Title: Summerland
Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Genre: Chick Lit, Contemporary, Drama, Fiction
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books
Publication Date: June 26, 2012
Kindle Edition: 400 pages
Series: None

Where’d I Get It: Barnes and Noble

Synopsis (From Goodreads): It’s June 15th, the night of Nantucket High School graduation. Four juniors are driving home from a party when something goes horribly wrong and there is a crash. The driver of the car, Penny Alistair, is killed, and her twin brother, Hobby Alistair, is left in a coma. Penny’s boyfriend, Jake Randolph, and Penny’s friend Demeter Castle are unhurt–but suffer tremendous emotional damage. Jake and his family move to the other side of the globe–to the west coast of Australia–in order to escape the horrors of the accident. Demeter falls prey to alcohol abuse and other self-destructive behaviors that nearly lead to her destroying her own life.

SUMMERLAND delves into the circumstances surrounding this accident, the roots of which lie deep in the past, with the first interactions between these four friends and their parents. It’s a novel about how tragedy affects individuals, families, and the island community as a whole, and how healing can happen, in even the most devastating circumstances.

My Thoughts: Hmmm…..well for starters I love Elin Hilderbrand books.  They are enjoyable summer reads, which is my favorite kind of book and this book definitely fell into that category.  I will admit that it was not one of my favorites of Ms. Hilderbrand’s books though, it had a very sluggish beginning.  A lot of banter back and forth, which I guess sets up the story, but quite honestly the synopsis sets up the story so I didn’t see the need for 100-150 pages of more of it. Roughly half way through the book things start to pick up, great things like (spoiler alert) Hobby wakes up from the coma!  Hurray!  Basically the book picks up where the synopsis left off. Then it got interesting and I sailed through the second half of the book.  And rather enjoyed it! I enjoyed how Ms. Hilderbrand tied in previous book characters, making it feel like I have lived on Nantucket my whole life, although you certainly don’t need to read any of her previous books to keep up in this book.  The dialogues of the various people involved in the story was a nice twist, and she kept the story in order with it, which is very important to me.  It’s a decent summer read, but don’t run out and buy the most expensive copy you can find!

Rating: 3 of 5