Daphne Berg is a young woman trying to make it in NYC. She juggles a nanny gig while building her Instagram name and plus-size community. Snapping glam pics of her fashionable outfits while having real life experiences, Daphne is quickly impressing sponsors while displaying their products. Unexpectedly Daphne’s onetime high school best friend and current nemesis Drue Cavanaugh reappears. It’s been six years since that awful night in a popular Manhattan bar destroyed what was already a decidedly unbalanced relationship. The wealthy, beautiful, perfect Drue is getting married and would like Daphne, her oldest and truest friend, to be a bridesmaid. As unlikely as this all sounds Daphne decides the possibility of rekindling their friendship and meeting a cute guy at the wedding is too good to pass. The extravaganza is to take place on Cape Cod and what is meant to be the wedding of the year becomes the disaster of the century. Always a fan of Jennifer Weiner, her romcoms never fail to entertain. Cute to the point of silly, the amusing characters and mocking of our collective online vanity kept me laughing out loud. Great for the beach this summer, that is of course if they decide to let us in.

I have always been a big fan of Ms. Weiner, and I have read all of her novels. The main person in the story is Daphne, who is an Instagram influencer. The story is very timely, dealing with social media hype, fat shaming, adultery, bullying. And unexpectedly there is a death...a murder? The book’s characters are all so relatable, like old family friends. Recommended.

I wasn't quite sure what I was reading when I picked up Big Summer. I read the beginning and put it down for awhile before picking it up and reading the rest pretty quickly. I imagined it was going to be chick lit-which it was-but I wasn't prepared for the "thriller" part. Sure it was more interesting in the second half, but the reality was extremely far fetched.

It is more of a beach read then one I would ever recommend a student to read.

I was really excited to get to read this book, but it just didn't live up to the hype for me.

The first third of the book was all about Daphne, a plus-size "influencer" who was bullied regularly by her "best friend" Drue in school, culminating in a huge public fight that was posted on the internet for the world to see. Now that best friend is back and wants Daphne to be in her wedding since she has no one else to ask. Finally, something happens, and Drue is found killed the night before her wedding, and the suspects are limitless.

The first part of this book was so over the top with an emphasis on her weight and her obsession with herself via her social media platforms that I just wanted to shake Daphne and roll my eyes at the same time. There has to be more to life than your weight and everyone else's opinion of you. At least she met Nick so there was a bit of romance, but even the big reveal with him later on wasn't all that big and exciting and didn't go far enough.

And after the murder, I thought it was going to finally get good and exciting, but most of it was predictable and the whodunnit kind of came out of nowhere and didn't make a whole lot of sense.

I did like the way Daphne's relationship with her parents was portrayed, which was a plus, especially juxtaposed against Drue's relationship with her parents.

I think this might have been more fun as a light beach read, but the constant focus on Daphne's weight and how much focus she put on her body was a turn off.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for my honest review. It has not influenced my opinion.

I loved this book so much I devoured it in 24 hours. The prologue was a bit confusing and boring. It seemed to have nothing to do with the story as outlined in the synopsis. Of course all is revealed later. I loved the main character and could relate to her body struggles. The author did a good job trying to apply misdirection and make you question every person's motives you met. I found myself constantly asking what is their true agenda. I did not see the twist. A great beach read.

4.5⭐ I love Jennifer Weiner books. Her main characters are so relatable. Like Daphne, I've struggled with weight, body acceptance, and that voice inside your head that tells you you're not enough. I admire Daphne and her strength. When I picked up this book, I had no idea it was a murder mystery! I also had know idea who the murderer was until it was revealed. This was a fun book to review! Thank you to netgalley and Atria Books/Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Now that was fun. I had no idea that I was about to become involved in a frothy, funny, murder mystery investigated by a bunch of very quirky characters. Nasty doings in the first part – “You’re ugly. You’re fat. No one likes you. No one ever will.” Hard words to shake off. Somehow, Daphne, the protagonist accepts and embraces her body and herself and slaps downs her detractors. Well, almost but I was always rooting for her – weren’t you? And that is inspired writing. Murderous doings in the second part and whoever thought murder could be slightly hilarious?!

The big takeaway for me, through Daphne’s musing, is realizing that s easy to be envied when you have love all around you, a job you like, a loyal dog, a true friend and enough confidence to accept all of it – as I said inspired writing.

Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for a copy.

Rating: 4/5⭐️⁣⁣⁣
Rationale: This book had a little bit of everything—empowerment, romance, and mystery; and was exactly the kind of read that I needed during quarantine.⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐨 𝐈’𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐨: Someone looking to read the equivalent of a daytime soap opera.⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝: This book started out by exploring female relationships and body empowerment, which I loved, and it was so dead-on in talking about posting on Instagram that I found myself screaming. I expected it to stay on that course, but this was true “chick lit” because it took a turn halfway through and threw in steamy romance and mystery too.⁣
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I appreciated the vast cast of characters, because there’s nothing I like less in my mysteries than having only three suspects to choose from. There were also parts that managed to surprise me. ⁣⁣Quarantine is weird and any book that I pick up that isn’t INSTANT ACTION has had trouble keeping my attention. This one had no such issues.⁣
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You know how sometimes you watch a TV show and roll your eyes at the drama and think “well this couldn’t happen in real life”, but you love it anyway? That’s what this book was for me. It was ridiculous, and a bit far-fetched, and took so many turns…but I’ll be damned if that’s not exactly what I need right now.⁣
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𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞: There was a lot packed in here, and it worked for me because of my current headspace; but from a critical lens, it crossed the line into “Lifetime movie” territory. The drama was definitely over-the-top and unbelievable so if that’s something you’re put off by then this won’t be the book for you!⁣

An excellent book about body positivity and the steps taken to get there! Daphne has been big for her whole life, and whether it was kids in school or her own grandmother, she was teased and made to feel bad about herself because of her weight. Now as an adult, she is an influencer on Instagram and has just landed a new job in the fashion world, tasked with taking photos and promoting the clothes. In addition, Drue Cavanaugh, her frenemy from her school days is getting married and asks Daphne to be her maid of honor after a less than stellar apology for how she treated her back in the day. Will Daphne forgive her and be able to move on?

