One decision. Two summers. One misunderstanding. And everything that was supposed to be, never was—a book series.
The author makes liberal use of sentence fragments … it is clever, not overdone and creates an endearing writing style that academics can only envy. ~ Goodreads Review
PART ONE | CHAPTER ONE
Fourth of July Weekend | 1989
“Bees do have a smell, you know, and if they don’t they should, for their feet are dusted with spices from a million flowers.” ~ Ray Bradbury
Albert Einstein once said that if all the bees on Earth disappeared, the human race would only have four years left to live. I don’t know why he said that. I don’t know why bees have anything to do with my life or with anyone’s for that matter. And, I don’t know why Mr. Einstein would have spent any time considering the possible extinction of an insect. But what I do know is that based on the number of bees swarming around the honeysuckle clover at my feet, their imminent disappearance is nothing to lose sleep over. I live in the Pacific Northwest where the bee population is—according to my science teacher—only average; which is fine by me since most of my summer days have always included waltzing through the clover-ridden fields that border The Country House. A house surrounded by the ideal bee habitat: fruit trees, tomato plants, grapevines and a gazillion rhododendron bushes. A house, where without fail, I am brought to fritter about for weeks on end all summer vacation long.
At a very young age, I learned that come June there are two things I can always count on happening. First, school gets out and second, I go to The Country House. Which by default means every Memorial Day weekend, my dad drudges up my blue footlocker from the basement and I ceremoniously cram it with swimsuits, shorts, t-shirts, flip-flops, tattered sneakers and a variety of little oddities that I find necessary to have with me at all times. Like a pen and lots of paper so I can write letters, my lucky rabbit’s foot I won three years ago at the state fair, my well-used collection of Nancy Drew paperbacks and my New York Yankees baseball hat—which, by the way, means nothing significant to me other than it helps keep the sun out of my eyes. It is, after all, just a hat. The fact that it has an N and a Y stitched on the front of the cap means zilch.
Everyone Has a Summer That Sucks intertwines childhood innocence with the haunting weight of family secrets. With dual timelines—the main protagonist’s heartbreaking summer of 1988 and the turbulent events surrounding her aunt during the summer of 1972—create a deeply layered narrative that’s both intimate and universal. The nonlinear discovery with character revelations that unfold gradually, makes for a compelling and thought-provoking read. Yet, the story is more than a simple good vs. evil, but instead explores themes of devotion vs. obligation, protection vs. abandonment. A young girl’s journey of loss and resilience, alongside her father’s struggle to confront long-buried trauma, gives the book an emotional resonance that stays with readers long after the final page.
Summertime, 1988, 12-year-old Caroline Jamieson and her cousin Mitch find a small cross near the home where their fathers, and their Aunt Mabel, grew up; a cross bearing the date March 24, 1972. The children dream up theories about its origin and let their discovery saturate their imaginations until a tragic accident devastates Caroline and rips all the joy from her heart.
Flash back to spring 1972, the Roe v. Wade decision is seven months away and an upper middle-class family is about to be slammed into varying degrees of lunacy. Mabel Jamieson, the youngest of four siblings, has an illegal abortion leaving her maimed and unconscious. Though unknown to her at the time, Mabel’s older brother, Jasper, followed her the night she went to see a man masquerading as a doctor, and was able to deliver her cataleptic body safely home. Filled with rage and misinterpreted information, Jasper swears to avenge his sister’s wrongdoing and spends years sifting his way through seemingly impossible implications until he finds the man responsible isn’t who he thought.
Drawn from real-life accounts and cherished memories, the author’s authenticity adds to the narrative, elevating it into something truly heartfelt and memorable. This is the kind of novel that not only tugs at the soul but also invites reflection on personal beliefs and family bonds. It’s a story about relationships—those that exist and those that never had a chance to flourish for one reason or another. Available exclusively through Amazon for Kindle and print. Read some reviews … the sequel is due out summer 2026.
Shauna Leigh Gabriel 