Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “The Summer I Met Jack” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

The Summer I Met Jack

Michelle Gable (Goodreads Author)

3.75 · Rating details · 3,074 ratings · 547 reviews

New York Times bestselling author imagines the affair between JFK and Alicia Corning Clark - and the child they may have had.

Based on a real story - in 1950, a young, beautiful Polish refugee arrives in Hyannisport, Massachusetts to work as a maid for one of the wealthiest families in America. Alicia is at once dazzled by the large and charismatic family, in particular the ...more

Get A Copy

Hardcover, 515 pages

Published May 29th 2018 by St. Martin's Press

More Details... Edit Details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about The Summer I Met Jack, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

Historical Fiction 2018

416 books — 1,032 voters

And They Called It Camelot by Stephanie Marie Thornton

Fictitious Kennedy

79 books — 16 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

Average rating 3.75 ·

Rating details

· 3,074 ratings · 547 reviews

More filters

Sort order

Start your review of The Summer I Met Jack

Apr 24, 2018 Deanna rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2018, arcs

My reviews can also be seen at: https://deesradreadsandreviews.wordpr...

4.5 Stars!

This is the first novel I’ve read from Michelle Gable. The first line of the book blurb:

“New York Times bestselling author imagines the affair between JFK and Alicia Corning Clark - and the child they may have had.”

I was intrigued. The fact that this is based on the real-life romance between Jack Kennedy and Alicia Corning Clark is fascinating.

Alica Darr (formerly Barbara Kopczysnka), came to America in hopes ...more

flag 163 likes · Like · see review

Nov 22, 2017 Michelle rated it it was amazing · (Review from the author)

Shelves: 2017, italy, literary-fiction, 60s-70s-80s, kennedys, contemporary-fiction, 40s-50s, historical, multiple-time-periods, new-england

Launching 5/22/2018

THE SUMMER I MET JACK is my fourth book and I'm still recovering from writing it!

Yes, it is that Jack, and yes, it's based on a true story. The wealthy Alicia Corning Clark died in New York, in 2016, at the stated age of 79 but she lied about her age constantly and apparently even in death. Her estate and wills were in a state of bedlam so attorneys tried to track down possible heirs. She didn't have any children...or did she?

Alicia, a Jewish refugee from Poland, had a romanc Launching 5/22/2018

THE SUMMER I MET JACK is my fourth book and I'm still recovering from writing it!

Yes, it is that Jack, and yes, it's based on a true story. The wealthy Alicia Corning Clark died in New York, in 2016, at the stated age of 79 but she lied about her age constantly and apparently even in death. Her estate and wills were in a state of bedlam so attorneys tried to track down possible heirs. She didn't have any children...or did she?

Alicia, a Jewish refugee from Poland, had a romance with then-congressman Jack Kennedy in the early 50s, and their relationship continued (on and off, one assumes) for approximately a decade thereafter. J. Edgar Hoover's files were released under the Freedom of Information Act in 1977 and in them he claims that Bobby Kennedy gave Alicia $500,000 of hush money shortly before JFK's 1961 inauguration. Surely this was about more than the two dating in 1950, eleven years prior and while Jack was single. In THE SUMMER I MET JACK, I try to piece together what might have happened, as well as take the reader through Alicia's very colorful life, which included affairs with Gary Cooper and Katharine Hepburn, to name a few.

This book was by far the hardest for me to write, and it took the longest (several times over), and required the most amount of research. In writing it, I read over 150 books and thousands of articles (many I had translated from other languages) and pages and pages of partially redacted FBI files. I conducted a few interviews and flew thousands of miles to read articles available only on microfiche. I also had to learn to use microfiche again. ;) As always, where I use historical people and events, my goal is to make the narrative plausible. I write fiction, so this is not meant to be a biography. However, much of it is fact and I weave fiction into the gaps to tell a story.

