This is really a beautiful book. Unfortunately, I started reading it right as I got into a pretty terrible reading slump, so there was a long gap between starting and finishing. I'm not sure if the looming reading slump is to blame, but the first third of this book didn't resonate with me. I loved the ideas being put forward, and by the halfway mark, I was sold and extremely invested. There are multiple passages that made my heart absolutely ache and others that made me feel so hopeful. There were some clunky sentences that really pulled me out of the story because it was such a departure from the majority of the book. Overall, The Summer We Got Free has a lot of thematic depth, and it would be a great choice for a book club or buddy read.