NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The author of the cherished bestseller On Mystic Lake returns with a poignant, funny, luminous novel about a mother and daughter–the complex ties that bind them, the past that separates them, and the healing that comes with forgiveness.“[Kristin] Hannah is superb at delving into the characters’ psyches and delineating nuances of feeling.”—Washington Post Book World feeling.”—Washington Post Book World
Years ago, Nora Bridge walked out on her marriage and left her daughters behind. She has since become a famous radio talk-show host and newspaper columnist beloved for her moral advice. Her youngest daughter, Ruby, is a struggling comedienne who uses her famous mother as fuel for her bitter, cynical humor. When the tabloids unearth a scandalous secret from Nora’s past, their estrangement suddenly becomes dramatic: Nora is injured in an accident and a glossy magazine offers Ruby a fortune to write a tell-all about her mother. Under false pretenses, Ruby returns home to take care of the woman she hasn’t spoken to for almost a decade.
Nora insists they retreat to Summer Island in the San Juans, to the lovely old house on the water where Ruby grew up, a place filled with childhood memories of love and joy and belonging. There Ruby is also reunited with her first love and his brother. Once, the three of them had been best friends, inseparable. Until the summer that Nora had left and everyone’s hearts had been broken. . . .
What began as an expose evolves, as Ruby writes, into an exploration of her family’s past. Nora is not the woman Ruby has hated all these years. Witty, wise, and vulnerable, she is desperate to reconcile with her daughter. As the magazine deadline draws near and Ruby finishes what has begun to seem to her an act of brutal betrayal, she is forced to grow up and at last to look at her mother–and herself–through the eyes of a woman. And she must, finally, allow herself to love.
Summer Island is a beautiful novel, funny, tender, sad, and ultimately triumphant.
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Kristin Hannah delivers again. Good read.
Great Book
I liked this book. Not as good as others of hers but I enjoyed it.
Enjoyable read. Kristin Hannah always ahs a way with words. I found myself carving more & more time out to read this book. This created less sleep for me — but a good read!!
Kristin Hannah’s other books are so good! This one was okay, but not nearly as good.
Love the author and this measured up to her previous books I’ve read.
I loved this story. It was different from everything else out there. Great read.
I loved all the characters. Most were living with fears because of not being able to forgive, but once the forgiveness started their lives and love grew into a beautiful ending.
Kristin Hannah never disappoints. This is a sweet tale of forgiveness and what it means to be family.
I have read many of Kristin Hannah books. Most are easy and enjoyable reads and have a point to make. I gave this one only 3 stars because I frankly got tired of their long and drawn out “flaws”. When I finished it, I was so happy to feel like my life was so normal and happy. Maybe I should have given it 4 stars just for that!
Good
Who doesn’t love Kristin Hannah! Another awesome read
Writing superb; story is all about how a Mom and her daughters torn apart come together and realize how strong love is and how desperately one needs it to really live. I cried my eyes out in parts but that is how a well-written book should affect one. Kudos to Kristin Hannah
A great read about family dynamics and forgiveness.
Loved it! Love Kristin Hannah!
I love everything about every book by Kristin Hannah! She is SO good at developing all the characters and telling excellent stories.
A little boring, not up to Kristen’s usual standards!
A master class in making you root for characters who should be unlikeable, and a lesson in withholding judgment when you don’t have all the facts… or even most of them! Deeply moving and emotional.
I like everything by Kristin Hannah
Good story and plot line although it took awhile to take off. The final section of the book was good intense and moved well. Lessons, forgiveness and love themes in the book.