In my Goodreads review for my first book, I joked that I had to give it 5 stars, sort of like how you have to think your kids are cute (mine actually are, of course). Well, this book was a kid who was colicky for over a year and never let me sleep for more than two hours at a time. This kid whined and complained and often spit back up whatever I put into him. He has the "Kennedy stomach," I guess. In the end, though, I love him, perhaps because he put me through so much agony and came out okay on the other side. I put every drop of myself into this book, and I hope you love the result. ...more

flag 76 likes · Like · see review

Mar 21, 2019 Elyse Walters rated it liked it

Shelves: fiction, historical-fiction, romance

Thanks to my long time great friend - Lisi...
I read this because she gave it 5 stars.

3 stars for me - But it was interesting...
...about a Polish refugee woman in Jack Kennedy’s life - starting in the 1950s… Before Kennedy was President.
I had never heard of Alicia Corning... apparently Jack Kennedy‘s first love.

I’m not a person who follows the history and drama on the Kennedy’s lives....
But I thought this might be a great story for what it was... and that’s about it...
a ‘fair’ story for what it ...more

flag 47 likes · Like · see review

Jun 09, 2018 Ann Marie (Lit·Wit·Wine·Dine) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: based-on-a-true-story, historical-fiction, family-dynamics, fiction, politics, giveaway

***Please visit my my Instagram page to enter the GIVEAWAY.***

When I first heard about this book, I was very excited because I had read Michelle Gable’s I’ll See you in Paris and already knew I liked her writing. Like many Americans, I’ve always been drawn to glamour and glitz as well as the drama and tragedy of the Kennedy family. I somehow had it in my head that this was going to be a very Kennedy-centric book detailing one of his many affairs. I was pleasantly surprised that this book was muc ***Please visit my my Instagram page to enter the GIVEAWAY.***

When I first heard about this book, I was very excited because I had read Michelle Gable’s I’ll See you in Paris and already knew I liked her writing. Like many Americans, I’ve always been drawn to glamour and glitz as well as the drama and tragedy of the Kennedy family. I somehow had it in my head that this was going to be a very Kennedy-centric book detailing one of his many affairs. I was pleasantly surprised that this book was much more than that.

The Summer I Met Jack is the fascinating story of how a young woman, a “displaced person” from Poland, rose from Kennedy cleaning lady to almost-first-lady and Hollywood fame. As you might imagine, it didn’t happen easily. How the story of Alicia Darr never came to my attention is now beyond my comprehension. She was a fascinating woman in her own right and I’m glad her story has been told in this novel.

Alicia was a very a complex character. I’m not sure that I found her to be 100% likable but I did, for the most part, respect her. She was a bit of what some might call a climber but, let’s face it, options for women with ambition and no formal education or family to stand behind were limited in the 1950’s. I empathized with her situation. She was able to transition from a naive young woman to a wealthy, sophisticated socialite. Certainly Jack played a role in all that but, after reading the book, I have mixed feelings about exactly what that was. He certainly helped her make connections that advanced her career. But at what cost to her personal life? She certainly had a very interesting history with men post-Jack.

As for Jack, I learned a fair about him that I didn’t know as well. And while it’s perhaps a bit naive of me, I was surprised and frustrated to learn the extent of his family’s meddling. They may have changed the very course of history for Jack and our country.

It’s very apparent from the text and the author’s notes that a tremendous amount of research went into this book. I was inspired to do some googling on my own and enjoyed reading even more about Alicia and her remarkable life.

The Summer I Met Jack was a very compelling read. The second half flew by even faster than the first. This book is a great beach read for anyone who prefers a page-turner with just the right amount of substance.

