Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams

Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams. William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, 2018. Adult fiction.

Winthrop Island lies off the coast of Connecticut in the Atlantic Ocean. Wealthy families summer there and their lives intertwine with the locals who work to keep their houses clean, their food cooked, and to provide the fabulous seafood. In 1959, when Miranda Schuyler first arrives, it is for the wedding of her widowed mother to wealthy Hugh Fisher. His daughter Isobel is near Miranda's age.  It doesn't take long for the girls and handsome lobsterman Joseph Vargas whose family keeps the lighthouse to heat up the summer.

Flash forward to 1969 when movie star Miranda Schuyler, sporting a black eye, arrives again on Winthrop Island. Joseph Vargas has escaped from prison where he is serving a term for a long ago murder. What's happened in-between dates back to the histories of locals and summer families from years gone by. 

Beatriz Williams writes of sand, sea, and intrigue. This book is one that should find its way to your summer beach bag...or maybe just read it during your staycation! 

The Yankee Widow by Linda Lael Miller

  The Yankee Widow by Linda Lael Miller. Mira, 2019. Historical fiction, adult.

When Jacob Hammond leaves his wife, young daughter, and farm near Gettysburg, Pennsylvania to fight as a Union soldier, he cannot anticipate the future. When Jacob is wounded and taken to Washington, D.C., Caroline Hammond goes to find him. The story really begins when she goes back to the farm. She depends on Enoch, an African American who has become friend and ally to the little family. Escaped slave Jubie arrives, pregnant, and with a slave catcher on her heels. Then, the war itself finds its way to her own yard and orchard. Both Union and Confederate soldiers become part of Caroline's story.

Told in straightforward words, Miller does a fine job of describing scenery, action, and characters. She has obviously done a great deal of research and it shows in the little details. Those unfamiliar with the American Civil War will learn a great deal about the loyalties and action on both sides of the fighting.

The Miracle and Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets by Sarah Miller.

  The Miracle and Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets by Sarah Miller. Random House, August, 2019. Ages 12 and up. (reviewed from galley)

This well researched title about the five identical Dionne sisters begins with their birth in 1934 Canada. With few resources in the little farming family itself,  and the primitive rural medicine of the time, it's truly a wonder that any of the babies survived the midwife assisted births. But, then, they lived.

And, suddenly, the Depression era world wanted to know all about these little darlings! Who would take care of them? The government got involved to help provide the very best of medical care, child development information, a warm and safe environment, and everything the sisters could need...in fact, everything, but a loving family life.

The author does a masterful job of telling the story of all the attention, the marketing, and general tourist attraction nature of the girls' life. Only when they are not little and quite so cute, does the family reunite in a big house with all of the Dionne sisters and brothers and parents together. Even then, life is not sunny though.

Photos are included to show the Dionne quintuplets as children, teens, and adults. The author begins each chapter with a newspaper headline. Updates with quotes from interviews of the surviving adult women show how they felt about their family, their schooling, their lives, each other, and their ultimate attempts to be themselves as well as part of such a historic group.

Sea Glass Summer by Michelle Houts.

  Sea Glass Summer by Michelle Houts, Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Candlewick, 2019. Children's picture book.

Set in Maine, this soft watercolored book illustrates the very best of the rocks, ocean, water, and coastal people. Young Thomas is spending time with his grandmother. He enjoys searching for sea glass and hearing stories of his family. He dreams of other times and other people in the past. By the end of the book, another generation has come to the shore and finds new inspiration in the same setting.

This is a wonderful multi-generational family story. It includes some science, too, in talking about recycling, weathering by the elements, using a magnifying glass, and collecting washed-up items. The text and illustrations mesh gracefully to provide a comforting seaside tale.

The Dinner List: A Novel by Rebecca Serle

The Dinner List: A Novel by Rebecca Serle. Flatiron Books, 2018. Adult fiction.

If you could invite five people, living or dead, to dinner, who would be on your list?? When Sabrina Nielsen turns thirty, she arrives at the restaurant to find her best friend, an old love, her mentor, her estranged father, and Audrey Hepburn!  Told in alternating chapters of time at the dinner and time in Sabrina's past, readers slowly learn why these people are there and how they have fit in Sabrina's life.  Enjoy each course as it is served!

The Summer We Lost Her by Tish Cohen

The Summer We Lost Her: A Novel by Tish Cohen. Scout Press, Simon and Schuster, 2019. Adult fiction.  On sale 6/4/2019)

Matt Sorenson, a lawyer, and his wife, Elise, a dressage horsewoman destined for the Rio Olympics, have one child, Gracie. Life recently has been difficult with Elise away for weeks at a time and Matt struggling to single parent and become partner in the firm. Gracie's smiles and determination as she navigates her turquoise crutches are lights in their lives.

Matt's now deceased grandfather, Nate, had an estate on Lake Placid, New York. It's here that the little family plan to pack up and sell it all. Elise doesn't realize that Matt's old love, Cass, lives right next door. Matt doesn't realize what Nate's accumulation of land involved. Elise keeps her own secrets close. And, then, Gracie goes missing.

A story of essentially what really matters in life, this novel well describes the small community, the haves and have-nots, the price people pay for what they think they want. Cohen knows the setting well and readers will feel like they are right there. She also is adept at describing the humans and their strengths and foibles. Will they find Gracie? Will their love survive either way?  Full of suspense, simmering attraction, and a parent's worst fear, this is a book to pack in your summer bag!

The Donkey Egg by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel

  The Donkey Egg by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2019. Children's picture book.

Those of us familiar with Bear and Hare in the Stevens/Crummel collaboration Tops and  Bottoms, another picture book, will laugh out loud at the return of these characters. New fans will be charmed, too.

Add Fox to this colorful tale, and the trickster story begins as Fox cleverly sells an obvious watermelon to Bear. Fox convinces Bear that, with patience, he can hatch a donkey from the "egg". Poor Bear does everything he can. He keeps the egg warm. He keeps the egg safe. He keeps the egg happy. Hare lends support every time he makes a running loop as he trains for another race. Finally, when the "egg" falls and breaks, Bear and Hare plant the seeds, grow real watermelons, and buy a donkey with their proceeds! What a turn of events for confused Fox!

Little boxes show exactly how long minutes, hours, days, and weeks can be. Math teachers will want to key in on the possibilities to slip math information painlessly into lessons! The large and colorful illustrations invite exploration. Humorous rhyming words help pass the waiting time and roll off the reader's tongue. Another winner from this dynamic sister duo!