The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop: the novel that haunts and heals

 What if your perfect teenage memories ended up being a horrific lie?

(TW*) 

Flicking beautifully between past and present, The Girls of Summer (2023) follows Rachel as she delves into her past romance with Alistair, an older man she met in Greece. Surrounded by glistening waters, red-hot sand and boozy parties on the beach every night, Rachel and her friends had the summer most teenage girls dream of. At least, that's what they thought at the time. Years on and now married to another man, Rachel is forced to revisit those summer memories and confront the scary fact that she might have been a victim too. Could it be possible that they were caught up in something far more dangerous than they could have ever imagined?

This novel cut me straight to the core. Positioned not far from the #MeToo movement, Bishop explores consent and vulnerability in a way that any woman who has been cat-called (which is most of us) will find this story unsettlingly familiar. Rachel's experiences on the island sound glorious at first. After all, what teenage girl wouldn't relish the chance to drink, party, work behind a beach bar, and get away from the monotony of home life? However, as the girls become more intimate with the older men on the island, things start to feel icky. The men pay the girls to work for them, they parade them on their hips at lavish parties and supply them with enough drink and drugs to last a lifetime. The girls think they want this, but this raises the question: who is really in control?

Years later, Rachel is confronted by those same friends and asked to turn Alistair into the police again. Can she accept that her teenage sweetheart wasn't all he seemed and set the women free from the past?

I loved this novel for so many reasons, one being Bishop's ability to bring you right up close to the sand and sunshine of Greece through her vivid descriptions. Secondly, the transition from past to present in this novel was so smooth and easy to read and brought a uniqueness to the story. I liked following Rachel's character development over the years and felt emotional when she finally let the past go for the greater good. Even though she starts off as a naive young girl, she musters up the courage to fight for justice, which is a testament to every real woman out there who might have experienced grooming/SA. The theme of girlhood was strong in this book and it was heart-warming to see the women bond and put traumas of the past behind them. One very clear message in this novel: take good care of your friends. This story made me realise how our desperate need to escape won't always fix things and could result in us making impulsive decisions that put us in danger. What is most important is looking after one another and finding content with the here and now. Writing about SA or consent is always tricky, but Katie executes it in a way that is respectful and truly wise. 

To the author, thank you for writing such a beautiful, powerful, and important book. I am sure those who read it will be as moved as I was.

You can buy a copy here: The Girls of Summer by Katie Bishop | Waterstones