4.5/5 stars

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

You can read this and all of my reviews at Lit·Wit·Wine·Dine ...more

flag 43 likes · Like · see review

Jun 10, 2018 Bkwmlee rated it it was ok

Shelves: netgalley-books, fiction

For me, this book was a huge disappointment and while I wouldn’t say that I regretted reading it, I do wish that I had stood my ground a bit more in terms of not accepting widgets for books that I wasn’t tremendously interested in reading. Of course, I already knew going into this book that it would be a story about the Kennedy family (albeit a fictional story), more specifically about JFK and the love affair he supposedly had with a woman named Alicia Corning Clark (Alicia Darr for most of the For me, this book was a huge disappointment and while I wouldn’t say that I regretted reading it, I do wish that I had stood my ground a bit more in terms of not accepting widgets for books that I wasn’t tremendously interested in reading. Of course, I already knew going into this book that it would be a story about the Kennedy family (albeit a fictional story), more specifically about JFK and the love affair he supposedly had with a woman named Alicia Corning Clark (Alicia Darr for most of the story) in the early years prior to him becoming the 35th President of the United States. I actually had never heard of Alicia Corning Clark prior to reading this book and being that this was an “imagined” story of the affair, I deliberately refrained from looking up anything about her until after I finished reading, as I didn’t want any preconceived understanding about who Clark was in real life to affect my feelings toward her character in the story (more on this later). Despite the mention of “love affair” in the book summary, I was fully expecting this story to lean more towards historical fiction given the historical context with the Kennedy family, however it turned out that this fell more heavily into the romance category. In addition, parts of the story felt a bit YA to me, mostly due to the main female protagonist being in her early 20s for much of the story, yet acting like a defiant teenager majority of the time, plus the style of the writing felt less mature and many of the scenarios were melodramatic (more about the writing later). Unfortunately, both of these genres (romance and YA) are ones that I don’t really care for, so this did put me off quite a bit.

Genre aside, there were actually quite a few things that made this book a disappointment for me (hence the low rating), though interestingly enough, in reading through the reviews, I seem to once again be the outlier here, as there are a lot of 4 and 5 star ratings for this book and most readers didn’t seem to have the same issues I did. It does make me wonder whether I actually read the same book that everyone else read….

In any case, one of the things that frustrated me most with this story were the characters and the way they were written, especially Alicia, a character I disliked almost from the start. Like I mentioned earlier, I didn’t know anything about the real-life Alicia going into this (and I still don’t know that much about her to be quite honest), so I can’t comment on how she compares to the real person, but to me, Alicia in the story came off as a caricature and, at times, somewhat stereotypical. Everything about Alicia (the character) seemed to be contradictory in that her behavior never seemed to sync up with her thoughts and more often than not, she would say one thing and do the complete opposite. Don’t get me wrong – I’m all for flawed characters in fictional stories and in fact, prefer them over characters that come across too perfect, but in this case, I felt like the author went a bit overboard in the opposite direction in that Alicia seemed to have all her worst personality flaws exaggerated and brought into the spotlight while her positive traits (aside from her looks of course – there was constant reference to Alicia being “blonde and beautiful”) were mostly pushed to the background. Most of the other characters as well were depicted this way (negative personality traits magnified tenfold) -- though of course, with the Kennedys, it’s not surprising given all the scandals and rumors surrounding that infamous family, but still, given that this was a fictional story, I was expecting the characterizations to be a bit more balanced. Instead, I felt at times that I was reading a “tell-all” biography of sorts about the various transgressions of the Kennedy family with an emphasis on JFK and the scandalous life he led (um, I think most of us already know that JFK was a charmer who had numerous affairs both while he was president and before that – I didn’t need this fact to be reinforced throughout the story by depicting his character as a sex fiend who couldn’t seem to get near a woman without wanting to have sex with her…it seemed like every couple pages I was reading about either his or Alicia’s sexual exploits, which honestly got tiring after like the 5th mention barely a quarter of the way through the book….).

Plot-wise, there really wasn’t much there outside of Alicia’s various relationship “adventures,” which honestly didn’t interest me much – in fact, I felt bored reading the same repetitive bits about Alicia striking up a relationship with one famous person after another (the second half of the book was basically about Alicia’s “colorful” dating life -- the various people she met and had flings with). Included in this were details about Alicia’s 3 marriages, most notably the one to Alfred Corning Clark, the heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune who left Alicia a hefty fortune after his death within weeks of their marriage. This wealth came into play in a second timeline taking place more than 60 years later, in 2016, when the executor of the now deceased Alicia Corning Clark’s estate searches for a rumored potential heir to all the money she left behind (a search that really did take place back in 2016 and was reported on in the media). To be honest, this part of the story felt like a completely different book, as the writing was more engaging and the narrative was framed as a “mystery” of sorts that I actually wanted to get to the bottom of – unfortunately, this second narrative was way too brief, only a few dozen pages max, and the format of interspersing snippets of this narrative sporadically throughout the main story meant that when I started skimming the book at around the 25% mark (yes, things started getting repetitive very early in the story), I ended up missing more of the second narrative than I intended.

