Summer People: A Novel
Manhattanite Beth Newton is taking her family to Nantucket for their typical island summer, except this year is anything but typical. Absent is Arch, Beth's husband and father to her twin son and daughter, Garrett and Winnie. Present (at Arch's invitation, before he died in a plane crash) is the black 17-year-old son of a woman Arch had been defending against the death penalty after she killed her sister-in-law and niece. The family intends to spend the summer resting and healing, but tensions quickly build over Garrett's resentment of Marcus' presence. Things heat up more when Beth finds that her first love, full-time Nantucket resident David, now separated from his wife, seems eager to rekindle old times. Meanwhile, the kids develop complicated relationships of their own: Garrett with David's older daughter, Winnie with Marcus. Hilderbrand's third Nantucket-set novel effectively juxtaposes the surface calm of the season with the turbulence of the characters' lives. More entertaining beach reading from the author ofThe Beach Club(2000) andNantucket Nights(2002).Beth LeistensniderCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved