The Summer I Remembered Everything

by

Catherine Con Morse

A summer of growth, love, and remembrance.

The Summer I Remembered Everything by Catherine Con Morse is a wonderful young adult story of a pivotal summer in Emily Chen-Sanchez’s life. With her perfect older sister, Emilly always felt she was playing a losing game to shine in her parents’ eyes. While she had always admired, perhaps, idolized Tessa, she was also jealous, and her feelings led her into constant arguments with her overachieving older sister. When a less-than-satisfactory grade on her end-of-year report card grounds her for the first three weeks of summer vacation, she figures getting a job will at least get her out of the house and give her a break from her family. She applies to be a companion to an elderly neighbor lady, Mrs. Granucci, thinking she’ll be helping her around her home with her daily activities; however, the lively senior is vivacious, active, and busy with life. Yet, she is harboring a secret; her little episodes of forgetfulness are just the start of a hidden problem, something much more serious. 

Emily is such a relatable girl, with her dreams and innocent desires, and the summer is one of coming of age in so many ways. She’s got the short end of the stick with a bad case of sibling rivalry, topped by having very cautious, anxious parents. Her mother has just been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and is undergoing treatment. Her best gal pal is in London for the next several weeks, and her best friend, Matt, has a crush on another girl, again. But this time, his crush on a girl with so many similar interests just hits differently for Emily. Now, her new employer and growing mentor, Mrs. G., swears her to secrecy about her declining mental acuity and memory issues. Any one of these situations would be a handful for a sixteen-year-old to handle, so it’s no wonder that mistakes are made and lessons must be learned. 

The story really struck home for me, having had to care for someone, also not a family member, with cognitive decline. Things happen or get said that truly catch you off guard. The incident where Emily is accused of stealing is not an uncommon tale; it occurs frequently as loved ones progress through their disease, and it is hard to take, difficult to overcome, and move on. The situation between the two sisters was emotional to read about. I appreciated how the author had the characters confront their differences and air their feelings and perspectives. As time passes, you realize that having a sister is a truly unique relationship. 

I recommend THE SUMMER I REMEMBERED EVERYTHING to readers of young adult fiction, especially those looking for a POC perspective. 

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy through Toppling Stacks Tours.