somewhat of a departure from Susan Crandall's Whistling Past the Graveyard, in that her protagonist is not a feisty young southern belle, but rather a decidedly defenseless young girl, trying to find her way in the midst of a dysfunctional family, in a chaotic small town. Both novels, however, are engrossing coming of age stories. Crandall has a way of engulfing the reader in the despair and reality of the situations her characters are thrown into, while adding points of light throughout.

This novel will surely strike a chord in the hearts of many whose lives are affected by mental illness, and also brings awareness to those of us who are more naive with regard to the reality and repercussions of these diseases. With more and more stories coming to light of mental illness going untreated, this story is as timely as ever.

Tallulah is a beautiful soul, with a huge heart, and a fragile identity. She's the type of character the reader roots for from the beginning, and my heart broke right along with hers through her trials and tribulations. Along the way, relationships forge with endearing secondary characters, creating a very moving and rather complex narrative that speaks to the heart.

Not only does the author tackle mental illness, but also addresses racial discrimination, and southern propriety within the context of the human psyche. One would assume that this melange of topics would be too much for one novel to delve into, but somehow Crandall creates a lovely patchwork in her attempt to bring awareness to these important themes.

Many thanks to Net Galley and Gallery Books for gifting me with this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The first half was slow, and the second half makes up for it. This novel is a slow burn with alternating time lines, making the reader wait and wait for the details she's dying to know!

Crandall's writing is vivid and almost magical. She captures the feelings of southern summers perfectly, along with the rigid constraints of southern culture. Tallulah tries to escape her life as a teen, hitchhiking to California in the 1960's for a new life. And while she manages to stay away for 9 years, she realizes she can't ever truly escape, and perhaps she didn't want to.

This is an compelling, emotional story about one woman's coming of age within a dysfunctional family. At the core is an old question about fate versus personal choice, and how our genetics pre-determine our paths at times. It's also an interesting look at how mental health was viewed in the 1960's and '70's, and how little was understood. It's also a novel about recognizing how important we are to the people who love us, even when we view ourselves as a screwup.

This was a wonderful story of the coming of age, family secrets, trauma, relationships, racial prejudices, and corruption. While lots of heavy topics are covered, you are drawn into Tallulah James's life. She is surrounded by a very dysfunctional family but between her brother, Griff, and her grandmother she finds the emotional support she needs. At least until these fall away. (But you have to read the book in order to learn how this happens!)

Set in a time of unrest...Vietnam War with its protest demonstrations and racial discrimination...life is unsettled. Then you realize how the bullying, ostracism, and child neglect affect Tallulah and her family. It is amazing how she has managed to become a functioning adult.

The author does a great job of going back and forth from Tallulah's childhood and adulthood...especially since the book is written from her viewpoint. It is well written with the voice of Tallulah as a 10-year-old and that of her as a young adult. This young lady's life will haunt you even after you've finished the last page of this amazing story.

I have read quite a few of Susan Crandall's books in the past (you absolutely MUST read Whistling Past the Graveyard) and this one did not disappoint. I love her style of writing and how she makes the characters like real people who are actually living the story she is telling. You care about them and ache for the unfairness of how life has treated them.

I received a free copy of this book from Gallery Books and NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion. This is definitely one for you put on your to-be-read list!

I can't say enough good things about Susan Crandall, her storytelling skills or her latest work, "The Myth of Perpetual Summer." This novel captures the essence of life in the South during a certain historic time surrounding the Vietnam Ware and how the past and present shape the future.

Tallulah hasn't seen her family in decades. When she's called home to a small Mississipi town, she doesn't know that she'll be leaving her life in California and stepping back into a time she'd much prefer to forget. Circumstances, however, force her to embrace the death of her father, the abandonment of her mom, and the feelings for her older brother, younger twin siblings and the love of her life.

Crandall has captured the essence of the rural South, a place steeped in tradition, social standing and independence. As is often true in reality, he appearance of normalcy is all important, especially as the world keeps changing for the fictional setting stuck in time.

Tallulah James and her dysfunctional family captured my heart. She survived...and then became successful in her career in spite of her unbelievably unfortunate childhood. The depiction of her parents tortured relationship is all too common unfortunately, and can have devastating implications for their children. I admired her gran for doing what she thought was best to help her grandchildren. Absolutely loved the detailed description of her nightmare experience deciding to go pick the fruit and make the jam to convince Margo to stay home. She and Ross met their destiny that scary day. Loved the way Susan Crandall told the story, revealing more and more about the characters, ultimately explaining their past and future behaviors. Loved the way that the family orchard came full circle at the end. Many many thanks to Susan Crandall, Gallery Books, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an ARC of this touching book.