The Summer Set

Starred review from April 15, 2020
Charlie Savoy thought she left acting behind, but when she gets into some legal trouble, her ex, Nicholas Blunt, convinces the judge to let her serve her community service sentence at the Chamberlain Shakespeare Summer Theater in the Berkshires, where he is the artistic director. She and Nick created magic there ten years ago, kicking off an artistic and romantic collaboration that crashed and burned, but might not be dead yet. Acting interns Sierra Suarez and Ethan Summit bond over their over-the-top roommates, and both of them are unsure of their place but confident of their passion for their art. Like she did in Campaign Widows (2018), Agresti employs an ensemble of narrators to tell a contained, deceptively complex story. The summer includes rehearsals and auditions, sure, but also financial panic, intrusive movie stars, gender-swapped Romeos and Juliets, and creative and personal epiphanies. This immensely satisfying read immerses the reader in the camp-for-grownups feel of a season of summer stock in the mountains, with all of its close company and electric energy, and the deus ex machina ending will earn a standing ovation.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2020, American Library Association.)