2007: #5 – Up Island (Anne Rivers Siddons)

Book #5 was Up Island by Anne Rivers Siddons. Back of the book reads:

If there was ever one woman who knew what was important, that woman was Molly Bell Redwine. From childhood, Molly was taught by her charismatic, demanding mother that “family is everything.” But in what seems like an instant, Molly discovers that family can change without warning. Her husband of more than twenty years leaves her for a younger woman, her domineering mother dies, and her Atlanta clan scatters to the four winds. In a heartbeat Molly is set adrift.

Devastated by her crumbling world, Molly takes refuge with a friend on Martha’s Vineyard where she tries to come to terms with who she really is. After the summer season, Molly decides to stay on in this very different world, renting a small cottage on a remote up-island pond.

As Molly’s stay up island widens the distance between her and her old life in Atlanta, she lets go of her outworn notions of family and begins to become part of a strange — and very real — new family. As the long Vineyard winter closes in, she braces herself for the search for renewal, identity, and strength, until the healing spring finally comes.

This is the best Anne Rivers Siddons book I’ve read so far (I’ve read 3 others). This didn’t have all of the set-up and background in the beginning that I usually find so tiresome. I found it easy to relate to the characters, and their stories were engaging. Definite thumbs up here. If you’re a Siddons fan and haven’t read this one, you must pick it up immediately.

Page count: 352 | Word count: 150,389 | Filed in: