The Summer I Went Crazy by Laura Koerber – Review by Jennifer Gordon

The Summer I Went Crazy by Laura Koerber
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an emotional and engaging read, which grabbed my attention from the first line and held it until the last. Written from the point of view of Ben, a well educated young man from a rich family, who spend their summers in Europe. Ben was on a fast track to success, off to Yale, with family connections to plenty of influential people and future job opportunities, and then, he witnesses a rape. Although at the time he’s not sure if it is rape, as he is drunk, as is the girl and so is everyone else, but it plays on his mind, for forty years until he makes a phone call. At the heart of this book it’s a coming of age story, but it’s also an honest and sensitive look at how a rape affects all those involved. It’s an original storyline, in that it’s written from not only a young man’s point of view, but also from a witness to a rapes view point, and I think it works well. It’s a difficult read, as its so well written I felt totally immersed in the story, and so felt everything that Ben did. The difficult subject matter is written about with sensitivity, and the story definitely gets the reader thinking. After all the story shows how one drunken summer night can change your whole life.

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