The Castaways

Very lightweight beach read. Author seemed to feel she had to knock reader over the head with "insight." She told readers about the characters instead of letting the characters tell us themselves and letting us form our own conculusions about them.

A Must Summer Read!

The Castaways: A Novel

Here is a Summer reading book that I just couldn't put down for one minute! The Castaways by Elin Hilderbrand takes you into the lives of four couples. Close knit friends who do nearly everything together, share nearly everything. When one of those couples, Tess and Greg suddenly die in a boating accident their world is turned upside down and sideways in ways you can't imagine. Can these couples recover from such a devastating loss in their circle of friends? What personal secrets are the rest of them holding on to?

The secrets that surface will touch your heart and may hit home for some of you. You will laugh and cry reading The Castaways and it's well worth picking up this book. I totally loved it and would certainly give it 4+ stars! Take it to the beach with you; Read it in your hotel room. Get away and relax and really enjoy this fabulous Summer read.

An interesting story, tended to drag on

I've read all of Hildebrand's books, and I enjoyed this one like the others. The story was interesting, and kept my attention throughout. Despite what others on here said, I found this to be a good beach read. I literally read the whole thing at the beach, and it was interesting enough to keep reading.

The one thing I will say is that the story follows too many people. In the beginning I got confused several times when trying to keep the characters straight. Eventually I figured it all out though. Sometimes Hildebrand gives too much detail on dumb things, like what they ate or wore etc...

It does have a different theme than most books, but I still liked it. I literally cried at the end. It was a good ending.

The Castaways - Loved it!!

This is the first book I have read by Hilderbrand, but I have to say it will not be my last. The story follows four couples who live in Nantucket and do everything together. They call themselves The Castaways. The book opens with the tragic death of one of the couples, Greg and Tess, the youngest of the four couples. The story is told through the voices of the remaining six friends as they not only deal with their grief, but the choices they have made. I would say this is a great beach read, but I would have enjoyed it just as much in the middle of the winter.

it IS a great beach read

Read this book in two sittings. Captivating characters and humerous language. It's not a fluffy read. Just great insight into the lives of eight very interesting people.