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Summer People
by
Elin Hilderbrand (Goodreads Author)
Summer People by Elin Hilderbrand
Every summer the Newton family retreats to their beloved home on Nantucket for three months of sunshine, cookouts, and bonfires on the beach. But this summer will not be like any other. When Arch Newton, a prominent New York attorney, dies in a plane crash on his way home from a business trip, his beautiful widow Beth can barely keep things ...more
Every summer the Newton family retreats to their beloved home on Nantucket for three months of sunshine, cookouts, and bonfires on the beach. But this summer will not be like any other. When Arch Newton, a prominent New York attorney, dies in a plane crash on his way home from a business trip, his beautiful widow Beth can barely keep things ...more
Paperback, 352 pages
Published
July 15th 2004
by St. Martin's Paperbacks
(first published May 30th 2003)
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Community Reviews
(showing 1-30)
Oh dilemma, because I'm hesitating between a 3 and a 4 stars for this one. I know I’m in for a nice treat when I read a book by Elin Hilderbrand, that's for sure. I may not always like all the characters she puts on paper (as in this one), but I always thoroughly enjoy her writing style and the stories she brings, set on beautiful Nantucket. This one, centering on the Newton family, might well be the most touching I’ve read so far by this author. The parts that revealed what happened in the past
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I needed a summer fluff book. This book and its $4 price tag at Costco accommodated me.
It was fluffy. Once I understood the title, that there are wealthy people who spend entire summers doing nothing in their second homes on beautiful and quaint islands, I forgave the shallowness of most of the characters. It is supposed to be about seemingly shallow people albeit shallow people who are grieving for their dead spouse and father. That doesn't forgive the lack of depth Hilderbrand wrote all the o ...more
It was fluffy. Once I understood the title, that there are wealthy people who spend entire summers doing nothing in their second homes on beautiful and quaint islands, I forgave the shallowness of most of the characters. It is supposed to be about seemingly shallow people albeit shallow people who are grieving for their dead spouse and father. That doesn't forgive the lack of depth Hilderbrand wrote all the o ...more
More than anything else, this book is about loss, and the different ways people grieve. You might think that would make a book depressing, but I actually found it to be optimistic and even humorous at times.
It's summer, and the wealthy, upper-East-Side Newton family is headed to their beach house on Nantucket, as they do every year. This year, however, they do it without their father, Arch, who was killed three months earlier in a plane crash. His children, twins Winnie and Garrett, have been un ...more
It's summer, and the wealthy, upper-East-Side Newton family is headed to their beach house on Nantucket, as they do every year. This year, however, they do it without their father, Arch, who was killed three months earlier in a plane crash. His children, twins Winnie and Garrett, have been un ...more
Another new author who I have fallen in love with! I love books set in places in New England and along the water front of the East coast so Nantucket during the summer was perfect in my book for a summertime read. A little slow for me at the start, but once I got into it (and past some of the darker parts), I was hooked.
If I were Elin's editor, I would have told her "this so called plot twist? is a BUST"
Wow. The big secret is that the mom was married, twenty-five years ago, for two weeks. Years before she met her long-term spouse, years before she had children, she was married for two weeks. No entanglements, no long-term consequences, just a young girl who made a silly mistake and managed to rectify it before it got ugly. My mom was engaged before she met my father. That didn't work out. Thirty years later I' ...more
Wow. The big secret is that the mom was married, twenty-five years ago, for two weeks. Years before she met her long-term spouse, years before she had children, she was married for two weeks. No entanglements, no long-term consequences, just a young girl who made a silly mistake and managed to rectify it before it got ugly. My mom was engaged before she met my father. That didn't work out. Thirty years later I' ...more
3.5. You can always count on Elin Hilderbrand for a good beachread. Beth's husband, Arch, was killed in a plane crash just 3 months before she and her teenage twins go to Nantucket for the summer, maintaining a family tradition. Before he died, Arch invited Marcus, the teenage son of a murderer he is representing, to join the family in Nantucket. Out of a respect for Arch, Beth honors Arch's invitation. The first person Beth's sees in Nantucket is her first love, who is recently separated. His t
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A nice light summer read. Just what I was in the mood for. Although it does address some serious topics, it doesn't dwell on them. The ending isn't what you would expect, but it is the right one. Well done.
I will start by saying I am a big fan of Elin Hilderbrand. This is the sixth novel I have read from this author and I think it is one of my top favorites. I have read “Barefoot”, “The Island”, “The Castaways”, “The Love Season”, and “Silver Girl”. I can honestly say that I could not put this book down. There is an ease to her writing style that pulls you in to her story and makes all the characters very relatable.
