I so desperately wish that I had been a summer camp kid. Books like this that are full of nostalgia only make it worse!! Anyone want to find an adult summer camp and just run away every summer?

I really enjoyed this book - it did take me a minute to keep the different women and how they related to each other straight. Even though the book is split in three ways, I felt like Daphne was solidly our main character. I was glad that instead of Mary Stuart’s POV (sorry girl) we got to hear from June. She brought a different perspective to the situation.

A solid summery read, I wish I had picked this up earlier in the year. It was comforting and wrapped up with a solid, satisfying ending that I definitely predicted but was still glad to see anyway.

Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart have been best friends since they met at camp at the age of six, and Daphne’s aunt June has run the camp for decades. But the camp is in trouble, and the thought of losing the place that brought them together–the place that saved them–is unbearable. As they fight to keep it, they also have to face their pasts and determine how their sun-soaked summer memories fit into their present lives.

This is the PERFECT choice if you’re looking for a nostalgic summer read. As someone who met my own best friend decades ago at summer camp, I was all in on the camp nostalgia, lifelong friendships, and summer memories. My camps were quite different from this one, but this still transported me back to those unforgettable summers. I’m honestly not sure if this will resonate with readers who didn’t go to camp, but I highly recommend it for anyone who did, or who has a place with special summer memories.

It wasn't just a season; it was a feeling. Maybe when you finally find where you're meant to be, summer never ends.

Summer camp can bring many different emotions if you have ever experienced summer camp. Being independent, making friends, memories and maybe that crush. Daphne, met her two best friends, Lanier and Mary Stuart at the Holly Springs Camp that is currently run by her aunt June. Thirty years is a long time but the friendship that they have built is around their motto doing hard things together. Another words, one person's hard thing might be easier done by another. Mostly centered around Daphne and Lanier because their friendship became a little more intense with Daphne being pretty much adopted by Lanier's family. They are tight. Daphne was saved for better things. Things that her aunt could not save her from. Daphne now is a successful lawyer with a son and Lanier is engaged to one of Daphne's questionable clients. With all this going on, June after 30 years may lose the camp that brought the girls together.

With the purpose to save the camp, the girls again are faced with their past. Daphne with the love of her life (Lanier's brother) and Lanier with a love her own that she sacrificed for pride. June is also faced with the past of her dysfunctional past that includes her sister. The story is about redemption of family, friendship and love. It all comes thru when the reality of the many lives saved because of camp. How camp can be a refuge for young girls that are struggling. Disclaimer: Camps can also be something that is totally opposite so use at your own discretion. However, it is a feel good story about the long lasting friendship of these women. How at times they had to overcome their own pride for the greater YES.

A special thank you to Gallery Books and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

This was an easy summer read. There wasn’t a lot of depth to the storyline, but the lasting friendship of three adult women who met at summer camp as young girls was endearing. I did feel that a lot of things were tied up with a nice bow, but I guess it is to be expected with a light-hearted read.

This is a quintessential friend-based summer story, the story of three friends who met at summer camp when they were six years old and have maintained a friendship and support network into their adult years. When Camp Holly Springs is in financial trouble, the three women do everything they can to help June, the camp manager and aunt of one of the women, save the camp for June, and future campers. And, it turns out, for themselves.

These women are doing their best to persevere, overcome, and move forward with their friendship as the foundation, despite many misfortunes and struggles over the past 17 years, They all have their share of faults and fears. But their friendship is key. It's fascinating to watch their lives and firendship respond to whatever life throws at them. The conclusion will leave you smiling -- it's that good.

I just reviewed The Summer of Songbirds by Kristy Woodson Harvey. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

Camp Holly Springs brought Daphne, Lanier and Mary Stuart together over thirty years ago and they have been inseparable ever since. They have been with each other through love, divorce, family struggles and lots of “hard things.” When they learn that the camp is in danger of closing, they know they must act fast to try and save Holly Springs while dealing with each of their own struggles at the same time.

Kristy Woodson Harvey delivered a fantastic novel once again! This set of characters (and secondary characters) are so well-developed and thought out. I found their friendship to be so relatable - we all go through seasons of hard and having good friends who are there to support you is so important. Harvey’s writing is always so descriptive and really sets the scene for the books she writes and lends to a beautifully told story. I really enjoyed the alternating perspectives sprinkled with flashbacks to their younger days at camp - it was so easy to get swept up in the story and the nostalgia of summer camp and friendships. One of my favorite parts of the book were the “hard things” emails - that was truly such a fun element and something I want to implement with my friend group! This book was a beautiful testament to life, female friendship, and how we all can persevere through hard things. Absolutely loved and have recommended it often since finishing!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Galley books for my gifted copy.

I loved this one! I have a group of 3 other girls and we have been best friends since grade school, so while reading I kept picturing us in the story. This book is about 3 lifelong best friends that met at summer camp. They come together to help June, the owner, save the camp she has spent so much time on. This is about friendship and much more. We get a peek at each of their lives and everything they are going through. I highly recommend this book!

All the Stars in the world can go to this one.
I am a huge Fan of Kristy and they way she writes brings you to the place the story is taking place.
She is descriptive and you can just feel the love in her writing.
I loved the story of Camp and friendships and how important people are in your life.
I love the story of overcoming demons and proving to be the best you.
This all around was just beautiful and fun.

This was absolutely one of my favorite books of the summer. KWH writes friends and family so well, and I swear she just keeps getting better. There's nothing quite like a childhood friendship and The Summer of Songbirds will strike up some memories in anyone who reads it.

