THE ISLAND

THE ISLAND by Elin Hilderbrand was read with an online book group.

From the book jacket:

Birdie Cousins has thrown herself into the details of her daughter Chess's lavish wedding, from the floating dance floor in her Connecticut backyard pond to the color of the cocktail napkins.  Like any mother of a bride-to-be, she is weathering the storms of excitement and chaos, tears and joy.  But Birdie, a woman who prides herself on preparing for every possibility, could never have predicted the late-night phone call from Chess abruptly announcing that she's canceled her engagement.

It's only the first hint of what will be a summer of upheavals and revelations.  Before the dust has even begun to settle, far worse news arrives, sending Chess into a tailspin of despair.  Reluctantly taking a break from the first new romance she's embarked on since the recent end of her thirty-year marriage, Birdie circles the wagons and enlists the help of her younger daughter, Tate, and her own sister, India.  Soon all four are headed to beautiful, rustic Tuckernuck Island, off the coast of Nantucket, where their family has summered for generations.  No phones, no television, no grocery store - a place without distractions where they can escape their troubles.

But when sisters, daughters, ex-lovers, and long-kept secrets come together on a remote island, what might sound like a peaceful getaway becomes much more.  Before summer has ended, dramatic truths are uncovered, old loves are rekindled, and loves make themselves known.  It's a summertime story only Elin Hilderbrand can tell, filled with the heartache, laughter, and surprises that have made her page-turning, bestselling novels as much a part of summer as a long afternoon on a sunny beach.

I really enjoyed this book.  A perfect read for these hot summer days.

Birdie had recently ended her marriage and had started dating a man with whom she envisioned spending the rest of her life.  Her sister, India, had lost her husband 15 years before - he had committed suicide - and she still carried bits and pieces of him with her.  Tate, the younger daughter, lived a very successful life but had no  special person with whom to share it.  And Chess, distraught over the end of her engagement, carried a deep secret that she couldn't share.

All four women used the time on Tuckernuck Island to work through their specific problems, and by the end of the summer they had all made major changes in their lives.  The ending might have been a little too "happy" but it seemed to fit the book and the characters.

I don't think I've read any other books by Ms. Hilderbrand, but I will be looking for some in the future.