Overall though, the issues I had with the story and the unbalanced character depictions pale in comparisons to the problems I had with the writing, which already wasn’t that great to begin with, but when you add tons of grammatical errors to the mix, this became a tedious and exceedingly frustrating read for me. I’m not sure if this had to do with the ARC version I received being messed up somehow (or perhaps the version I received was a very early rough draft), but it appears that there was little to no editing to speak of with this book. The biggest issue I noticed is what I call the missing “f” dilemma: all words that were supposed to have “ff” in them were missing one “f” for some reason – so “offer” became “ofer,” “affair” became “afair,” “off” became “of” etc. – these last two (missing “f” in the words “affair” and “off”) were especially egregious given the extraordinary number of times both words were used throughout the story (basically it was every few pages -- trying to differentiate the instances between when the author was trying to use “off” versus “of” alone ended up giving me a headache). As if that weren’t enough, there were also sections where the narrative voice switched back and forth in between dialogue, which really threw me off and made this an even bigger chore to read. For example, there was a section where one of Alicia’s friends George asks about her family back home – instead of that section being written as a conversation between two people with dialogue set apart by quotation marks as it was in most of the other parts of the book, it was written in an odd half conversation half third person manner – George would ask a question “But your mother…?” (only including part of the quote so as to avoid spoilers) and instead of Alicia answering the question directly like we would expect in a normal conversation, what followed was 7 paragraphs explaining what happened to her mother but written in third person (i.e.: Alicia left school, Alicia filled out a form, Alicia tried looking for her, etc.) – then the next paragraph after that switches back to conversation mode with George’s dialogue in quotations and Alicia’s response also in quotations, but then the paragraph after that switches back to half and half mode again. I thought at first this was just an isolated issue with that particular section of the book and so was ready to ignore it and move on, but then a dozen or so pages later, the same thing happened again, except this time it was a “conversation” between Alicia and Jack (though this time, there was the added confusion of switching from dialogue in quotes, to a third person response, to a second person response, and then back to dialogue again). For the most part, I tend to be a little more lenient with ARCs, since it IS an uncorrected / unedited version after all, but this one was particularly bad – I’ve read several dozen ARCs over the past 2 years and this is the first time I’ve come across one with so many issues, mistakes that spanned every couple pages. The only reason I didn’t DNF the book at this point was because I had already made the decision earlier on (around the 25% mark as I mentioned above) to skim through the rest of the book due to my inability to connect with the story and majority of the characters, so I stopped paying as much attention to these issues after that.

Obviously I wouldn’t recommend this book, but like I said earlier, in reading through the many glowing reviews, I seem to be the only one who had issues, so perhaps, unlucky for me, I just received a bad ARC version of the book? I haven’t read any of this author’s other works so there’s nothing for me to compare against in terms of the writing. Probably those interested in the Kennedy family will feel compelled to read this, though if so, I recommend getting a library copy or a fully edited version. As for myself, I don’t intend on re-reading this even if a “cleaned up” version becomes available, since the subject matter is only mildly interesting to me anyway.

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley
...more

flag 40 likes · Like · see review

May 29, 2018 Stacey rated it really liked it

4.5 The unexpected pleasure of going into a book blind is so rewarding. The Summer I Met Jack is pure pleasure as I’m whisked away to the 1950’s. The story shifts from the 1950’s to present day which kept me intrigued and reading on to find out how the two intersect.

Barbara Kopczysnka is an immigrant from Poland. She changes her name to Alicia Darr to assimilate and appear more American. She soon finds employment at the house of the Kennedy’s as a maid. Yes, ‘the’ Kennedy’s. She is also selling 4.5 The unexpected pleasure of going into a book blind is so rewarding. The Summer I Met Jack is pure pleasure as I’m whisked away to the 1950’s. The story shifts from the 1950’s to present day which kept me intrigued and reading on to find out how the two intersect.

