Firefly Summer

Thank you to NetGalley.com for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank goodness this isn’t based on Nantucket like so many other New England summer vacation tales!! But is it nice to know that people who live year-round on the Cape hate the tourists that flock there in the summertime just the same as their island counterparts. Seriously – then move out in the summer, rent out your home for mass amounts of money and go somewhere else instead of having to complain about the traffic, lines and wait times.

What I loved: While not one sister had a friend outside of her own family (and why was that?) they each bonded with an animal in the story that helped ground them while providing an outlet for emotions as well as a conversation that was outside of the immediate family. Yes – I’m reaching here..sometimes a book is just a book.

What I didn’t love: Outside of the author’s excessive use of exclamation points (seriously – using 2-3 per stream-of-conscious paragraph got really annoying since these women weren’t coming up with Albert Einstein-like thoughts in the slightest), this family was a stereo-typical New England WASP family – they kept their emotions to themselves, they didn’t delve into feelings & emotions, and they were all filled with a little quirk. Its frustrating that people are still perpetuating the myth that they’re all like that – and closet alcoholics.

What I learned: Guilt can be a powerful thing.

Overall Grade: B-