Summer Island

Good family drama story and one of Hannah's earlier books; definitely like her more recent book a lot more.

I love all of Kristin Hannah's books I have read so far. Great author. I suggest reading any of her books.

This book is a story about mother/daughter relationships and family secrets. Being a big Kristin Hannah fan, I was hoping to love this story. However, it is a bit too sappy and cliched for me. It has a rebellious daughter, an absent mother, a dying cancer patient who happens to also be gay, and a bored bachelor. All of these feel too stereotypical for my liking. It's all a bit too much for one book.

This book is mostly about Nora Bridge and her daughter Ruby. Their relationship is strained because Nora left her family when Ruby was in high school. Ruby holds a grudge and wants nothing to do with Nora now that she is an adult. However, Ruby is offered money to write a tell-all article about her mother when Nora's career is derailed by the revelation of a major secret from her past. Through the course of the time they spend together at their family's island home, they learn a lot about each other and the real reasons for Nora's actions in the past.

The storyline focuses on healing old wounds and reestablishing family bonds. There are many heartwarming moments between mother and daughter. There are also some moments of humor that lighten the drama a bit. However, there are some secondary storylines that feel unnecessary to the overall plot and seem added just to create another layer of emotional drama.

Overall, this book is just okay for me. I felt like it had a bit too much going on and maybe tried too hard to tug at my heartstrings.

I really enjoyed SUMMER ISLAND, but perhaps a tad less than some of Hannah's other books. I think the inevitability of the story may have dampened my enthusiasm somewhat. That said, I think the author handled the weighty subjects of the book with aplomb and, yes, even humor.

It was a stroke of genius to have one of the main characters be a comedian. Addressing cancer, divorce, abandonment, and injury is not the breeding grounds of laughter. Probably the strongest, or to me the most touching, component of the story lay with the character, Eric, a gay man facing cancer without the support of the bio-family. This book was copyrighted in 2001, and a lot has changed since then, but this is by no means an outdated story. Sure we have more acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage is now protected by law, but that doesn't make everyone accepting of the lifestyle.

As always, Hannah brings great stories and characters to life on her pages. But this isn't the beach read that the title might suggest.

Reading this is like being on an emotional roller-coaster.