Barbara Kopczysnka is an immigrant from Poland. She changes her name to Alicia Darr to assimilate and appear more American. She soon finds employment at the house of the Kennedy’s as a maid. Yes, ‘the’ Kennedy’s. She is also selling her paintings at the local movie house while working there as well. It is at the movie house where she first encounters Jack Kennedy and there is an undeniable attraction. She is caught off guard when she sees him at a party that she is working at the Kennedy home. You would think that would put an end to Jack’s attraction to Alicia because of social class, but Jack is not deterred and pursues her. Jack is in the political spotlight and all appearances must be perfect in the public eye. When Jack’s father, Joe, finds out that Alicia isn’t who he thought she was he aggressively discourages the relationship. Jack and Alicia continue their relationship secretly, but soon enough Alicia finds herself swimming upstream and realizes she will never be on equal grounds in the Kennedy family and earn their respect.

I liked the first part of the book that deals with the relationship between Jack and Alicia. It’s romantic and a little edgy as Alicia is always looking over her shoulder waiting for her past to catch up to her. When their relationship is absolutely finished, Alicia’s life takes front seat and her tumultuous relationships with a roster of celebrities is spilled on the front pages of gossip magazines.

Is it possible that a baby was conceived during Alicia and Jack’s affair? It seems plausible. When I read historical fiction and I start googling people and places after I finish, I know I’ve just read a great book.

Thank you Michelle Gable, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for an advanced copy. ...more

flag 22 likes · Like · see review

Feb 16, 2018 Jamie Rosenblit rated it it was amazing

Shelves: arcs

I loved this book! Let me preface by saying, I am really not the biggest historical fiction person, even when I love a book that’s historical, it usually takes me a bit to really pick up the pace. The Summer I Met Jack was really an exception here, I was hooked from page 1 and I stayed up hours past my usual bedtime to devour every last word. There was no hope of sleep, I had to see how Alicia’s story would play out. I’ve always been intrigued by JFK and the Kennedys, which is why I sought this ...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Jul 03, 2018 Marialyce (absltmom, yaya) marked it as dnf

I am placing this one on the DNF shelf. I do remember Kennedy and the memories I have are ones of respect and thinking of him as a hero. I was in fourth grade when he was assassinated and I will never forget what that did to all of us. I am sorry that this book to me has blemished that memory and I can't continue to read a book that I believe takes that awe he inspired away in so many away. I am sure that a lot of what the author wrote is true, but I would rather keep my childhood memory in tact ...more

flag 19 likes · Like · see review

Jan 13, 2018 Darlene rated it really liked it

Great piece of historical fiction about the Kennedy clan. I enjoyed it!

flag 17 likes · Like · see review

Apr 10, 2018 Tammy(PeaceLoveBooks) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: netgalley-read, read-in-2018, read-in-april-18

I have always been obsessed with the Kennedy's. The Summer I Met Jack fed my obsession and I had a hard time putting it down. Michelle Gable did an amazing job researching! I ended up falling down a Kennedy rabbit hole after reading this book and different accounts of Alicia Darr's life. This book is fiction but is based on real life people and events. Loved it! ...more

flag 15 likes · Like · see review

Dec 04, 2017 Sue rated it it was amazing

Shelves: historical-fiction

Michelle has taken on the daunting task of telling a story about the Kennedy family. Everyone of a certain age feels like they know all there is to know about the Kennedys so what could she possibly write about. Boy oh boy, does she show the doubters. She tells the story about a woman who had an affair with JFK in the late 50s who could have changed history. She was someone that I had never heard of and the author's research into the family is so good that I learned more about them than I had ev ...more

flag 14 likes · Like · see review

Mar 14, 2018 Martie Nees Record rated it liked it

Genre: Women’s Fiction
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Pub. Date: May 29, 2018

The book’s blurb reads, “Based on a real story - in 1950, a young, beautiful Polish refugee arrives in Hyannisport, Massachusetts to work as a maid for one of the wealthiest families in America.” The family is the Kennedys. Of course, the Jack in the title is a young Jack Kennedy. I was disappointed in this book, but it may be my own fault. I thought I was reading historical fiction and not women’s fiction. The story read ...more

flag 13 likes · Like · see review

Apr 04, 2018 Tracy rated it really liked it

I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway! Whoo-hooo!!

This is my third book by this author and I did enjoy it. I would love to know more about what is real and what is fiction. I realize the little details can't all be real, but I believe the author was very meticulous about her research and you feel that in the story.

