The Myth of Perpetual Summer is an interesting come-of-age novel that takes place in the 60s and 70s. The main character is Tallulah, a young girl with a dysfunctional family that tries to get by and help her siblings the best she can even though the past is surrounded by secrets. I like when a book does a good job on mixing real facts (things that happened in history) with fictional characters - so while learning about Tallulah you will also read about racism in Mississipi, Vietnam war, and even some breakthroughs in Psychology in the 70s. The title comes from the idea, shared by one of the siblings, that escaping to California would solve all their problems. This is such a beautiful and moving story, and in the end makes us realize that everyone has its own struggles in life, and comes with a family history that you can’t simply deny; its part of who we are today. Yet it is still possible to thrive. "You're not your family".