Reader's Shelf

From Library Journal Warm Nostalgia:  Revisiting Summer Settings

The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls By DiSclafani, Anton 2013-06 - Riverhead Books 9781594486401 Check Our Catalog A lush, sexy, evocative debut novel of family secrets and girls'-school rituals, set in the 1930's South. For her mysterious role in a family tragedy, a strong-willed 15-year-old is cast out of her home and exiled to an equestrienne boarding school for Southern debutantes. …More

Schroder By Gaige, Amity 2013-10 - Twelve 9781455512126 Check Our Catalog Attending summer camp as a boy, Erik Schroder--a first-generation East German immigrant--adopts the name of Eric Kennedy, a decision that will set him on an improbable and transformative journey. …More

The Interestings By Wolitzer, Meg 2013-04 - Riverhead Books 9781594488399 Check Our Catalog BookPage Notable Title From bestselling author Wolitzer comes a dazzling, panoramic novel about what becomes of early talent, and the roles that art, money, and even envy can play in close friendships. The summer that Nixon resigns, six teenagers become inseparable. Decades later the bond remains powerful, but so much else has changed. …More

The Summer Guest By Cronin, Justin 2005-05 - Dial Press 9780385335829 Check Our Catalog Winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for his radiant novel in stories, Mary and O'Neil, Justin Cronin has already been hailed as a writer of astonishing gifts. Now Cronin's new novel, The Summer Guest, fulfills that promise--and more. With a rare combination of emotional insight, narrative power, and lyrical grace, Cronin transforms the simple story of a dying man's last wish into a rich tapestry of family love. On an evening in late summer, the great financier Harry Wainwright, nearing the end of his life, arrives at a rustic fishing camp in a remote area of Maine. He comes bearing two things: his wish for a day of fishing in a place that has brought him solace for thirty years, and an astonishing bequest that will forever change the lives of those around him. From the battlefields of Italy to the turbulence of the Vietnam era, to the private battles of love and family, The Summer Guest reveals the full history of this final pilgrimage and its meaning for four people: Jordan Patterson, the haunted young man who will guide Harry on his last voyage out; the camp's owner Joe Crosby, a Vietnam draft evader who has spent a lifetime "trying to learn what it means to be brave"; Joe's wife, Lucy, the woman Harry has loved for three decades; and Joe and Lucy's daughter Kate--the spirited young woman who holds the key to the last unopened door to the past. As their stories unfold, secrets are revealed, courage is tested, and the bonds of love are strengthened. And always center stage is the place itself--a magical, forgotten corner of New England where the longings of the human heart are mirrored in the wild beauty of the landscape. Intimate, powerful, and profound, The Summer Guestreveals Justin Cronin as a storyteller of unique and marvelous talent. It is a book to treasure. "From the Hardcover edition. …More

Beach House Memories By Monroe, Mary Alice 2012-05 - Pocket Books 9781439171042 Check Our Catalog Monroe returns to her classic Southern setting in the Isle of Palms with the sequel to her beloved novel "The Beach House." She skillfully weaves together issues of class, women's rights, and domestic abuse set in the tumultuous South during the 1970s. …More

Lost Lake By Allen, Sarah Addison 2014-01 - St. Martin's Press 9781250019806 Check Our Catalog Suley, Georgia, is home to Lost Lake Cottages and not much else. Which is why it's the perfect place for newly-widowed Kate and her eccentric eight-year-old daughter Devin to heal. Kate spent one memorable childhood summer at Lost Lake, had her first almost-kiss at Lost Lake, and met a boy named Wes at Lost Lake. It was a place for dreaming. But Kate doesn't believe in dreams anymore, and her Aunt Eby, Lost Lake's owner, wants to sell the place and move on. Lost Lake's magic is gone. As Kate discovers that time has a way of standing still at Lost Lake can she bring the cottages--and her heart--back to life? Because sometimes the things you love have a funny way of turning up again. And sometimes you never even know they were lost . . . until they are found. …More