A lot of people are fascinated by the Kennedy family and this is just another piece of that puzzle! A not well known tale which makes it even more fascinating and how it all ended ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Feb 02, 2018 Patricia rated it really liked it

Shelves: family-dynamics, romance, historical-fiction, giveaway

I really enjoyed reading me uncorrected copy of THE SUMMER I MEET JACK which is a fictionalized account of the life of Alicia Darr. This novel primarily take place in the 1950's and 60's. Alicia had quite an interesting life. Originally from Poland, Alicia meets JFK while living and working on the east coast. Next, Hollywood, and a ton of names are dropped along the way! If you are looking for an entertaining read, look no farther. I received this book for an honest review.
On sale 5/22/18 ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

May 29, 2018 Karen R rated it really liked it

This novel incorporating an unlikely romance between a poor Polish immigrant and America’s 35th President JFK was a page-turner. It often had me pausing to wonder what was truth and what was fiction. I read the book in just a few days and it piqued my interest to learn more about the real Alicia Corning Clark. The character on which she is based truly comes to life; Alicia’s strength of spirit and culture shine through.

The Kennedy’s are portrayed quite negatively and early on I tired of John F K ...more

flag 8 likes · Like · see review

Jun 27, 2018 Sharlene rated it it was amazing

A fascinating look at the Kennedy family, Jack and Alicia Corning Clark. Could not put this one down. Amazing attention to details.

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Jun 05, 2018 Christina (Confessions of a Book Addict) rated it really liked it

Shelves: adult-historical-fiction, for-review, arc, beach-read

Barbara, now Alicia Darr, has left Poland and arrives in the USA with many hopes and dreams in the 1950s. She rooms with another immigrant, Irenka, and they become fast friends. Irenka takes a job on the East Coast working as a maid in the affluent town of Hyannisport for the famous Kennedy family. Alicia follows Irenka to the Hyannisport and through Irenka she meets Jack along with the whole Kennedy clan. She is enamored with the family, but especially Jack's charm and larger than life attitude ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Oct 31, 2018 Christina Boodhan Juras rated it it was ok

2 stars, only because the second half of this book was better (more interesting) than the first half. I disliked Alicia Darr Purdom Corning Clark, or the author's portrayal of her, especially for her audacity and her self-centered nature. I also don't believe for a minute that any man gushes directly to a woman that she's gorgeous or a "pretty thing" - ugh, gag! There is no way that this woman could have easily schmoozed and made friends with American royalty regardless of her motivations, espec ...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

May 30, 2018 The Lit Bitch rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Most people know who John F Kennedy was and can probably name a fact or two about him. President. First Catholic president. Assassinated president. Democrat. Bostonian. War hero. Hyannisport yachtsman. Rich Playboy. Womanizer.

I think it’s safe to say that he is one of the most recognizable presidents in modern memory. For me personally I am not a huge fan of the post war America time period but I was intrigued by this novel. Though I know quite a bit about JFK in a professional sense–I am more i ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jan 01, 2019 Amber rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2018, favorites, own-it

Thanks to the publisher for sending me a free copy.

I’ve always been fascinated with the Kennedys and the crazy appeal they hold in our culture, so this book was everything I could’ve hoped for. It was a delicious mix of scandal and survival and romance, and it succeeded in making my curiosity grow. I loved Alicia’s spunk and was completely immersed in the time period and setting.

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Nov 09, 2018 Pam Jenoff rated it it was amazing

An exciting and little-known tale about a beautiful Polish refugee who comes to America and works for the Kennedy family. She finds herself drawn into a passionate relationship with a young JFK with costs and repercussions that echo through the decades.

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

May 25, 2018 Kristin (Always With a Book) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: review-book, arc, on-bookshelf, read-in-2018

Full review to be posted on blog.

