Review: Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand

Genre: Fiction

Format: Audio

Publisher:

Release Date:

Synopsis from Fantastic Fiction:

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.

My Review:

This is a very emotional read. Like with any book, there are some characters you hate and some that you like. That's how I felt with this one, but overall, I enjoyed this story. I loved the way it all unfolded. This is the first Hilderbrand I listened to, before this I read the books. I think I prefer to read them to the audio. I found myself becoming more attached to the characters I read. However, this could have been the book and not the format I read it in. Either way, I thought this was a good story with strong characters.

FTC Disclosure: I took this audio book from the library for my own enjoyment. This did not influence my thoughts and opinions in any way. All opinions expressed are my own.

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