As proven in her previous books, Hilderbrand is a master at dealing with the famil ...more
As proven in her previous books, Hilderbrand is a master at dealing with the famil ...more
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Reading about the sun, the ocean and the joys of summer at the beach is exactly what I needed as winter started. What I didn't need was the sappy, lack of depth story that I found in this book.
The story is about a family that has recently lost their father, Arch Newton, who was on his way home from a work trip. They seek solice in their summer tradition-going to Nantucket Island. Despite needing time for them to heal as a family, mom Beth and her twins, Winnie and Garrett, aren't making the trip ...more
The story is about a family that has recently lost their father, Arch Newton, who was on his way home from a work trip. They seek solice in their summer tradition-going to Nantucket Island. Despite needing time for them to heal as a family, mom Beth and her twins, Winnie and Garrett, aren't making the trip ...more
I could not bring myself to finish this book. And that is not something I often do. There was nothing in this book to draw me in. I was bored throughout reading it and after reading spoilers, decided there was no reason to finish it.
Great summer read from one of my favorite authors.
Summer People is a very good novel by Elin Hilderbrand. It is set on Nantucket Island. The characters and situations they find themselves in are definitely realistic.
Arch Newton had taken on a pro bono case where a lady killed her sister-in-law and her nine-year-old daughter. He felt the woman didn’t deserve the death sentence due to the unusual circumstances. His law firm, of which he was a full partner, was not excited about the case but since he brought in the greatest amount of business, th ...more
Arch Newton had taken on a pro bono case where a lady killed her sister-in-law and her nine-year-old daughter. He felt the woman didn’t deserve the death sentence due to the unusual circumstances. His law firm, of which he was a full partner, was not excited about the case but since he brought in the greatest amount of business, th ...more
I love reading Elin Hilderbrand's books which is why I was so disappointed in this one. Her books all contain flawed personalities but you can usually see the good in them as well. A perfect example is the Quinn family from the winter season series. However, I just hated all of the main characters in this novel except for Marcus. This family was insufferable, pampered and entitled. I'm not 100% sure that Arch's plane crashed or that he staged it and ran away to get away from these people. I usua
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I am finding that I rate books within the context of what is currently going on in my world. Summer People is a great beach or vacation read; unfortunately, I had just finished a book based on a similar subject. Hard it to make a comparison.
Summer People has multiple intertwined story lines: a parent murders two people, a father suddenly dies in a plane crash, his surviving family grieves, the father was an attorney representing the mother accused of murder, the father had invited that woman's s ...more
Summer People has multiple intertwined story lines: a parent murders two people, a father suddenly dies in a plane crash, his surviving family grieves, the father was an attorney representing the mother accused of murder, the father had invited that woman's s ...more
I adore most Elin Hilderbrand books, and this one is no exception. She does such an incredible job with conveying atmosphere and making the reader understand the various sides to complicated situations.
In this case, I simply loved Marcus, and I liked Beth and Winnie. David was... meh. I loved him at times, but he annoyed me at other times. As for Garrett and Piper - omg, I hated them so much. I don't hold that against the author, as I don't think she was trying to make them likable as much as r ...more
In this case, I simply loved Marcus, and I liked Beth and Winnie. David was... meh. I loved him at times, but he annoyed me at other times. As for Garrett and Piper - omg, I hated them so much. I don't hold that against the author, as I don't think she was trying to make them likable as much as r ...more
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The library delivered the last two of the Hilderbrand books I was waiting for. I have about 10-11 left to read. I finally realized her books are peopled with the wealthy, because money predominates on Nantucket. The year rounders who provide the resort services are the ones struggling, perhaps even leaving off season to find other work. The other issue is that rich people don't want to read about poor people's problems while they are at the beach, and that is her readership: beach people. There
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I picked this up because I enjoy Hilderbrand's books and this was one that I haven't read already. Her books all take place on Nantucket and this was no exception.
