Summer Island
Summer Island by Kristin Hannah was simply not the best book I've ever read, and not even in my top 3 of Kristin Hannah books, but I still enjoyed it. I sobbed for like an hour after finishing it because of the bittersweet feeling it left me with, and I finished it in just a few days, so if you’re looking for something emotional and easy to read, this is it.
Summer Island is a fictional part of the San Juan Islands archipelago in Washington State where Seattleites spend their summers, tourists ferry to for a day, and locals work in fishing, farming, or tourism. Ruby Bridge grew up between Lopez Island and Summer Island but left for LA and a career in comedy. She didn’t look back until her mom – Norah – was in a car accident and needed help recovering on Summer Island. Norah had a successful career as an advice columnist and radio host until news of a long-ago affair broke her fans’ faith in her and in turn Norah’s sense of self. This affair was one piece of the breakdown of the Bridge family which left Ruby with a stubborn hatred of her mother and a disconnect from her sister and father. While helping her mom recuperate, Ruby starts to gain perspective on her mother as a person rather than the one-dimensional villain she had made her out to be. With that, the other people in her life gain dimension as well. Norah hopes to repair her relationship with her daughter while she repairs her broken leg and damaged ego.
“In that quiet, Ruby heard the echo of a broken family; they were individual pieces, now separate, wanting a wholeness that had been shattered.”
Meanwhile, on Lopez island, Ruby’s longtime family friend Eric is in hospice care in a losing battle with cancer. Eric is hoping his decline will give him an opportunity to connect with his estranged parents and brother Dean. When Dean comes back to the island to sit with his brother, their conversations mend gaps from when they weren’t speaking and the boys try to understand what it means to be alive, in love, and fulfilled. These two families are drawn together as they attempt to repair relationships that seemed broken beyond repair.
Summer Island is a novel with a pretty predictable plot, the writing is not super special, there is quite a bit of repetition, and some of the characters are not super interesting or well-developed. That said, I really appreciated how this novel explored second chances, honest conversations, and how love takes real effort and commitment, not just a momentary feeling.
“Can you let yourself jump without a net? Because that’s what love is, what faith is. You’re looking for a guarantee, and those come with auto parts. Not love.”
