Summer Island: A Novel
Jun 2002 · Ballantine Books
4.7star
44 reviewsreport
Ebook
336
Pages
family_home
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About this ebook
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The renowned author of The Women presents 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
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.
“[Kristin] Hannah is superb at delving into the characters’ psyches and delineating nuances of 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.
Ratings and reviews
4.7
44 reviews
Debra Mitchell
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January 9, 2014
Another great novel by Kristin Hannah. I thoroughly enjoyed reading another one of her novels. Once again when you start reading one of her novels, you don't want to stop reading until you have finished the book. Make sure you have a box of tissues alongside you. Beautiful story about a mother and her daughter's, and their relationship.
1 person found this review helpful
Katherine Foley
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June 3, 2021
This was the most beautiful story. It's definitely the most touching book I ever read.
Rickie Baxter
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July 7, 2015
Fair but somewhat common. This should be found under the heading of light romance.
3 people found this review helpful
About the author
Kristin Hannah is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of many acclaimed novels. She and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.
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