The Summer of Impossible Things by Rowan Coleman (Review by Simone Gigg)

Rating 5/5. Highly recommend for book club.

The Summer of Impossible Things is a bold, evocative novel set between 2007 and 1977 in Brooklyn, New York. It is a story about love, courage, and sacrifice that spans 30 years.

Luna and her sister discover secrets that their mother has been hiding after she takes her life. So they travel to Brooklyn to settle their mother’s affairs but while there Luna learns she can travel through time and comes face to face with her mother in 1977 in the week that changes her life forever. Upon discovering this gift, Luna is convinced she can save her mother from the moment that drives her eventually to suicide.

If you could go back in time to change events to prevent future pain, would you? I think it would be great to be able to have this skill but it may also change who you have become. It is something to contemplate. I am sure we all have things we wish we could change. This book really made me think about that. I thoroughly enjoyed this story, in fact, it is the first book in a long time that I have not been able to put down.

This book is beautifully written, I was captivated right from the start, I fell for the characters and got drawn into the dilemma but also wanted to know what could happen if history was changed. Luna is brave, warm and someone you would love to have as a close friend. The bond between mother and daughter is so cleverly portrayed and it shows you what we choose to remember and forget over our lives. I could write more but I might give the story away, just grab yourself a copy.

 Review by Simone Gigg