Summer Girl by Linda Watkins is a heartfelt story of a boy and a girl. For Jake, living on Cutter Island, off the coast of Maine, life is pretty laid back. That is until the summer of ’65 when he meets fifteen-year-old Andi. That was not only the summer Jake fell in love with his “Summer Girl;” it was also the year his heart was torn to pieces. This is a two-part story told from Jake's perspective in the beginning and ending with Andi’s. Although the stories are the same, they are comparatively different. Andi’s story is one of abuse and neglect. One that Jake never knew or understood. Even so, the two of them unknowingly guided each other into adulthood, shaping each other’s lives in the best way possible.
Linda Watkins has effectively taken me on an emotional roller coaster with this book. At times, I was happy, giddy with the feeling of young love, and then my heart was crushed with emotion that sent me reaching for the tissue box. Summer Girl was a beautifully laid out story of a bond created one summer that could never be broken. Without giving away the ending, I just want to say, for the first time in my life, I was rooting for the two lives to collide once again, even at the risk of losing the lives the two of them had independently created. I can’t say enough about this book. It captivated my heart from the beginning to the end. I would love to hear more about Jake and Andi. Beautiful, just beautiful!