Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz - Deep Character (And Narrative) Flaws Don't Prove Fatal

Hannah Moskowitz's Invincible Summer is written in a breathy, staccato voice that allows for the protagonist to bear his feelings and emotion and puts it several notches above average YA faire, especially for an alleged beach read - but certain readers may find the depiction of certain characters and events surrounding them extremely problematic or even triggering.

Invincible Summer, published in 2011, is like many YA titles from the SimonPulse imprint advertised as a fun, sexy and seductive teen/young adult beach read with promises of heady, alluring romances. In many respects Invincible Summer fails to deliver on that promise - but also proves that often a bait-and-switch, at least in literature, can deliver much more than what the reader was expecting. Moskowitz's narrative style is terse, hard-hitting and effective in its mood, not unlike writers currently dominating the YA marketplace like Rainbow Rowell, Matthew Quick or John Green. The plot moves far beyond the sultry confines of most romance beach reads and asks hard questions of the protagonists' relationships with family, lovers and what he's really searching for. Progressing through the protagonist's developmental teen years (specifically each summer), the reader feels a part of his journey and with a complete picture of his growing up, thoughts, tribulations and all. The reader's biggest takeaway is a very satisfying yet tragic conclusion to a young boy's memories and sentimental teenagehood in his mother's beach getaway.

That is not to say Moskowitz's narrative is without flaws - indeed, the sexy, seductive and sultry contribution is fulfilled by the protagonist's encounter with his brother's girlfriend, and the experience for the reader can become questionable and confusing, with conflicting and nonsensical attitudes shared between the brothers and the depiction of the girlfriend in question becoming potentially disturbing and troubling for some readers after the revelation of what happened to her in college. However, this doesn't mar the narrative enough to deny it from being a top-shelf pic.

Grade: 5/5 stars, Goodreads.com scale (an exemplary reading experience that the reader will find highly satisfying with extremely memorable plot, narrative or characters and will likely carry for some time to come, with a very high likelihood of returning to reread).