*Loved this book - so engaging, very readable, very interesting!
*Knew nothing about Alicia prior to reading this...but found her to be such a fascinating person.
*Whole time I was reading, kept asking myself - was this true, did this really happen - but refrained from checking Wikipedia - wanted to enjoy book for what it was - so glad I did!
*Book is definitely about romance between Jack & Alicia, but it's also so much more than just that.
*I definitely plan on read ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jan 22, 2018 Katie B rated it really liked it

Shelves: 1950s, giveaways, historical-fiction, arc, california, read-in-2018, massachusetts, politics, italy

First of all, it is important to note this a historical fiction book based on a Polish refugee who came to America and worked as a maid in the home of the Kennedy family in Hynnaisport, Massachusetts. Alicia Corning Clark claimed to have an affair with JFK and this book imagines what might have taken place and what would have happened if their romance produced a child.

You don't have to be a big fan of the Kennedy family to enjoy this book because if anything it doesn't paint them in the best li ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Feb 21, 2018 Jennifer rated it it was amazing

What is it about the Kennedy clan that still pulls us in? I don’t know about you but there’s a mild obsession with them on my part. The Summer I Met Jack explores the early Kennedys — the pre-president JFK — the Jack that was shouldering the dreams of his father and family since the heir apparent died in WW2.

Jack meets Alicia Darr, an European refugee, in 1951 in Hyannisport. She is drawn into the orbit of the Kennedy clan and Jack, in his own way, did love her....... Gable has written a wonder ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jan 15, 2021 Lynn rated it liked it

Shelves: book-club, historical-fiction

The is an historical fiction about Alicia Darr Corning Clark who supposedly was engaged to JFK at one time. Allegedly, Joe Kennedy refused to allow Jack to marry her because she was an immigrant who was born Jewish, and this would hurt his political ambitions for Jack. So Alicia takes off for Hollywood to make a name for herself. According to this book, Alicia and Jack hooked up several times over the years, even after he married Jacqueline Bouvier. Shocking, I know. Alicia marrieds a couple of The is an historical fiction about Alicia Darr Corning Clark who supposedly was engaged to JFK at one time. Allegedly, Joe Kennedy refused to allow Jack to marry her because she was an immigrant who was born Jewish, and this would hurt his political ambitions for Jack. So Alicia takes off for Hollywood to make a name for herself. According to this book, Alicia and Jack hooked up several times over the years, even after he married Jacqueline Bouvier. Shocking, I know. Alicia marrieds a couple of times, her second marriage being to Alfred Corning Clark, heir to the Singer fortune. Alas, he died 13 days later, leaving Alicia quite wealthy.

The book is told mostly from Alicia’s POV, but also has chapters that take place in 2016, when an attorney is trying to settle Alicia’s estate. The chapters about Alicia portray her as misunderstood, honorable and deeply in love with Jack. They also portray the Kennedys as boorish, foul mouthed and a bunch of louts. None of the Kennedys emerge unscathed, yet Alicia is constantly adjusting her halo. Although I am very much aware that the Kennedys are far from perfect, I found the portrayal of them salacious and offensive. I admire the family, warts and all, and have read many books about them, both fiction and nonfiction. I also grew up in Massachusetts, and have a healthy respect for their service to this country. Even the trashy biographies I have read aren’t as bad as the way they are portrayed in this book. This book is practically character assassination.

When I read historical fiction, I expect some embellishment of the facts, but there is way more fiction than facts in this book. In the author’s notes she writes: “This book is absolutely a work of fiction. I’ve included some scurrilous storylines and accusations but, as with my previous novels, my goal was to make the story plausible.” In that case, for me, she utterly failed. Frankly, there was nothing plausible about what she wrote. Yes, there were rumors that JFK was briefly engaged to her, but his constant alleged pursuit of her, especially during times when he was a high profile politician, is just absurd.

She goes on to say: “I took known facts and filled in the gaps to make the case for what could have happened. In short, this book is my hypothesis. Alas, I write fiction and am not a detective or an investigative reporter. Sometimes I had to fudge a name or date, and the research was often conflicting. Despite the large volume of facts and dates, I made many leaps and assumptions.” Ya think?

Although a dear friend whose opinion I respect recommended this book, and I already wanted to read it, I’m afraid I cannot share in her enthusiasm for it, nor recommend it.
...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jun 11, 2018 debbicat *made of stardust* rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, arc, 2018-publish-date

Quite a fascinating little story. I read most of this while on a Florida beach. A perfect vacation read for summer 2018. 4 stars!

