A review by erinlcrane
The Summer that Melted Everything by Tiffany McDaniel

2.0

I kind of hated this by the end. 😂 I’m not sure what the point was. Bad thing after bad thing with such a weird ending in terms of a “lesson” if that’s what it was.

I can see why others would like the writing. It’s very lyrical with lots of unique figurative language. I can appreciate some of it but it takes over the book and overwhelms the story, such as it is. I was very very VERY tired of it by the end.

The story felt like a trauma porn checklist as well as a huge stereotype of country people. All the phobias, slurs, and social issues touched on here. It’s supposed to be the 80s but besides the mention of AIDS it felt like the 50s or earlier.

There isn’t any plot - just a long sequence of mostly bad things happening and people doing awful things in this town. I don’t really know what the author was trying to do with this as a story. Teach me that people can be awful to each other and do bad things for reasons? Got it.

One of the lowest moments for me was when Fielding talked about laying down with warm bread to feel like he was being hugged. 🙄 Stop it.