Sunday 8 September 2019

The Islanders

Finished August 23
The Islanders by Meg Mitchell Moore

This story takes place on Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island, and follows several characters, each dealing with their own challenges. Anthony Puckett is a writer whose first novel made huge sales and won critical acclaim. His next novel put him under pressure, and when working one particular section he used something written by a long-dead author, always intending to go back and replace it with something he'd written, but he was outed by one of the advance readers, and this caused huge fallout including his wife kicking him out. He's taken refuge in a small cottage on the island owned by the elderly uncle of a friend. He's desperately missing his young son Max, and feeling shut out by his famous author father Leonard. He's using a fake last name to keep his privacy.
Joy Sousa is a single mom of a young teen girl, Maggie. Her husband left when Maggie was very young, and she's made a life for herself running a shop on the island that sells Whoopie Pies. But now, her landlord is upping the rent, her daughter is less sharing than she used to be, and her ex-husband has reentered Maggie's life. She's definitely feeling the stress.
Lu Trusdale was a successful lawyer until she resigned after having her second child. She's been a stay-at-home mom for a few years, with the family running a tight budget as her husband gets his medical practice started, and he works long hours. Lu wasn't finding fulfillment without some form of outside work, and she's secretly been writing a food blog. Now it is starting to be successful, her husband is pressuring her for a third child, and she must finally step out of the shadows and reveal what she wants to those close to her.
There is lots going on here, and with a small community there is interaction between all these characters. I really enjoyed the various storylines, and liked how they came together.

No comments:

Post a Comment