The Summer I Remembered Everything, Catherine Con Morse
The Summer I Remembered Everything, Catherine Con Morse
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The Summer I Remembered Everything

Author: Catherine Con Morse

Narrator: Rioghnach Robinson

Unabridged: 8 hr 27 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/29/2025


Synopsis

In search of a summer escape from her overbearing family, an Asian-Latine teenager becomes the mentee to a chic elderly woman. But as her mentor's memory starts to fade, the teenager is confronted with a choice that may jeopardize their friendship.

Emily Chen-Sanchez can’t do anything right. She’s been grounded for a bad grade; she can’t stop fighting with her perfect older sister; everyone’s tense because her mother’s just been diagnosed with thyroid cancer; and she hasn’t spoken to her best friend Matt in two weeks, four days, and about seven hours (not that she’s counting).

Her new summer job is the perfect escape: as companion to an eclectic, lively, Super Southern elderly lady, Mrs. Granucci.  All Emily has to do is help Mrs. G ‘remember” her likes, dislikes, anything Mrs. G has a habit of forgetting, even Emily’s name. Emily feels closer to Mrs. G than everyone else until Mrs. G falsely accuses Emily. The betrayal will have ramifications for them both, and Emily must make a decision that will change their lives forever.

The Summer I Remembered Everything is a story of longing for an escape, finding yourself, caring for someone with an illness, and learning that sometimes the right decision is always the hardest.

About The Author

Catherine Con Morse was one of the inaugural Writers in Residence at Porter Square Books. A Kundiman fellow, she received her MFA from Boston University, where she taught undergraduate creative writing for several years. Her work appears in Joyland, Letters, HOOT, Bostonia, the Racist Sandwich podcast, and elsewhere. The Notes was shortlisted for the CRAFT first chapters contest and is her first novel.    In high school, Catherine attended the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, a public arts boarding school, where she was as intrigued with her teacher as Claire is with Dr. Li. Catherine continues to play and teach piano today. Most recently, she taught English at Choate Rosemary Hall, and lives in the Connecticut River Valley with her husband and daughter.


Reviews

Goodreads review by sbu_andrew on March 23, 2025

I'd like to thank Catherine Con Morse for reaching out and providing me with an eARC of this book! What an honor. I loved The Notes, and now having read her second it's safe to say two is a pattern: Con Morse has a great talent for crafting complex cross-generational relationships, as well as weaving......more

Goodreads review by Jenni on May 16, 2025

This story centers on Emily, who gets a summer job as the companion/helper to an elderly lady in her neighborhood. Desperate to spend time away from her house, where her critical parents and perfect sister are, Emily is really excited about spending the summer with Mrs. G,, who asks her to remember......more


Quotes

"[A] refreshing coming-of-age novel....readers will be left with a smile." —Booklist

"A gentle, emotionally astute coming-of-age story." —Kirkus Reviews

"Con Morse’s immersive novel is steeped in the quotidian moments of life....These moments add up to a summer of transformation in which the protagonist finds her voice and self-acceptance." —The Horn Book