Very enjoyable. Loved the character of the black woman who had such a positive influence on the protagonist's life (Susan). Loved Susan's expressions and use of words.

Nice easy read for recalling my NC island vacation. The setting of living on an island in the South sounded so appealing. Enjoyed the humor, her relationship with her sister, her realization of her own faults. Although supposedly poor, they did not seem so with a black Gullah housekeeper. The father was a good guy for the black community, not as much about the Klan as I thought there would be. Was he so overly abusive for that time period? The party on New Years Eve of 2000 could have been more realistic considering she gets a computer that XMas. Tom's lack of caring about his wife before she gets skinny made me feel it wasn't his first fling, his initial need to hurt financially and then all-caring when he gets cancer. Good relationship with daughter who was almost too goody. ( )

Susan Hayes grew up in a large and somewhat dysfunctional family on Sullivan's Island. Her mother was dramatic and spent most days in some sort of pharmaceutical haze while her father was hard, and at times abusive, towards her and her siblings. She flashes back to critical moments of her childhood during the tumultuous Civil Rights era and comes to grip with her father's involvement and untimely death. When she's not recollecting past events she's dealing with her present divorce and trying to redefine herself as a divorced working mother. Lots of laughs in the sometimes slow but enjoyable book. ( )

From the jacket: Born and raised on idyllic Sullivan’s Island, Susan Hayes navigated through her turbulent childhood with humor, spunk, and characteristic Southern sass. But years later, she is a conflicted woman with an unfaithful husband, a sometimes resentful teenage daughter, and a heart that aches with painful, poignant memories. And as Susan faces her uncertain future, she realizes that she must go back to her past. To the beachfront house where her sister welcomes her with open arms.

My reactions
I know that Frank writes chick-lit, beach books, so I wasn’t expecting great literature, and my expectations were met. The problem I had with the book comes from Frank’s attempts to tell two stories: the contemporary (1999) story of Susan’s failing marriage, and the 1963 story of Susan’s childhood and the loss of her father. Neither story is sufficiently fleshed out to be satisfying, and I wish she had chosen one or the other to tell. Still, it’s a fast read, and I liked the relationship between Susan and her sister, Maggie.

I could have done without the seemingly forced Gullah dialect. And without the mirror that apparently allows one to communicate with the dead. On the other hand, there were a few scenes that were just priceless. I especially loved the scene where the housekeeper Livvie is drinking Coke from one of Susan’s mother’s best crystal goblets, crystal that NO ONE drinks from: “Momma saved that crystal in case President Kennedy decided to come for dinner.” I had to laugh aloud, thinking of my own mother’s “special” china.

I might read another of Frank’s book if I need a quick read for a challenge, but I’m in no hurry to do so.

( )

Though I did not grow up on Sullivan's Island, my father is from there. I spent many a summer day there during my childhood. If I have a " hometown" it is the island. For this reason Frank's depiction of the island in the 1960s was fun to read. The story was mildly suspenseful. The writing good enough, but lacking in any depth. ( )