Summerland Book Review

Elin Hilderbrand’s Summerland

Reviewed by Daniella Paradiso

On a warm night In the charming town of Nantucket, the graduating class of local high school students gather at a traditional bonfire on the beach. Little do they know that it will lead to the death of a significant figure in the town of Nantucket, diminish the opportunities of the town’s well- known athlete, and effect many people psychologically in dealing with the tragedies brought to this closely knit town.

In the novel Summerland, Elin Hilderbrand creates a captivating storyline that keeps its readers fascinated page after page. The book is based on the death of a loved member of Nantucket society, Penny Alistair, who is killed in a car crash while driving her brother and friends home from the bonfire celebration. The book is narrated through multiple points of view. First, through her mother who has to live with the death of her baby girl. Penny’s friend, Demeter, faces insecurities and alcoholism following the accident, and is also featured in the book’s narration. Her twin brother Hobby, who is left in a coma, and her boyfriend Jake, who faces family corruption also share the affects of Penny’s death. Although Demeter, Jake, and Hobby are left unhurt, they are haunted by the affairs of that night. They are also left wondering what occurred before Penny took the wheel that caused her to drive with character contrary to her own.

Although the story begins with tragedy, Hilderbrand’s writing is enchanting with beautiful language and descriptions of the town. An example of Hilderbrand’s eloquent writing is at the very beginning of the book. “Nantucket: the name of the island brought to mind the rolling surf, cobblestone streets, the brick mansions of whaling captains, a battered Jeep Wrangler with a surfboard strapped to the roll bars”(Hilderbrand 3). Elin Hilderbrand utilizes a writing style that allows visualization of the scenery and overall appeal of the town.

The characters in Summerland cause the readers to sincerely sympathize for their situations. Hilderbrand warps those reading into the story to feel the events unfold around themselves. During the funeral for Penny, many emotions are shared due to the multiple narrators of the book. Hobby is described as being, “... On a hospital gurney… Hobby was half boy, half mummy, but he had his mind back, and he cried openly in a ruined voice”(102). This description of the injured and emotionally scarred boy caused me to feel terribly for Hobby and simply want to hug him.

Perhaps one aspect of the book that could have caused confusion, was the multitude of narrators. For example, even the town of Nantucket had its own chapters, of which events were narrated by the perspective of the town. Also, the driving force behind the book, the cause of Penny’s recklessness, is slightly drawn out. Throughout the duration of the book, the secret is mentioned multiple times but not given away. Although it is interesting information to look forward to finding out, I do not believe it is motivating enough to read four- hundred pages in order to find out.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Summerland. The writing was amazing and swept me to the beautiful town of Nantucket. I was overwhelmed with emotions of the characters and sympathized for many of them. It was electrifying finding out the cause for Penny’s loss of control and death. I believe this book demonstrated the human reactions to death, and opened eyes to the modern day struggles of society that many face today.

Hilderbrand, Elin. Summerland. Reagan Arthur Books. 2012