Ok. We are all in lockdown and this is the first book in 5+ weeks that has actually held my attention and made me enjoy reading again. I loved the narrator and her storyline. She’s smart, pretty, successful and fat. Awesome lady all around. Kudos to Jennifer Weiner for such a fun book. And for sneaking in some good messages too! A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC. My opinions are my own.

3 stars. I am a big fan of Jennifer Weiner...since the first book I read by her called, Good in Bed. She writes real characters who are believable and relatable. I jumped at the chance to download this book. Loved the setting and felt I could connect to the main character, Daphne.

I was all in and did this as a buddy read in the Traveling Sister's Group. We had some mixed opinions but a really good discussion. I ended up not really liking the plot all that much. I enjoyed the first half of the book the most. When it turned into a murder mystery in the middle I grew less satisfied. I became interesting for me at about 60% and I had to push myself to finish it.

Weiner is still a favorite but his book didn't do it for me. I am sure it will be popular though and I can see many reasons why it would be. The social media warnings...are we all being used? I think often about Instagram and it was used in this plot. My Instagram is very private and I only follow friends or groups or people I want to know about it..IE: charities, health. No one follows me unless I know them or have a strong connection to. Insta was a big part of this book. And I am glad for all of the cautions this brings up.

This was an enjoyable and light read. Lying on a beach in the summer, instead of this Rona quarantine..might have had me more entertained. I admit that.

Many thanks to NetGalley for a digital copy to review.

This book started out as a fun fiction read that quickly turned into a murder mystery with a dash of romance thrown in. I loved it! Jennifer Weiner has a way with storytelling that makes her books hard to put down, Big Summer was no exception.

This was a fun read. I loved the emotional side of the story. Beautiful and fun! Well done, Ms. Weiner

This may be my new favorite book. Jennifer Weiner never disappoints! The characters are relatable. I loved see plus-size in the influencer world! Also, CAPE COD! Who can resist Cape Cod. The perfect escape book to imagine you are somewhere else while stuck at home.

4.5 rounded up. I didn't know much about this book going into it and I'm actually pretty glad because there was a twist that I didn't see coming so the book is sort of broken up into two parts for me. I enjoyed both so much. I don't want to give too much away but the beginning focuses a lot on the main character, Daphne, and her struggles with body-shaming/body image and social media. I won't give away what the second part deals with but it really kept my attention.

I really loved the characters, especially the main character, Daphne. I loved the topics the author chose to tackle with this book and it was very timely. The plot was very engaging and held my attention and I really enjoyed the book!

*I received the book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest opinions.

I've really enjoyed the last two Jennifer Weiner books I've read; Mrs. Everything and now this one. It makes me happy because a few others by her have been hit or miss. I will say Big Summer is a slow burn. There's lots of background and character development, but it all pays off in a big way. I hit a certain part of the story and my jaw dropped. I don't think I even took a full breath after that because the hits just kept on coming. This book is bonkers with twists and turns, but the characters are the real gems. Daphne, her parents, Darshi, Nick, and of course Drue, are incredibly real, flawed and three dimensional. I wanted to get to know them all better. I definitely recommend Big Summer to a variety of genre lovers. It truly defies categorization. 4 sparkly stars.

Daphne is a plus-size Instagram influencer just beginning to make a name for herself and to feel comfortable in her own skin. Drue, her wealthy, popular high school best friend who incited the mean viral video incident that gave Daphne her platform, suddenly reappears in her life, asking Daphne to be her maid of honor in her fabulously expensive wedding on Cape Cod.

BIG SUMMER was originally intended to be published later this summer, and thank goodness Atria moved up the pub day. I was completely swept up in this story - it's a finding yourself story wrapped in a romance novel wrapped in a mystery. It's about loving difficult women and seeing the good and the bad in everyone, realizing that no one has it all and everyone has something that pains them.

I appreciated that a key aspect of the story was that Daphne was still fighting the ideas about fat women that she received as a child. Those words stick with you and resurface in your mind all the time, no matter how much work you've put in to love yourself. I also loved all the details about how she managed her Instagram account - I think lots of us bookstagrammers will find that it rings true.

I hesitate to discuss too much of the plot beyond the initial setup. This book takes a MAJOR turn halfway through! Go in blind, I promise it's worth the day you'll lose wrapped up in this sweet, painful, funny story. Then come back and talk to me about it!

Big Summer was a surprising delight. I expected an easy, fluffy beach read. While this is definitely a great book to read this summer, it has much more depth. Themes of friendship, mystery, and love will keep you turning pages far later than you plan to. I will definitely recommend this book to friends!

Thank you to Jennifer Weiner, Atria Books, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I devoured this one in 24 hours. Don’t let the title deceive you. This is not just a fun summer romp, it’s so much more than that.

This book covers so many topics… Fat shaming, Instagram perfection versus reality, friendship, coming-of-age drama, relationships, and family. There’s some smart commentary happening here and I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Atria Books for an advance copy of this novel. All opinions are my own.

This book did not disappoint! Jennifer Wiener writes and delivers in such a way that keeps you turning the pages from beginning to end. I really enjoyed this novel and multi-layer of the story. Definitely a book I'll recommend and want a physical copy of.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.