What a fun, easy-to-read book!
If you're looking for a great little beach read, this is it! It does have some depth to it as well....it's not just fluff. It's less than 300 pages so is a quick read that moves along in the plot line....every chapter is a different girl's voice. The author was one I recognized from book reviews and library shelves but I had never read her novels until this one. I liked it!
STORY SUMMARY
Kate is a "good girl" who is a young lawyer living in Philadelphia where she grew up. She has just been informed by her fiance, Peter, that he wants to call off the wedding. This happens on the day she finds out she is pregnant with his child. She doesn't tell him.
Dani, who lives in San Francisco with several roommates, aspires to be a writer. But, she is hooked on alcohol and pills and just can't seem to open her laptop to get her novel started. She has also been fired many times in the last 8 years...this recent one means she might have to move back to Avalon, NJ and live with her father who raised her after her mother left them when she was a young child.
Vanessa, living in NYC and married to the son of a famous television newsman, is a beautiful young mother of a 2 year old daughter Lucy. She no longer works in the art gallery, a career she loved, in order to be a full time stay at home mom. Vanessa is obsessed with browsing the internet looking for a boyfriend from her college days. Her husband, Drew, has recently confessed to kissing a co-worker. Vanessa is unsure of where her marriage, and her life, is going.
Kate, Vanessa, and Dani decide to regroup and spend a long weekend at Dani's father's beach house in Avalon. This is where they spent much of their growing up days during the summer. The last time they were all together was 8 years ago, when they were college seniors. It is also the summer that Kate's twin brother, Colin, died.
Each girl feels guilty in their part of Colin's death. Yet each girl is unaware of the other girls' feelings or thoughts regarding his death.
As they begin to relax on the ocean and open up to each other about the turn their lives have taken, they realize that their lives and their friendships have been shaped by the choices they have made...choices from that fateful summer 8 years ago......
some of those are secrets that now threaten to come to the surface.....
Will they explore these secrets and go beneath the surface to face their fears, guilt, and angst??
Will Kate inform Peter of the pregnancy?
Will Vanessa decide to stay in her marriage....and if so, what does she learn from this time away?
And Dani.......what will she decide to do with her life??
MY THOUGHTS
I enjoyed this book purely for it's simplicity in style and development of each character. The plot was rather similar to other "beach reads" I've read over the years but the writing style was one I liked...I liked that the author took each chapter to be a different voice and that she wove in the back story of each character without the present plot getting bogged down.
This book reminded me that our friendships are often much deeper than we realize. It reminded me that life is short and that we need to be real with each other and not be afraid to start over.
It's an excellent story about the bonds of female friendships.
It reminds me that sometimes secrets need to be revealed in order for true healing (emotionally and spiritually) to occur.
In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older.(due to some content)
On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.
1 comment:
Another to add to my library list!
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