Ratings4
Average rating2.8
GMA BOOK CLUB PICK • ONE OF PEOPLE MAGAZINE'S BEST BOOKS OF SUMMER • An outrageously funny debut novel about a woman who moves to a small beach town looking for peace, only to find herself in an all-out war with her neighbors. “Irreverent and unexpectedly tender, this story takes neighborhood feuding to new heights and finds beauty and reinvention in unlikely places." —Oprah Daily "Brings a tongue-in-cheek tone to the beach read genre."—TIME When Kathleen Deane’s husband, Tom, tells her he's no longer happy with his life and their marriage, Kathleen is confused. They live in Kansas. They’ve been married thirty years. Who said anything about being happy? But with Tom off finding himself, Kathleen starts to think about what she wants. And her thoughts lead her to a small beach community on the east coast, a town called Whitbey that has always looked lovely in the Christmas letters her childhood friend Josie sends every year. It turns out, though, that life in Whitbey is nothing like Josie’s letters. Kathleen’s new neighbor, Rosemary, is cantankerous, and the town’s supervisor won't return Kathleen’s emails, but worst of all is the Sugar Cube, the monstrosity masquerading as a holiday home that Kathleen’s absentee neighbors are building next door to her quaint (read: tiny) cottage. As Kathleen gets more and more involved in the fight against the Sugar Cube and town politics overall, she realizes that Whitbey may not be a fairytale, but it just might be exactly what she needed. Save What’s Left can best be described as the “un-beach read.” It pulls back the curtain on life in a beach town, revealing the true cost of a pretty view. Told from the candid and irreverent perspective of a newcomer turned local, this is a story of forgiveness, fortitude, and second chances.
Reviews with the most likes.
OK so my cheeks hurt from laughing so much. Save What's Left will definitely be one that is either a love or hate for most readers. Happily for me...it's somewhere in-between. There is a lot I adored about this one (Kathleen and Rosemary are a hoot) and a few things I didn't like (Kathleen and Rosemary and their incessant whining and interfering). It's a double-edged sword with this one LOL
I don't live in a beach town and have never visited one. I do, however, live in a small town in Alaska so to a degree...I get it. It's different and there are certainly some interesting characters. What I don't get is the over involvement and cantankerous attitudes. Maybe those who live in a beach town will get that reference more than I did.
However, that being said I thoroughly enjoyed reading about their antics and their plotting. You know the whole better their drama than mine. Love that in books and boy was there some drama in this one LOL. Yes, at times, it was irritating but overall didn't make me love this any less.
I don't feel like this is warm-hearted read and the term un-beach read definitely fits. It's more like grabbing a tub of popcorn and watching the SHTF