This review is based on an ARC of Bicentennial Summer which I received courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher (BooksGoSocial).

This was a tough read. Not because it covers any particularly hard-hitting topics, is wordy, lengthy, deeply intellectual, or high-brow. No, it's a run-of-the-mill coming-of-age YA/NA novel in quite readable prose. My struggle was in that I could not connect with any of the characters. Strong characters are what really keep me invested, and Bicentennial Summer lacks that key focus for me.

I can't be too harsh, knowing that this is a semi-autobiographical work. This is Mary and her story; who am I to call her and her family and the biggest adventure of her adolescence boring? That said... Reading this novel became a chore after 20% or so.

Mark this on as Not For Me.

As a child of the seventies, BICENTENNIAL SUMMER prompted memories of my own summer vacations, family road trips, and girlhood friendships. The story is, by turn, heartwarming and heartbreaking as 13-year-old Mary comes of age. With one foot still planted in an idyllic childhood that includes a father she adores, Mary steps into adulthood where she must reconcile the reality of family dysfunction, lies, facades, and imposed responsibilities.

In no way is BICENTENNIAL SUMMER a downer of a story. It captures the beauty and pain of real life -- loving flawed people, being letdown by those we trust and finding our own strength and resilience, as well as the tightly woven bonds of family and love and friendship. The author captures the essence of childhood in the seventies with gifted storytelling and engaging prose.

A must-read for those of us who grew up like Mary -- crossing the country with a packed cooler and the windows down, unplanned stops at roadside attractions, too-short visits with beloved grandparents, chasing fireflies, and stories around the campfire. A definite keeper to be enjoyed again and again as I get further away from my own youth.

America is celebrating two centuries since its birth in the summer of 1976, while Mary’s family in Ohio is witnessing its own revolution. When tensions between her mother and father come to a head, Mary’s mother suggests the couple take a break, and agrees to stay at home while her husband takes thirteen-year-old Mary and her ten-year-old twin sisters on their long dreamed of Great American roadtrip.

Mary’s father, Ralph, is fun and blustery, but not the most responsible of dads, and the long journey with few financial resources and a beat-up car on its last legs exposes the girls to countless challenges and dangers along the way. This novel combines the classic road trip with a coming-of-age tale. As someone who has taken numerous roadtrips, this is a genre I enjoy and there were a lot of aspects I enjoyed.

Weaker for me was the fact that this story, narrated by Mary, is so focused on the antagonism she feels for her father, that we often miss other aspects of who she is as and how her first exposure to a wider world allows her to grow as a person. This comes at the end, but could have been seeded in throughout, and would have allowed me to feel more interest for her as a character. There was also a fair bit of repetition and reasoning which felt much more 2025 than 1976. Despite this, it was still an enjoyable read for me, 3.5 rounded up to 4.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy - all thoughts are my own.

If you're looking for a summer read with depth, this is the book for you. Meanwhile, as a reader, you'll also embark on a journey past so many iconic American sights. Like many young girls, Mary looks up to her father immensely. Throughout this Journey he slowly falls of the pedistal Mary placed him on as a young girl. Not because Mary is a 13-year-old who's simply ashamed of her parents. No, her father repeatedly makes truly questionable choices. As a reader, you can completely empathize with Mary's shame and disappointment. I think this is relatable to a greater or lesser extent for everyone. Excellent writing! The story largely takes place within this small family. Sometimes, in my opinion, this makes the story a bit slow. As soon as other, new characters appear, it revives. This book is loosely based on a road trip the author once took with her own father and twin sisters. That gives it an extra dimension. Highly recommended for this summer!

This was a Dnf for me. But I will say that it had prospects.
There were things that I liked from what I did read and I loved that it was told from Mary's POV. She was 13 in the Bicentennial year of 1976. I think I was half that age but it seems I remember it well though. That was the year of the big blizzard as well as a fantastic summer for me.
I think what I didn't like was that it was too long and too many descriptions. Boring details that didn't need to be there.
I do love road travel though if that makes sense.
I wasn't sure about her dad Richard. What drove him to be the way he is? He's an interesting character for sure.
I got about 50% in and couldn't finish it. Ot never picked up. I tried though.
3 stars for a wonderful road trip.
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are mine.

