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231st out of 323 books
—
518 voters
Ferris Beach
"Whimsically entertaining and dramatically compelling."
--The Boston Globe
Kate Burns has heard of the magic of Ferris Beach all her life. Kate needs to believe in a little wonder. Shy and self-conscious, she lives with her distant, demanding mother and eccentric father.
Then Misty moves to town, from Ferris Beach, no less. She is everything Kate wants to be: daring, outrageo...more
--The Boston Globe
Kate Burns has heard of the magic of Ferris Beach all her life. Kate needs to believe in a little wonder. Shy and self-conscious, she lives with her distant, demanding mother and eccentric father.
Then Misty moves to town, from Ferris Beach, no less. She is everything Kate wants to be: daring, outrageo...more
Paperback, 356 pages
Published
September 22nd 2009
by Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill
(first published October 1st 1990)
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Jill McCorkle has what so many great writers have: Voice. I have had the pleasure of hearing her read at Bennington College several times, and have been mesmerized by the sound of her actual voice each time. When I finally bought Ferris Beach and opened it to the first page, it was her writing voice that kept me going all the way through.
McCorkle's attention to detail brings the reader back to the mid-1970s. The characters and setting seem so real, that I found myself on Google Earth trying t...more
McCorkle's attention to detail brings the reader back to the mid-1970s. The characters and setting seem so real, that I found myself on Google Earth trying t...more
I'm always shocked that Jill McCorkle doesn't seem to be as well-known as, say, Alice Hoffman or Barbara Kingsolver. I consider her writing just as good (though perhaps not as feel-good, which may be the reason). Ferris Beach is a wonderful novel for women of any age from about 13 onward, about a teenage girl who finds out some unpleasant truths about the world she lives in and the people she trusts. The theme is not new, but the treatment is; I come back to this book every couple of years to ex...more
Jill McCorkle has this uncanny ability to delve deep into the mindset of each and every one of her characters. For this reason, her writing is some of the most relatable and realistic I've encountered. She also writes about the South. And for these reasons...I looooooove her!
My latest of McCorkle reads is Ferris Beach, the story of Mary Katherine "Kitty" Burns growing up in 1970s North Carolina. Kate is the only child of two middle-aged parents, Cleva and Frank, that she finds mismatched, liking...more
My latest of McCorkle reads is Ferris Beach, the story of Mary Katherine "Kitty" Burns growing up in 1970s North Carolina. Kate is the only child of two middle-aged parents, Cleva and Frank, that she finds mismatched, liking...more
One of my new favorite southern writers. Author born in Lumberton, NC. her fiction has been four times selected by The New York Times Book Review for its Notable Books of the Year list. She teaches creative writing at Harvard and Bennington, lives in Boston with husband and children.
Colorful small-town characters, story of changing South of the 1970's. It tells of a young girl and her "foundling" cousin; and of a love that bridges social classes. The story contains tenderness, innocence, pain an...more
Colorful small-town characters, story of changing South of the 1970's. It tells of a young girl and her "foundling" cousin; and of a love that bridges social classes. The story contains tenderness, innocence, pain an...more
I can't really put my finger on why I loved this book so much. I didn't ever feel in awe of the writing, but maybe that's part of it; the writing was seamless and powerful, so I didn't really notice it. I stayed up late several nights to read more, and that says a lot. McCorkle is a wonderful story-teller, and she creates a great balance between character and plot. This book was beautiful, sad, and very rooted in its setting. Just a great book, really. I'm going to pick up more of her work from...more
My first Jill McCorkle. I can still feel the shade under the house in this book. Hear each character's voice. This is a story that takes place in a small town not far from the ocean, in NC. It features three families, each very different, and the friendships of the two PRE-teen girls and one boy. There's a lot in this book, if you take it all in. Very good story.
Nov 06, 2012
Michael
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Michael by:
NOOK daily book
This book for me was one of those that you start reading not really knowing much about the story. Some books immerse you more than others for a number of reasons, and this is one of those books. I felt like I was a participant within the novel and right there with the characters throughout. It's a 3.5 but I'm going to round it down to 3 stars. It just didn't have that umph.