The Newton family is devastated by the death of their husband/father. He has died in a plane crash while he was traveling to meet with a fellow attorney concerning a case that he is working on. He is representing a black woman who attended Princeton when he was there. For some reason, he feels that he needs to do this although crimina ...more
The Newton family is devastated by the death of their husband/father. He has died in a plane crash while he was traveling to meet with a fellow attorney concerning a case that he is working on. He is representing a black woman who attended Princeton when he was there. For some reason, he feels that he needs to do this although crimina ...more
As in other books by Elin Hildebrand, what drew me into this book is her picturesque description of Nantucket Island, as well as an authentic inside view on how people live their lives there. Summer People touches upon the disparity between year-round Islanders and wealthy "Summer People" who reclaim their summer homes for a season of high-life social reveling. The story unfolds as the main characters David and Elizabeth, who once eloped in secret, meet after decades of going their separate ways
...more
On the one hand, I really enjoyed Elin Hilderbrand's "Summer People". On the other hand, I was more than a little disturbed by her portrayal of "white versus black." Marcus didn't have nearly as many automatic stereotypes about white people as Beth, Garrett, and Winnie had about black people, but here's a line that stuck with me (toward the end of the book): "Colgate was a white person's school." Um, Hilderbrand, I'm pretty sure Colgate is a university, not a white person's school. It may have a
...more
This represents my annual Elin Hilderbrand summer "beach read"--although this time I was a little more impressed with the depth of both the story and the characters.
Park Avenue's Beth Newton brings her twin 17-year-olds to Nantucket for the summer--but this summer is like no other. Beth's husband, Arch, died in a plane crash two months earlier and honoring a promise Arch made before he died, Beth brings along Marcus Taylor. Marcus is the 17-year-old son of a woman from Queens who had been Arch's ...more
Park Avenue's Beth Newton brings her twin 17-year-olds to Nantucket for the summer--but this summer is like no other. Beth's husband, Arch, died in a plane crash two months earlier and honoring a promise Arch made before he died, Beth brings along Marcus Taylor. Marcus is the 17-year-old son of a woman from Queens who had been Arch's ...more
One of Elin Hilderbrand's earlier books about people who spend the summer in Nantucket and the rest of the year on the continent. This story centers around Elizabeth "Beth" Newton. Every summer since she was 5 years old, her family has vacationed in Nantucket. When she was 16 years old, she met Dave and for 5 years they were in love. Dave lived on the island all year round so they would be communicating long distance during the rest of the year.
The story is about Beth 20 years after breaking u ...more
The story is about Beth 20 years after breaking u ...more
SPOILER ALERT
As I read, I kept thinking how much I didn't like most of the characters. I felt sorry for Beth but felt her reaction - or lack thereof - of her kids scattering the ashes of her husband, their father, without her due to resentment that she didn't reveal a short, previous marriage was truly a disappointment in the storyline. The twins came across as spoiled brats with their horrible behavior and I found it difficult to believe they would really have done such a thing. Piper was just ...more
As I read, I kept thinking how much I didn't like most of the characters. I felt sorry for Beth but felt her reaction - or lack thereof - of her kids scattering the ashes of her husband, their father, without her due to resentment that she didn't reveal a short, previous marriage was truly a disappointment in the storyline. The twins came across as spoiled brats with their horrible behavior and I found it difficult to believe they would really have done such a thing. Piper was just ...more
A great, quick summer read. Typical of Elin Hilderbrand, the story is based in Nantucket on the beach which always makes me want a summer cottage. The usual characters that arrive to the beach, with some sort of a conflict to resolve, and emotional breakthrough and a little romance. Even though it was predictable, still a book I could not put down! Good change of pace of reading.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Nothing earth shattering but a nice light read. I would definitely recommend it. I will be looking for more books from this author.
The story is about a family struggling with life altering changes and their summer on Nantucket. The author describes the island in such a way that it makes you want to experience it for yourself.
The story is about a family struggling with life altering changes and their summer on Nantucket. The author describes the island in such a way that it makes you want to experience it for yourself.
This was another light vacation read by Elin Hilderbrand. There were a lot of different stories going on along with the main story, however they all told stories of people, their family, their "vacation home", all which had progressed over the years visiting the island. It was very easy to connect with the characters.
One of my favorites by this author. I liked that it had a little bit of a murder mystery element to it, and the juxtaposition of the two young love stories, the unrequited, nostalgia love, and the missed love storylines flowed perfectly. The characters - for the most part - were likeable, and more relatable than in some of the other books I've read by this author.
I have now read all of Hildebrand's books to date. Consistently, they delight because while they tend to be lighter reads, they also ...more
I have now read all of Hildebrand's books to date. Consistently, they delight because while they tend to be lighter reads, they also ...more
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Elin Hilderbrand lives on Nantucket with her husband and their three young children. She grew up in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and traveled extensively before settling on Nantucket, which has been the setting for her five previous novels. Hilderbrand is a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and the graduate fiction workshop at the University of Iowa.
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“Summer does something to the brain, " Beth said. "It's intoxicating. Everything shimmers ”
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“saying so regardless, for the kids’ sake. Was it possible that Arch’s spirit resided here, that his soul”
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