Rhiannon (Rhi) and Molly are best friends.
It’s their last year at high school and they are looking forward to the summer before sixth form starts. Rhi is quiet and unsure of herself, Molly is the complete opposite. Rhi’s family treat Molly as one of their own, including Ben, Rhi’s brother, who’s always had a secret crush on her. She is blissfully unaware, seeing him only as the brother she never had rather than a love interest.
Everyone in Rhi’s tight-knit friendship group is stressed and nervous about their upcoming exams. They look after each other, study together and check in with each other as their GCSEs loom ever nearer. When the weekend comes around they’re ready to relax a little so a classmate’s house party gives them the chance to forget about revision for a bit. Rhi, Molly, Liv, Theo and many others turn up. Drinking, dancing and a little flirting never hurt anyone. Until it does.
In the cold light of day, Molly wakes in Rhi’s house. She can’t remember much after leaving the party but she was glad Ben was there to take her home. The rest of the night is blank. Nothing. An empty space where memories should have been. But he’s her best friend’s brother, so she was safe, right? From Ben’s point of view, he can’t believe Molly kissed him at the party but what happens when that line of familiarity is crossed?
There is no flooding back of antics with friends, no cringey moments appearing in her mind of the drinks they shot back or the dance moves they drunkenly created from that night. Just a horrible feeling that something else happened and Molly can’t remember what it was. When she begins to distance herself from the group due to the stress of the unknown creeping within her, she can’t confide in her friends – Ben is too close to them all. He wouldn’t do anything she didn’t want him to, would he?
Liv tries to get the truth about that night from Molly but her excuses and fake smiles only add to the worry. Confronting Rhi with her suspicions about Ben results in a catastrophic break up of their friendship group as the lines are blurred between truth and lies from those involved.
The Summer After The Night Before, with a stunning cover by Michelle Brackenborough, is a fictional, yet realistic look at consent, the effects of social media and the every day lives and burden young people take on when navigating relationships and how they perceive themselves in the world. Author, Lisa Williamson, has the fantastic ability of transporting the reader into the room as they watch Molly and Ben unravel in the aftermath of that one night.
Love can be dangerously all-consuming and joyful, all at the same time, and this storyline is what happens when respect is breached and blame steals the show.
Content warning: Sexual Abuse, Alcohol Abuse, Consent.
If you, or anyone you know, is looking for advice or help regarding sexual assault or rape – please contact the following or search on-line for a support centre in your local area:
Safe Space (Fife, Scotland) – https://safe-space.co.uk/young-people/
Rape Crisis (UK) – https://rapecrisis.org.uk/get-help/
The Bridge (Bristol/Bath area) – https://www.thebridgecanhelp.org.uk/
Welsh Womens Aid (Wales) – https://welshwomensaid.org.uk/information-support/find-your-local-service/
Leave a Reply