Review : Three Day Summer by Sarvenaz Tash

Summary (from Goodreads) 

Title :  Three Day Summer
Author : Sarvenaz Tash
Publication Date : May 19th 2015
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Michael is unsure about most things. Go to college? Enlist in the military? Break up with his girlfriend? All big question marks. He is living for the moment and all he wants is a few days at the biggest concert of the summer.

Cora lives in the town hosting the music festival. She's volunteering in the medical tent. She's like that, always the good girl. But there is something in the air at this concert and suddenly Cora finds herself wanting to push her own boundaries.

When Michael and Cora meet, sparks fly, hearts race, and all the things songs are written about come true. And all the while, three days of the most epic summer await them...

 Personal Thoughts

Three Day Summer was one of my Waiting on Wednesday posts a few months ago. I was drawn to the book because it featured a time period that isn't exactly prominent in YA, the 60s, early 70s. Plus, the idea of a book set at one of the most historically significant music festival really intrigued me. Three Day Summer wound up being a wonderful book that lived up to all of my expectations.

The book might only take place over a period of three days, it's one that never felt rush. Told in the POVs of Cora and Michael, it tells the story of these two characters who experience the Woodstock music festival, in the process growing up and learning about who they really are. Cora was a character that I loved from the very instant I met her. I loved how passionate she was about medicine and nursing and how despite the odds being against her because of her gender, she still managed to dream big of being a doctor in the future. Cora was a naturally giving and caring person towards basically everyone. Throughout the book, we watch as she blossomed into this young woman who was even more confident about what she wanted out of life and who wasn't afraid to voice out her desires. I also found her relationship with her brother really endearing. We didn't get to see much of him physically because he was away, fighting the war, but the admiration and loyalty that Cora had towards him was crystal clear and he formed a huge part of her life. I also found her dynamic with her father interesting because it might seem like it was frayed at the surface, but theirs was a relationship also built on love. Michael, on the other hand, wasn't someone I instantly bonded with but I still enjoyed being inside his head because Sarvenaz Tash captured that male voice so authentically. He was at that point in his life where he didn't know what exactly he wanted to do with himself and like Cora, with the help of each other, they realized what they wanted out of life.

There are readers who are going to find the romance problematic and trust me, I did too. I'm not a fan of cheating in books, but Michael's relationship with his girlfriend was slowly tearing apart and everyone but she could see it. I still think the romance between Cora and Michael would have been stronger had he broken up with his girlfriend before hand. At the same time, I felt like Cora and Michael complemented each other very well and I was rooting for them. They were the kind of couple that brought out the best and brightest parts of each other and seeing the easy comfort level between them made my heart happy. The best part of Three Day Summer though was the backdrop of Woodstock. Sarvenaz Tash was able to effortlessly capture that air and feel of the music festival. Her descriptions of the musical acts and the Yasgur farm transported me to Bethel, New York. I felt like I was there among the music lovers and I absolutely loved every moment of it. It's hard for me to believe that this Sarvenaz Tash' debut novel because of just how strong her writing is. She's certainly an author whose books I want to pick up again in the future.

Three Day Summer was a wonderfully atmospheric novel that will appeal to lovers of 60s music, cute romances and characters trying to find out who they really are.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Writing : 4/5


Thank you to Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster for the e-ARC of Three Day Summer.

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