Alicia falls in love with Jack Kennedy one summer where she meets him selling popcorn at a movie theater. He's a flirt. She is smitten. It's fun and engaging. I am not sure how much of it all is true. Gable did a lot of research and it is a great story, even if some of it is fabricated.

I thought it well written and easy to read. There is a lot in here about the Kenned ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 02, 2018 Marisa rated it it was amazing

First I want to congratulate the author on the extensive amount of research she did to bring this novel to life. As a reader I appreciate it.

Secondly this novel was great. The Kennedy family has always been a family with a mysterious hold on the American people. In an era where handsome faces and beautiful women entertained us money above all talked. The Kennedys are nasty people!

I loved Alicia. She was a person who had to lie to survive. And she did so gracefully and advantageously. It saddene ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Feb 03, 2018 Susan (LoftNine) rated it really liked it

Based on the Kennedy family’s maid and her affair with JFK, and then some, this story was full of everything I needed for a cold winters read. Full of glitz, name dropping, and multiple celebrity affairs ... who would’ve guessed that it was based on reality! From Hyannisport to Hollywood, it was an excellent read that kept me with my nose buried in the book and not wanting to put it down. A definite must read for every Kennedy fan! **I received this as an ARC giveaway from Goodreads.**

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 11, 2017 Amanda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2017

This book is full of the glitz and glamour of the stars of the time, and the dark underbelly of the Kennedy clan. But it also has a touch of my favorite period of historical fiction, the stories of girls/women of WWII. I could have kept reading about the life of Alicia for so much longer and sort of wish it had been kept at its original epic length.

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 18, 2018 Ellen rated it it was ok

I loved Gable’s previous books, but really forced myself to finish this one. The portrayal of Alicia Darr as JFK’s lover seemed to focus on the worst qualities of both people. The characters were unlikeable, and although I am sure based on a lot of research, focused on a lot of gossip and Hollywood name dropping. Not recommended.

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
Novels & Latte Bo...: June Book Selection	1	6	May 22, 2018 10:23AM

Readers also enjoyed

See similar books…

Genres

Historical > Historical Fiction

136 users

Fiction

46 users

Romance

18 users

Historical

14 users

Adult Fiction

9 users

Audiobook

5 users

Politics

5 users

Romance > Historical Romance

4 users

Unfinished

3 users

Family

3 users

See top shelves…

About Michelle Gable

Michelle Gable

1,044 followers

Michelle Gable is the New York Times Bestselling author of A PARIS APARTMENT, I'LL SEE YOU IN PARIS, THE BOOK OF SUMMER, and THE SUMMER I MET JACK.

Michelle grew up in San Diego and attended The College of William & Mary, where she majored in accounting, as most aspiring writers do. After a twenty-year career in finance, Michelle now writes full-time. She lives in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, California, wi ...more

Books by Michelle Gable

The Summer I Met Jack: The First Chapter

Spring/Summer 2017 St. Martin's First Sampler

More…

The Debut Novel 'Of Women and Salt' Explores the Force of History

Of Women and Salt, the debut novel by Gabriela Garcia, has the feel of a sweeping family saga that’s hard to reconcile with the fact that it’s...

Trivia About The Summer I Met ...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from The Summer I Met ...

“True love is total devotion. And sometimes you really have to give all of yourself, every last miserable piece.” — 5 likes

“Sure, the camp had a hospital, but did George ever wonder what happened to the doctors and nurses from Auschwitz, Treblinka, and the rest? The ones who performed ghastly experiments and brutally hastened the deaths of millions? They were repurposed, sent to DP camps to take care of those who survived, those they’d already tortured but not quite killed.” — 0 likes

More quotes…

See a Problem?

Preview — The Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable

The Summer I Met Jack

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topic
Discuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Michelle Gable

Books by Michelle Gable

Related Articles

Trivia About The Summer I Met ...

Quotes from The Summer I Met ...

See a Problem?

Preview — The Summer I Met Jack by Michelle Gable

The Summer I Met Jack

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Michelle Gable

Books by Michelle Gable

Related Articles

Trivia About The Summer I Met ...

Quotes from The Summer I Met ...

new topic
Discuss This Book