Summer House

I did not object to the multitude of characters, but there was no character development and it was just too predictable. I did make it through the whole book but I really think it was a waste of time.Summer House: A Novel

not that great.....

This book really fell flat for me. A friend loaned it to me since we both loved Elin Hilderbrand's Nantucket-based novels. I tried to get into this one and abandoned it after trying about 70 pages. I couldn't get involved with any of the characters to really like them...Nona especially. She seems to endure her family but came off as pompous and manipulative like many of the other characters. The whole family seemed "cold" to me...not a fun beach read. The more I read of this snobbish family, the more depressed I got. Leave it and walk on by.

Family Drama

The Wheelwright clan is one of New England's oldest families, whose matriarch Anne, known to the family as Nona is celebrating her 90th birthday. Amidst great personal drama, her children, grandchildren and two small great grandchildren converge on Nantucket for the summer. Among the festivities to be celebrated are Nona's birthday and the annual family meeting.

Even though Nona has two children, most of this books is focused on her son, Worth, his wife Helen and their family. Her daughter Grace's family, in comparison, is rather boring giving all of the drama and controversy surrounding Worth and Helen's children. Charlotte, their oldest, runs Beach Grass Garden, a local, organic food source for the residents of Nantucket, on a parcel of land owned by Nona. Grace's family is up on arms - viewing this as favoritism toward Worth's children, and since Charlotte is making a profit, they are worried that their inheritance of the land is in jeopardy. Oliver, Helen and Worth's oldest son, and his partner Owen are planning to get married on Nantucket, then returning to their lives in San Francisco, far away from the Wheelwright clan. Teddy, their youngest, who has always struggled with alcohol and drug addiction, shows up for Nona's birthday party with pregnant Suzette in tow, claiming her as his wife.

Throughout the novel, each family member, even Nona, is harboring an important secret, that once revealed, will surprise the reader. Thayer wraps the plot up very nicely, leaving the reader with a satisfying, and entertaining story! Great for summer reading!

Just mediocre

"Summer House" is not an unpleasant book... but it had too many characters, and too little actual focus. Two chapters into it, I had to sketch out a family tree, in order to keep all the relations straight -- and that is something the author should have provided. The story meanders through the lives of all these people, interestingly enough (I guess) but without much point, direction or energy. Only the writer's skill with words made this as readable as it was.

LOVED IT!!!

A wonderful book, a page turner. I read this in two days, did not want it to end. The storylines and characters are fantastic. You want to cheer, berate and cry all at once. Always enjoy a book with the Cape and Islands locale. Thank you Ms. Thayer.