The Book of Summers by Emylia Hall ~ Book Review

Beth lives with her straight-laced, quiet British father and her adventurous Hungarian mother in England.  Her Mom, Marika, has always wanted to return for a visit to her beloved Hungary so when Beth turns 9 they set off on a road trip for a much anticipated vacation.  But memories of beautiful Balaton Lake turn sour when her mom and dad separate while there and Beth and her Dad return to England leaving her Mom behind in Hungary.  Beth's young life changes drastically without her vivacious mother there to contrast her father's now very somber disposition.  When Marika, requests to have Beth visit for the summer it is with much trepidation that her father agrees.  So begins the first of 7 summers Beth spends in the idyllic countryside of Hungary with Marika (which is what her mother wants to be called).  The year Beth turns 16, when she is pushing her boundaries, something happens that causes an estrangement with her mother and she never again returns to Hungary to visit.  Years later, her Dad shows up at her door, nervously bringing a package from Hungary.  Though angry that her Dad would even bring it over, Beth eventually succumbs to the curiosity and opens it.  Inside she finds a letter that her Marika has passed away and a scrapbook entitled the Book of Summers.  As she turns through the pages, in spite of herself, Beth is taken back to her good memories of her childhood summers spent in the rural countryside of Hungary.

I've been wanting to read this book for a long time, first because the cover is gorgeous and second, being of Hungarian background, I have never come across a book set in Hungary.  The author's lovely descriptions brought back my own memories of lovely Hungary from the one summer I spent there visiting relatives.  The lifestyle, foods, scenery and Hungarian personalities described were wonderfully spot on.  The story is a coming of age story of a young girl finding herself dealing with not only the break up of her family but also of the tension of being shuffled back and forth between homes set in different countries.  It is not a fast paced book by any means and the author takes her time laying out the intricacies of the relationships.  The story starts when Beth is grown and receives the visit from her father and then backtracks as she is thrown into the memories of her childhood summers with her mother as she looks through the book culminating in her decision to never return.  The characters and their emotions and actions are realistic.  The tension was there through the whole story as I wondered what led to the estrangement of mother and daughter.  I was drawn into the story though at times it was a tad slow.  But worth the push to get past those parts.  

I rated it an 8.5/10

Reading Goals accomplished:  Read a book a month from my library want to reads