I requested a copy of this book for review from Netgalley.com. It is now out for purchase in paperback as well as in Kindle Unlimited at the time of this review.

posted to:
https://bakaloveblog.wordpress.com/2025/07/22/review-of-bicentennial-summer-by-mary-berelson/

Straight away I must say that I DNF’d this. I Did Not Finish but that does not mean it was a bad book. I reached 44%, at what I believe to be a pivot point in the story and I thought the action might start to pick up a little. Nope. Not even a little. So while this review will be honest, please read this entry knowing that I skimmed the last 56% and did not feel any compulsion to go back and fill in the gaps of my reading.

However! There are many things I do appreciate about this novel that miss Mary did extremely well, one of which is the cover design. Intriguing and a good reflection of the vibe of the novel. The fact that it looks a little faded and worn, like a well-loved paperback from the 1970’s, is brilliant. A+ for the cover design and honestly it is what made me choose to read the book. Well done design team!

Brief summary: Mary,13 and her twin sisters Gerri and Jill, 10, embark on an impromptu summer road trip across the country from Ohio to California and back, with their beloved but deeply flawed father, Ralph, leaving behind their overly-burdened mother on the heels of a traumatizing conversation no kid should ever have to hear. The story takes place in the 1970’s, a time where the rules where a little looser.

What I loved best: Voice consistency

Mary’s voice, at 13 years old, had the perfect blend of mature big sister and naïve young girl. The story was told from her point of view and was a perfect reflection of any thirteen year old girl’s diary; calling her dad creepy and gross in one sentence and then hero worshiping him in the next. The way the author chose to gloss over certain important experiences and sharpen others that maybe aren’t as important to an adult reader but to a teen is vitally important is an accurate depiction of the POV at that age. She bounces from one activity or thought or opinion to another in rapid succession but then has moments of stillness and lucidity as she sees the lies being stripped away from her family and the world. The author blends this start and stop internal monologue so well! I very much appreciated this aspect of the story.

In close relation to that is the epic rise and fall of ALL the emotions in very quick succession. Mary has some pretty intense moments that are written so well that you know they will be ingrained in her memory irrevocably, both fortunately and unfortunately. Core memories that she will file in what she calls “The Journal of Life” in her mind, an ongoing mental scrapbook of her life. Young people see life differently that adults do and hearing Mary’s voice and thoughts brought me back to my own teenage days were my journal entries were nothing but boys, hurt feelings and fun friend outings. All tell, no show. Superb voice for the main female lead. 5/5

What I appreciated: Family dynamic

I was NOT the kind of child who would call out things that I saw as wrong. I endeavored to please and keep things calm. I never would have had Mary’s chutzpah to talk back to my parents or call my dad out on his gross flirtatious behavior. As a new teen, I was mostly passive-aggressive when it came to confrontation. When asked to wear more dresses, I wore baggy jeans and flannels. When asked to be more “lady-like” I would let out burps that rattled the windows. you know, small rebellions.

Mary was in a three-way squish between being a surrogate mother for her twin sisters, a sentinel for her dad’s misbehavior, and a good person for her mom. The author handled this complicated dynamic very well and in true teenage form, with all the white hot fury and giddy champagne bubbles these young people possess. She navigated the tight rope of Should I or Shouldn’t I well, I thought. Better than a lot of the adults I know, even.

I loved too, that Ralph, her father, was a hard person to judge when it came to his lascivious nature. Did he genuinely not know how skeevy he was or was he pretending innocence and denying blame in front of his daughters? He admits guilt when confronted with his indiscretions so clearly there is some interest when he gives the wink and crooked smile. But what about when he calls his daughter’s friends sexy or tells Mary to flag down a trucker in just her bikini? Is it smarm or naitivite? The ick factor is real and I love that it stays consistent through what I read. This is not a book with dramatic character arcs. It reads like every day real life, through the lens of a girl who has to live it. It reads as truth and human flaw through an objective viewer. Love that he doesn’t get redemption, only the loss of Mary’s hero worship, which still doesn’t seem to be enough to change his ways, sadly.

What was cool: Travel Pit Stops

Having gone on a mini road trip when I was a little younger than Mary through the western united states, the joy of summer and traveling came rolling back on the tide of memory. The random friends you bond with and the impromptu adventures and the long stretches of bleary highway where the inevitable melancholy comes over you. I think we even had a CB radio back in the 90’s though we didn’t use it unless we were in the armpit of the west, Nevada. The threat of break downs in the heat was a very real fear. I remember journaling Mary-style for the trip as part of Mom’s summer school requirement and getting an A+ on my report.

