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A review by leahsbooks
The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel
4.0
Wow. This book packed a hell of an emotional punch, and I found myself absolutely hooked and unable to stop listening to this audiobook.
This takes place in the same town as the powerhouse story told in Betty, and centers around an event briefly referenced in Betty, so I already knew what to expect in the end, but there were so many emotional twists and turns that I was blindsided by along the way. However, it took me a little bit to get into it, but once I did? I couldn't put it down.
It focuses on the Bliss family - Autopsy (yes, that's his name) is a lawyer struggling with the nature of crime, and puts out an open letter to the Devil, inviting him to the town of Breathed. Shortly after, a 13 year old boy arrives in the town claiming to be the Devil, and an unprecedented heat wave follows on his heels. He becomes friends with Fielding, Autopsy's younger son, right away, and is absorbed into their family quickly, and they call him Sal - a clever play on Satan/Lucifer.
However, not everyone is as welcoming to Sal as the Bliss family, and as the heat wave lingers, tempers flare and the ugly side of people come out, especially after a tragedy occurs. Racism comes to light in this small southern Ohio town, and as the sheriff works to identify Sal, who he is convinced is a missing boy, they realize a number of young Black boys have gone missing in surrounding areas.
Tensions continue to rise, and much of the town turns against Sal and consequently the Bliss family, led by one man in particular. It's tough to read, and the tension simmers throughout the story. Each member of the family deals in their own way, and they also have their own struggles to face. It was intriguing to see how they interact with Sal and each other, and the ending shocked me.
It's all told from Fielding's perspective far into the future, and you can see how the events of this one summer echoed throughout his life. He carried the various scars of this summer with him, and continued to self-sabotage in a variety of ways, all because of a three month span of time, and it was so interesting to watch it all both through the eyes of a young Fielding and an older Fielding looking back.
This was such a powerful story, and re-emphasizes McDaniel's talent as a storyteller for me. She handled difficult subject matter with delicacy and sensitivity, and brought out so much emotion in this book. It's got a lot of content warnings, so be aware of that before going into this book, but if you can handle it, it's an incredible story.
This takes place in the same town as the powerhouse story told in Betty, and centers around an event briefly referenced in Betty, so I already knew what to expect in the end, but there were so many emotional twists and turns that I was blindsided by along the way. However, it took me a little bit to get into it, but once I did? I couldn't put it down.
It focuses on the Bliss family - Autopsy (yes, that's his name) is a lawyer struggling with the nature of crime, and puts out an open letter to the Devil, inviting him to the town of Breathed. Shortly after, a 13 year old boy arrives in the town claiming to be the Devil, and an unprecedented heat wave follows on his heels. He becomes friends with Fielding, Autopsy's younger son, right away, and is absorbed into their family quickly, and they call him Sal - a clever play on Satan/Lucifer.
However, not everyone is as welcoming to Sal as the Bliss family, and as the heat wave lingers, tempers flare and the ugly side of people come out, especially after a tragedy occurs. Racism comes to light in this small southern Ohio town, and as the sheriff works to identify Sal, who he is convinced is a missing boy, they realize a number of young Black boys have gone missing in surrounding areas.
Tensions continue to rise, and much of the town turns against Sal and consequently the Bliss family, led by one man in particular. It's tough to read, and the tension simmers throughout the story. Each member of the family deals in their own way, and they also have their own struggles to face. It was intriguing to see how they interact with Sal and each other, and the ending shocked me.
It's all told from Fielding's perspective far into the future, and you can see how the events of this one summer echoed throughout his life. He carried the various scars of this summer with him, and continued to self-sabotage in a variety of ways, all because of a three month span of time, and it was so interesting to watch it all both through the eyes of a young Fielding and an older Fielding looking back.
This was such a powerful story, and re-emphasizes McDaniel's talent as a storyteller for me. She handled difficult subject matter with delicacy and sensitivity, and brought out so much emotion in this book. It's got a lot of content warnings, so be aware of that before going into this book, but if you can handle it, it's an incredible story.