Last year I started off the year with an excellent book focused on music (The Giant Dark by Sarvat Hasin) and this year I’ve done the same. I love coincidences like this, and Summer Fun is a book that’s definitely flown under the radar and deserves more attention!

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It’s split (a tad unevenly - literally my only complaint) between the stories of two trans characters whose lives intersect in unexpected ways. Narrated in the second person and in letter format, Gala is attempting to unravel the mystery of why her favourite band of the 60s suddenly stopped making music. I didn’t question anything while I was reading it, but you might have to suspend your disbelief at some parts if you’re a bit of a cynic! 😀 But I thought it was utterly engaging, a gutwrenching portrayal of a (white) trans person in the 60s, combined with Gala’s experiences as a trans woman in the 2010s.

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I’ve never read anything by Jeanne Thornton before but I’ll definitely be looking to see if she has anything else published, as I found her writing just so smooth, you pick it up for 5 minutes and get completely sucked into the story.

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A great start to my 2023 reading! (Even if I did start it in 2022)