The Summer Job by Lizzy Dent: Like a hearty winter meal with a nip of brandy by a fire, the Summer Job by Lizzy 
Dent is one you can curl up to and just generally feel all-round satisfied with.
Being left with the task of making a phone call to decline a job offer in Scotland for her best friend Heather, Birdy finding herself homeless and jobless, figures she may as well give the job a red-hot go and thus presents as Heather in her place. Unfortunately for Birdy, she completely underestimates the technical labour and knowledge of a Sommelier, the position for which Heather was employed, and her motivation to take the job for a laugh turns out to be anything but.
Thankfully, Birdy has something of a pragmatic and resilient nature, and remarkably, after a week of total stuff-ups, begins to find her footing in the role to only discover that she is getting herself in way too deep with no real way of backing out. As one event leads to another, a kitchen romance begins to form and Birdy is left wondering if she can truly pull off her deception and bail once the summer is over, considering everything is screaming that this is exactly where she needs to be.
Punctuated with some classic British humour that leaves you laughing at her dry observational wit and cringing at the mess she finds herself in, Birdy’s situational mess is compelling from start to finish. Supported with a cast of unique and utterly adorable characters, Birdy’s real test is to find the bravery to own her childhood damage that acts as a chock-hold to her self-belief. The inherent tension was brilliant despite the technical aspects of wine lists and menus and the pivotal narrative arc was truly unexpected and developed with subtlety.
The narrative voice followed Birdy and her journey, and whilst this worked for 99% of the story, we were therefore unable to leave her behind for a chapter or two and fall down the big reveal rabbit hole to explore character responses towards the surprising twist. And whilst the ending was perfect happily ever after material, it felt like the resolution was rushed ever-so-slightly because that key arc needed to be explored from the other characters’ perspectives.
Overall however, this is a thoroughly enjoyable read that touches on some powerful themes of self-concept and suggests that whilst we are the sum of our experiences we have the capacity to grow and shift when challenged to be our best selves.
Book Info:
Publication: 18th May 2021 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons |
Birdy has made a mistake. Everyone imagines running away from their life at some point. But Birdy has actually done it. And the life she’s run into is her best friend Heather’s. The only problem is, she hasn’t told Heather.
The summer job at the highland Scottish hotel that her world class wine-expert friend ditched turns out to be a lot more than Birdy bargained for. Can she survive a summer pretending to be her best friend? And can Birdy stop herself from falling for the first man she’s ever actually liked, but who thinks she’s someone else?
One good friend’s very bad decision is at the heart of this laugh-out-loud love story and unexpected tale of a woman finally finding herself in the strangest of places.
