The Summer Place, by Jennifer Weiner

 

 

The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner

I’m a longtime fan of Jennifer Weiner, and have watched as her writing has grown more complex and personal over the years. Anyone who follows her knows that 2021 was a very hard year for her. I’m delighted to see that she was able to marshall the emotions that surfaced through her personal trials to create a cast of characters who are vivid, complicated and oh so relatable.

The overriding story is a young couple who’ve decided, shortly after emerging from lockdown, that they want to get married. Technically, the story covers the short time from the announcement of the engagement until the actual date of the wedding. Adding in the backstory, this is a novel that covers generations, and the missteps and mistakes made at each level before the betrothed couple. At one point I had to stop and say, REALLY?? But it works and the way the story loops around to its beginning is nothing short of gymnastics!

I promise you will find at least one character to root for, and if not, you’ll fall for the house. This is a fascinating book of characters and their passions. Great new summer book for Jennifer Weiner fans!

The Nantucket Beachfront Inn, By Ainsley Keaton. 3.5*

 

The Nantucket Beachfront Inn, by Ainsley Keaton

This book follows three friends, their “second act” after leaving, for the right reasons, their first careers. Ava, a high paid and powered attorney, finally rebels from her tax haven seeking millionaire clients. As luck would have it, just when she has realized she has no way to support her lifestyle, and old client dies and leaves her his Nantucket beachfront home, all set up to be a B & B. Her best friends, Quinn and Hallie, decide to come along to the beach…at first as support, but ultimately to reestablish themselves as well.

Ava has problems with her children, one of which is not speaking to her at all. The usual beach shenanigans prevail, including a little bit of witchcraft and lots of fun in the sun. This is the first book in what will be a series, and stands out as a great beach read. Beyond that, there are just too many lucky coincidences, but it’s fun and that’s good, too.

Culture, Characters, Issues and Imagination. Black Cake has them all. 5*

 

Charmaine Wilkerson’s debut novel has all the elements that make fiction so rewarding. Wonderful characters, skillfully drawn, settings that take the reader’s breath away, whether through their beauty or the things they lack.  Historical references that place the cultural issues in perspective and an imaginative story so creative, it must be real. 

Benny and Byron are long separated twins, rejoined when their mother dies and leaves them a strange legacy.  Not just the historic Black Cake, whose recipe has facilitated the survival of this Caribbean family, but a video recording, telling the story of where they all came from. 

While plenty of obstacles face the characters, there is always hope and that hope kept me reading to a satisfying conclusion.  This is a great “book club” book, because it addresses so many issues important today, and does so in an accessible and fresh manner. 

Damnation Spring, by Ash Davidson 3.5*

 

Damnation Spring is a book about the old growth redwood forests of the American PNW, with the switch that it is told from the perspective of the families who make their living cutting those magnificent trees down for lumber.

Following the Gunderson family, Colleen, a young mother, her husband, Rich, a lumberjack, we encounter the hazards, fears and tragedies faced due to poverty, environmental collapse, politics, and family relationships. The characters are well drawn, and the descriptions so spot on you will feel stuck in the mud along with the characters.

It took a while for me to adjust to the dialect and language of this book, but it was done with such authenticity and confidence that once I was a chapter or two in, I was thinking in those phrases and patterns of speech. I think this author deserves kudos for making this happen.

I'm all for treating our characters badly to develop the story, but these folks never seemed to get a break.  It was hard to keep reading, realizing that inevitably, something bad or worse was coming.  Perhaps that is the situation in this part of the world.  In the end, I felt terribly sad.