Square Root of Summer Book Review by Chloe Maher

This week I've been reading The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood, a young adult romance novel. It's about a teenager named Gottie H. Oppenheimer who travels through what she refers to as, "wormholes" at the most unexpected times. At random moments she'll black out and lose consciousness, reliving her life in these wormholes. Gottie relives the most significant moments in her life both the good and the bad. Doesn't that seem to be a terrible burden? Most of these memories she relives are unfortunately tainted with grief. And, her ex-best friend Thomas has just moved back into town, one of her old bad memories. He keeps making references to her past, and these recollections are a total mystery to her. Things that she was there for, she simply can't recall. Gottie's so consumed with grief, and her life has been so full of loss. Gottie, as a baby, lost her mother. Later she lost her best friend Thomas in childhood. Then her grandfather, Grey, one of the most important people in her life died the summer previous. And to top it all off, her secret boyfriend refused to hold her hand or acknowledge her at his funeral. Now, her brother won't acknowledge her and worse still, he's brought back her old boyfriend with him, (because he just so happens to be her older brothers best friend)! Gottie's lived a life so full of loss and sadness that she just can't get over her past. It's affecting her present because she's practically living in the past, experiencing these terrible wormholes due to that innate longing to change her tragic past. But, Gottie's losing time because of this and she has to figure out how to stop it. I absolutely loved this book even though it was so totally and completely heartbreaking that it'll bring you to tears. But, it was a bit confusing because the main character is a mathematical genius, so the equations for wormholes are included, which I definitely wasn't expecting when I picked up the novel. But despite that, it was a sweet story. I absolutely recommend this book to anyone looking for a quick summer-y romance novel.