Driftwood Summer [Mass Market Paperback]

Patti Callahan Henry (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 2, 2009

An engaging novel of sisters, from the acclaimed author who "writes movingly about love and family and the voyage we all take to discover what we really value."(The Island Packet)

Three sisters- responsible Riley, vivacious Maisy, and fun-loving Adalee-reunite to save the family's beach-community bookstore. But summer also marks the return of Mack Logan, whose choice of Maisy over Riley years ago destroyed the special closeness between the sisters...

Now Riley, a single mom, is hiding a shattering secret about their mother. Maisy, a California designer, still blames Riley for ruining her one true love. And Adalee resents the family's intrusion into her summer plans. All three will be forced to confront the conflicts that tore them apart and the bounds of love and loyalty that still draw them together...

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Patti Callahan Henry lives with her husband and three children and is working on her next novel.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: NAL Trade; 1 Original edition (June 2, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451226887
• ISBN-13: 978-0451226884
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #585,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Patti Callahan Henry is the New York Times Bestselling author of seven novels--Losing the Moon, Where the River Runs, When Light Breaks, Between the Tides, The Art of Keeping Secrets, Driftwood Summer and The Perfect Love Song: A Holiday Story.

Patti was a finalist in the Townsend Prize for Fiction and twice a nominee for the Southeastern Independent Booksellers Association Fiction Book of the Year. Patti is hailed as a fresh new voice in southern fiction. She is a frequent speaker at luncheons, book clubs and women's groups where she discusses the importance of storytelling and anything else they want to talk about.

Patti grew up as a Minister's daughter, learning early how storytelling effects our lives. She grew up spending her summers on Cape Cod where she began her love affair with the beach, ocean, tides and nature of the coast. Moving south at the tender age of twelve, she found solace in books and stories. While attending Auburn University, she met a southern boy who later proposed on Daufuskie Island, South Carolina, next to a historic lighthouse overlooking the Sound. After earning her Master's degree in Child Health, Patti worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist until her first child was born.

Patti is a full time writer, wife and mother living with her husband and three children outside Atlanta on the Chattahoochee River where she is working on her eight novel.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good for a beach read - don't expect much more, June 13, 2009

By 

Lamour "Reader" (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Driftwood Summer (Mass Market Paperback)

Part of my beach reading selection this summer - lighthearted, quick and easy read. Everything ties up too neatly in the end, however, and the resolution to the novel feels rushed. Good for a summer day of reading when the kids are making noise at the beach/pool and you have to interupt your reading several times throughout the course of the day. Probably not a good book club selection or for those who are looking for a deep, profound read.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A WONDERFUL, CHARMING STORY!!, July 16, 2009

By 

Josie Jean (Maplewood, MN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Driftwood Summer (Mass Market Paperback)

Patti Callahan Henry has truly created a beautifully-written, engaging novel that is rich with emotion. Set in a Georgia beach community, it tells the story of the three estranged Sheffield sisters who reunite to save their family's beloved bookstore. As they host a week of bookstore events, all three are forced to confront the conflicts that tore them apart. In the end, their family loyalty and love for each other draws them together again. Magnificently told in alternating narratives, each sister's unique and relatable story is told. As a sister myself, I really, truly loved this heartwarming tale of the loving and imperfect bond between sisters. I highly recommend this wonderful, touching book!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A STORY OF LOVE, FAMILY, AND FORGIVENESS - AUDIO REVIEW, July 20, 2010

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Driftwood Summer (Audio CD)

Earphones award winner Julia Whelan is a former child actress who first appeared on screen at the age of eleven. She returned to acting following completion of her college degree. Television appearances soon followed, and she is seen in the 2010 fantasy thriller film Fading of the Cries. In great demand for various roles she has narrated romance and supernatural thrillers as well as both young adult and adult fiction. It's not easy to narrate a story in which the prominent characters are three sisters, but Whelan handles this with aplomb clearing defining each of the trio.

Popular author of The Art Of Keeping Secrets, Patti Callahan Henry now gives us a story a touching story of love and forgiveness. It is June when the Sheffield sisters are together once again in Georgia, Palmetto Beach to be exact, their small seaside hometown to celebrate their mother's birthday and attempt to save the family business, Driftwood Cottage Bookstore. After all, the cottage itself is said to be 200 years old, and has been a bookstore for a dozen of those years.

Riley, the eldest sister and a single mother, co-owns the shop with Kitsy, her mother. Maisy, the middle sister, is now a very successful interior designer based in California, and youngest sibling, Adalee, is in college. Each, of course, brings with them past feelings, unforgotten injustices (both real and imagined), and a bevy of other memories from days long gone by. Neither Maisy or Adalee are happy to be called upon to save Riley's book store - Maisy well remembers the summer handsome Mack Logan took a shine to her when he was Riley's best friend, and Adalee would much rather be spending the summer with her boyfriend, Chad.

Nonetheless, here they all are, including Mack whose appearance causes the sisters not only to remember but also to try to resolve some long kept feelings. DRIFTWOOD SUMMER is a story of love, family, and forgiveness.

Enjoy!

- Gail Cooke