THE SUMMER I REMEMBERED EVERYTHING
Shortlisted for the 2026 All Connecticut Reads
I started writing this book in the spring of 2020, when I was trapped in my Boston apartment and had time to spare. In 2021, I wrote while planning a pandemic backyard wedding and uprooting from my favorite city; I wrote when my new husband and I moved to a new town, bought our first house, and I re-learned to drive and bought my first car ever. In 2022, I wrote while teaching high school for the first time (and some of my students inspired some of these characters :) I wrote while my mother went through surgeries and treatment for ovarian cancer. And in 2023, I wrote while pregnant with my first kid.
I sent the first draft to my agents and editor the night before we drove to the hospital to welcome Libby to the world. I’m still grateful to our daughter for being so laid-back and giving me time to write, both then and now!
In the fall of 2024, my mom passed away. While she didn’t get a chance to read this book, Mom exposed me to great literature and art at an early age, and I’ll be forever grateful for that gift. I think she also knew that all the mothers I wrote were inspired by her—especially the one in this book. The women in this book are tough, funny, and smart. They are artists and swimmers, eaters and readers, sisters and fighters who speak their minds. And in a single summer, they learn to love their families even when things get hard.
How do you find the perfect summer escape?
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.
“[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