Anyone who has taken a road trip will fall back into memories when you read this book and anyone who hasn’t gone will definitely want to.

The Major downfall: too damn long

Seeing as this novel was written from a thirteen year old’s perspective about a summer trip, the expectation was that of a “slice of life” fiction story, which is meant to be slow with not a lot of deep insights or dramatic turns of events. The slow descent of Mary from chipper positivity to sad pity for her father needed room to be told. It was just a little too slow for me. I flipped from 44% to 70% to see if anything remotely exciting would make me want to continue reading. Nope. Then I flipped to about 90%. Still nope. It probably could have done with a hundred less pages and maybe I would have finished.

The book was written as it was supposed to be; a summer of growing up for a teenage girl. No frills. Just truth. And honestly, I really enjoyed that. I just couldn’t enjoy it for five hundred pages. There clearly is an audience who likes this kind of book, seeing as at the time of this review, it has a 5 star rating on amazon with many good comments from readers commenting on how it was a perfect summer read. Well-deserved for a debut novel! This was not the book for me though.

3.5 stars rounded up to 4
I liked reading this book. It is set in the year 1976 - the bicentennial year - and we follow 13-year-old Mary, her dad and twin sisters going on „The Great American Roadtrip“ in an unrealiable car without a real plan. We follow their journey from Ohio to California and back again and accompany them on lots of adventures - some extraordinary, others frightening.
I could relate to Mary, who is narrating the story from the viewpoint of a 13-year-old girl who is often in over her head and I felt for her and her sisters. I also enjoyed reading about all the sights they visited and adventures the family got into and the people they met. Even though at times I felt that the story dragged on a bit and could have been shorter.
All in all an entertaining coming-of-age-story and an inspiration to maybe go on a road-trip oneself.

A well written story that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.
This was such a fun and great read.

A fictionalized version of a real road trip the author took with her siblings and father in 1976, this book suffers from being overly long and poorly written. It's also a weird choice that the thing she chose to add, that didn't happen in real life, was the incident with the prostitute. Why was that the thing that was missing from her life?

I was a bit younger than Mary and her twin sisters Geri and Jill in the Bicentennial summer but can still remember the way the world was and my father also had a Peugeot car (not blue) at that time, so there was a good dose of nostalgia about this book. And I liked the reminders that in a pre internet world, long drives were truly an adventure. The maps, the road signs, the half-assed directions given by strangers, the absolute frustration of road side breakdowns, pay phones and collect calls. Everything was harder, trickier, and as a result, you just had to wing it. And the boredom factor, was a real part of summer vacations but it gave you time to day dream and get creative and appreciate any little thing that broke up the monotony.

Ralph's recklessness and frugalness were valid causes for Mary to be angry and disappointed at that crucial time of life when the child starts to see their parents and all their flaws for who they really are, vs just all knowing, capital P Parents who were infallible. This is both Mary's coming of age, and Ralph's swan song, life will never be the same for either of them at the end of this road trip.

This book was easy to put down and I think it was because the author was committed to remaining as true to her memory as possible, while at the same time trying to make it fiction, so the novel suffered at the hands of the memories. It was like a child telling a story, this happened and then this happened and this happened, etc. Just a list of things happening, states being crossed, without enough narrative glue to hold it together.

This book is told from Mary's point of view but Ralph drives what happens and we never understand what motivates him, why he behaves as he does because Author Mary never knew what her father was thinking, and Author Mary was either not strong enough or too beholden to her past, to create a narrative for the character of Ralph, and this keeps readers from fully engaging or caring about why Mary is so upset.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is the perfect summer coming of age novel. Three sisters set off on a cross country trip with their father in the 70s. Mary and her twin sisters navigate the country but Mary has to take charge and come to terms with the fact that her parents’ marriage isn’t a happy perfect thing like every kid likes to think it is. Eventually, she has to deal with feelings of disappointment and growing up faster than someone her age needs to, I found the way she takes charge a heartwarming piece of the storyline. I think her character was very likeable and wise beyond her years based on the observations she makes along the way. Even though it takes place decades ago, the overall themes in this story are relatable for me and I think that’s why I found it all so endearing.