It's just the best when a book makes you think about those friends that have become like family. I sometimes take those easy relationships for granted and the reminder is welcoming and comforting.
This book showcases female relationships and friendships in a real and beautiful way. Their mutual connection and love for the summer camp that brought them together forges a mission to save it from dissolving.
I think Kristy's books are so easy to devour. The hope and relatability make her an author to pick up time and again.
Thank you to @uplitreads, @gallerybooks, and @kristywharvey for the #gifted copy. All thoughts are my own.

Beautiful story of 3 friends. I really enjoyed it. I felt some characters for more time/development but overall a great read.

If you're looking for the ultimate summer read, I highly recommend adding The Summer of Songbirds. This beautiful story will transport you back to summer camp, friends who become family, and how one place can be a place that changes lives forever.

This was my first book by Kristy Woodson Harvey and I can honestly say I found a new favorite author. I loved her writing style in this book, but also loved the dynamic between all of the characters. They are all so well-developed and I felt like I connected with each one.

This is a book not to be missed.

{Thank you Gallery Books, Uplit Reads, and NetGalley for the eRC!}

Maybe I'm reading this at the wrong time or maybe this book isn't for me. Regardless, I'm DNFing at 15%. I just can't get into this and I'm confused by the characters. I also don't like them much and the name Mary Stuart is driving me CRAZY. WHY?! Anyway, I may circe back on this one next summer. Thank you Gallery for the opportunity to review!

It took me a while to warm up to this book. But in the end, I loved how it was tidied up and how each character evolved. I will say the character development was a bit confusing and the book did not suck me in, but I did love the trio’s relationships with each other and then with June. It was a nice summer read, I always enjoy KWH’s wholesome storylines! Thank you to netgalley.com and the publisher for this ARC in trade for my honest review.

Such a great book! I never wanted it to end. Don't miss this excellent story!

The characters were successful women that had gone to summer camp together when they were young. They became friends and the friendship lasted into adulthood. Their friendship was a gift that they all treasured and they did life together.

I loved the way that Kristy Woodson Harvey would hint about their past and then eventually tell you the details from their past. It really made me wonder what had happened that would cause them to feel or react the way they did.

This story is so well written and just makes you want to keep reading to see what will happen next. Now I wish I had gone to summer camp!!

This is the perfect summer read, in my opinion! Four friends who met at summer camp are now in their 30's and still as close as ever. It's a story of true friendship, but it doesn't go along without problems. There is addiction, theft, and abandonment involved in the storyline, but mostly, friendship shines through. I would highly recommend this novel. I haven't read any other books by Kristy Woodson Harvey but I'll definitely be on the lookout to add them to my list. Thank you NetGalley and HaperCollins publishing for the advanced copy of this book in return for my honest opinion.

One of my summer books this year. This story focuses on a group of women that have been friends since childhood and they come together as adults to save their summer camp.

Three little girls form a summer camp bond that lasts through the years. As children they faced problems which they weathered through their friendships and this continues throughout their adult years. Their relationships with families, lovers and friends waxes and wanes. There were a lot of characters to keep straight and occasionally the story felt contrived. But in the end it all comes right.

Full of nostalgia and completely heartwarming.

Some books just ooze summer… that “surrounded by your favorite people, porch sitting, sweet tea drinking, watching the fireflies dance in the yard” kind of feeling… and KWH’s newest book does exactly that while reminding me why I long for summer all year long.

I never went to camp. To be honest, I’ve never been a “bunkbed, sleep in nature” kind of gal. The mosquitos. The inescapable heat and humidity. Blah.

Yet Harvey painted a picture of sun kissed days full of friendship and comradery that I wanted to be a part of, mosquitoes and bunkbeds be damned! How is it that I felt such a deep longing for a time/place I never experience? It’s safe to say that Harvey wields quite the book magic!

At its heart, this is a tale of sisterhood. Daphne, Lanier, and Mary Stuart have one of those tried-and-true bonds forged through years of seeing each other through their best and worst. They are the embodiment of chosen family.

Harvey created this triumvirate fully authentic and so genuine that I struggled to decide if I wanted to be a part of their circle or reach out to my own “framily” (family + friend). Honestly, the answer is both.

While the friendship bond takes centerstage, the romance isn’t to be missed. Second chance isn’t normally my favorite trope, but I was fully on board with Daphne and Huff finding their way back together. It was a wholly unique family dynamic (Daphne, baby-daddy, son + Huff) that I didn’t know I needed.

The theme of forgiveness runs throughout the story. From broken family dynamics to lies and deceit to meddling in other people’s business (Lanier!!!) to past failures. This book reminds that there’s no great gift to others or self than true forgiveness.

This book was just the feel good read I need. It tugged at my heartstrings and left me uplifted. Throw this one in your pool bag for the perfect light summer read.

🎧 This was a book I want to lose myself in, and the cast narration by Jennifer Jill Araya, Reena Dutt, and Jackie Sanders made that easy to do. The three distinct voices amplified the three points of views, and accentuated that southern dynamic running through the pages.

This is definitely the feel good read of the summer and brought back all the summer camp feels. I love how the story is told in different perspectives and timelines that blend together seamlessly to create a story of lives that are totally r elatable. There's so much real life packed in, but also the magic of lifelong friendships, family, and romance. The perfect read for these lazy (or not) days of summer.