Nantucket Island is a perfect place to grow up, and Penny,a talented vocalist and her twin Hobby, a superb athlete, have been raised on the island by their single mother Zoe. Their friendships are life-long and the adults of the tight-knit community know each other and the island teens well. On a high school graduation night, a terrible accident involving Penny and Hobby, and two of their friends takes place, leaving one in a coma, one dead, and two others emotionally scarred. In the aftermath of the accident, adults and children must cope with grief, secrets and questions. The characters are well-developed and the story alternates being told from the point of view of several different characters, with characters slowly revealing their secrets as well as eventually, the cause of the accident. Summerland is a poignant, touching novel that deals with the strength that community and family can impart in times of crisis–an uplifting story of courage and healing.

Luanne Rice excels at creating stories about love and family relationships and Little Night is no exception. Clare and her sister Anne are very close as sisters, bonding together in the face of abusive and distant parents. Anne meets and marries an artist from Denmark, not realizing until after the marriage that he is controlling and domineering.  Her husband forbids her to see Clare and they lose contact for several years. Clare finally takes matters in her own hands and shows up at Anne’s home, where she meets her niece and nephew and sees that Anne has been physically abused by her husband. She convinces Anne to leave with her but before they can escape, Frederik returns home.  Clare tries to protect Anne when she is attacked by Frederik but is charged with assault, jailed, and sentenced to a prison term. In that split second, Clare’s life is changed forever. After her release, she makes a life for herself in New York City, writing a nature blog and leading birding tours in Central park and around the city, but she keeps friends and family at a distance. Her niece Grit contacts her and they begin to build a relationship, beginning a new life for Clare and opening her heart to love and relationships. This is a touching novel about the pervasive effects of violence and abuse in families, and is both a thoughtful and hopeful story.

I love the way Anne Tyler looks at life and the humor in her books.  She can write about serious topics with such tenderness and compassion.  The Beginner’s Goodbye looks at the topic of grief through the eyes of Aaron, a middle-aged man, whose wife dies unexpectedly when a tree falls on their home.  Aaron tries to return to a normal life and adjust to being single but he finds such difficulties with relationships.  Interactions with friends are now so different.  He is uncomfortable with his closest friends and neighbors as they extend their sympathy and help.  He moves in with his sister who lives in their parent’s home and totally ignores repairs on his home.  Finally when the ceiling falls in and he can’t get in the front door he calls a contractor, Gil Bryan.  This man, with his own problems, shows compassion for the grief that Aaron is going through and begins a relationship with both Aaron and his sister, Nandina.

The first sentence of the book begins, “The strangest thing about my wife’s return from the dead was how other people reacted.”  Throughout the story his former wife Dorothy appears and speaks to Aaron as he finds his way through life without her.  As Aaron remembers the quirky, problematic relationship he and Dorothy shared, Dorothy reappears to help him work out the regret.  This isn’t a depressing book at all, although I found very poignant instances  Aaron finally ends this chapter of his life and is able to say the final goodbye reminding all of us to tackle the unfinished business of love.