For some reason, I really struggled with the first few pages and put this book down for a while, but I'm so glad that I picked it back up again. I thought that it was very easy to relate to the characters once I crossed that hurdle. Ferris Beach is a nicely written coming-of-age story about complicated family relationships and learning too early about the challenges and sadness that life can hold.
This was almost moved to the abandoned shelf...but I stuck with it and very glad i did. Although I would have preferred to rate it 3.5 stars over 4 it was one of the better books I have read in awhile and have been on a 3 star rating kick so 4 it is! The story picked up about 50 pages in and once it did I was totally invested. Good plot and great characters.
For some reason this coming-of-age story draws me in almost 20 years after I first read it. There is a certain sense of isolation in Kate's story, and maybe it's those feelings of disconnect that many of us felt as teens that I see mirrored in her story.
Wanted to read something by one of the local authors I keep seeing mention of. This book was okay...a coming-of-age story of two girls in North Carolina in the 1970s. Nothing spectacular about it, though pretty well written.
Jill McCorkle so perfectly nails the details of growing up in the South in the 70's that it sort of gave me the weird sensation of reading my own diary. She also gets the constant yearning of being a teenager just right.
It took me a few chapters to really get into Ferris Beach, but after I did, it was so easy to become wrapped up in the story. I found myself waking up early to read the next few chapters, to see what bit of misfortune happened to fall on Kate or her neighbors. Loved it!
Terrifically engrossing story about growing up in the South. While I am a few years younger than Kitty, I am close enough in age for the story and characters to have resonated.
Not as good as I remembered it being. Read it in college for my Southern Women Writers class. Remember getting all her other books...but can't recall if I read them. This wasn't very long but I felt myself trudging through it, waiting to get to a part that reminded me why I had liked it so much. Really, it may have been just because it wasn't Heart of Darkness or Canterbury Tales.
Very good, believable, readable, honest and real. I loved these characters, and you could almost touch the purple shag carpet, the descriptions were so good. Great book.
Decent 'coming of age' story set in small-town NC during 70's-80's. Interesting characters, family secrets, mother-daughter trials, tragedies, etc. Worth reading.
I had trouble relating to the main character, who seemed to hide inside herself. There were interesting parts and the setting and characters well well drawn.
Very good book. She describes the characters so well. The story is very well told. It was a extraordinary story about ordinary people.
Enjoyable read, though there is some inconsistency (a character and a setting disappear from the second half of the book)
I really enjoyed this bittersweet and funny book. Coming of age story in the South in the 1970s. Great read.
Another great book by Jill McCorkle. This is an easier story to read, but still compelling and relevant.
Ny favorite coming-of-age book about a girl. Lovely. I also think it's McCorkle's best book.
Nice coming of age book. Some passages could have been edited more thoroughly, but overall the book was a joy to read.
Gave it 50 pages and was not interested.
An absolutely page-turning look at life in a small southern town. Don't pass this one up!
favorite Jill McCorkle book
Very good coming of age novel. I really enjoyed the whole book and all the charecters were well developed.
Boring.
Fort some reason this took a hell of a long time to read; either it was longer than it looked in paperback, or it wasn't holding my interest. And in truth it did seem longer than it *needed* to be, while still interesting. Summary: a girl in North Carolina makes best friends with new neighbor, tragedy strikes, love happens, mysterious relative drifts in and out, she comes of age. Characterizations were pretty good, especially the father; not so sure about the plotting.
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Five of Jill McCorkle's seven previous books have been named New York Times Notables. Winner of the New England Booksellers Award, the Dos Passos Prize for Excellence in Literature, and the North Carolina Award for Literature, she has taught writing at the University of North Carolina, Bennington College, Tufts University, and Harvard. She lives near Boston with her husband, their two children, se...more
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May 19, 2013 07:14pm