Summer House

A Novel

By: Nancy Thayer

Narrated by: Emily Durante

After years of wandering from whim to whim, 30-year-old Charlotte Wheelwright seems to have at last found her niche. The free spirit enjoys running an organic gardening business on the island of Nantucket, thanks in large part to her spry grandmother Nona, who donated a portion of her land on the family's seaside compound to get Charlotte started. Though Charlotte's skill with plants is bringing her success, cultivating something deeper with people---particulary her handsome neighbor Coop---might be more of a challenge. Nona's generosity to Charlotte, secretly her favorite grandchild, doesn't sit well with the rest of the Wheelwright clan, however, as they worry that Charlotte may be positioning herself to inherit the entire estate. With summer upon them, everyone is making their annual pilgrimage to the homestead---some with hopes of thwarting Charlotte's dreams, others in anticipation of Nona's latest pronouncements at the annual family meeting, and still others with surprising news of their own. Charlotte's mother, Helen, a Wheelwright by marriage, brings a heavy heart. She once set aside her own ambitions to fit in with the Wheelwrights, but now she must confront a betrayal that threatens both her sense of place and her sense of self. As summer progresses, these three women---Charlotte, Nona, and Helen---come to terms with the decisons they have made. Revisiting the lives and loves that have crossed their paths and the possibilities of the the roads not taken, they may just discover that what they've always sought out was right in front of them all along.

©2009 Nancy Thayer (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Nancy Thayer has a deep and masterly understanding of love and friendship, of where the two complement and where they collide." (Elin Hilderbrand)