Summer Under the Stars

Four best friends, Cam, Hetal, Nell and Sasha, head off on the road trip of a lifetime. Instead of the camping trip to the Lake District they’d planned, these young women are driving to Marseille accompanying Sasha to her father’s wedding. There are moments of comedy, e.g. when Nell is knocked into a fountain by a boisterous dog; there’s unexpected romance, when Cam meets a gorgeous French boy in a pet shop (of all places); and there are trials – no petrol, the terrifying rustlings on a dingy campsite that turn out to be cows. Instead of an escapist rom-com though, this is a much deeper and more interesting read, as each young woman frets over problems they feel they can’t share, even with their very best friends. Each of the four is experiencing real pain, whether that’s super-organised Hetal stressing over mistakes she’s making, or Nell worrying that her new-ish boyfriend is being tempted away by his ex, or Sasha and Cam, both wresting with important family issues. It’s surprising what days singing along to the radio and nights in a tent can do though, and despite all the hiccoughs, friends can be ‘pretty awesome’ as Sasha says, and that’s the note on which the book ends. Kate Mallinder has created four warm, flawed, believable human beings and their tribulations, fallings out and fallings back into friendship are depicted with real sensitivity and insight. There’s more sadness and awkwardness than the title might lead you to expect, but the story is all the better for that and as we leave the girls on the last page in summer under the stars, we know how far they’ve each come.

This is the follow up to Kate’s earlier novel Summer of No Regrets, but can be read as a standalone.

Read our Q&A interview with Kate Mallinder.