Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand Also by this author: The Identicals, Here's to Us
Published by Reagan Arthur Books, Hatchett Audio on June 26th 2012
Pages: 416
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 031609983X
ASIN: B005SCSBWO
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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.
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Elin Hilderbrand has been a favorite of mine since I read which ever of her books I read first. They started out as sort of angsty poolside reads, but this author has grown to lend her unique perspective to all sorts of issues that affect us as people, as families, as human beings. Be prepared. Summerland is going to break your heart, but it may also heal your heart. I laughed, I cried, I felt the arousal of first love, second love, and last love.
As narrator, Erin Bennett gives an admirable performance. She does especially well with the character Ava who is a native of Australia. It’s always a plus when narrators are able to read with authentic accents.
Listeners who live in insular communities such as the island of Nantucket will love the author’s descriptions of island life where everyone knows everyone’s business. This is both a blessing and a curse as the families whose lives we glimpse as we listen support and care for each other even while they castigate each other. Although Ms. Hilderbrand’s books are stand alones, those who pay close attention will, from time to time, recognize the names of island residents from other books.
There will be no spoilers in this review, but I’m going to give fair warning to certain groups of people who should probably take up this book with caution: mothers or fathers with teenagers, mothers or fathers who have had affairs with the mothers or fathers of their teenagers, and mothers or fathers who suspect their teenagers have used alcohol or drugs. Oops…that may cover just about anyone who would listen to this book, so I’m going to go out on a limb and say “Put on your big girl panties or your boxer briefs and give this book a listen. You won’t regret it.”
About Elin Hilderbrand
Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her five previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.
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