One Summer [Hardcover]

David Baldacci (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 14, 2011

It's almost Christmas, but there is no joy in the house of terminally ill Jack and his family. With only a short time left to live, he spends his last days preparing to say goodbye to his devoted wife, Lizzie, and their three children.

Then, unthinkably, tragedy strikes again: Lizzie is killed in a car accident. With no one able to care for them, the children are separated from each other and sent to live with family members around the country. Just when all seems lost, Jack begins to recover in a miraculous turn of events. He rises from what should have been his deathbed, determined to bring his fractured family back together.

Struggling to rebuild their lives after Lizzie's death, he reunites everyone at Lizzie's childhood home on the oceanfront in South Carolina. And there, over one unforgettable summer, Jack will begin to learn to love again, and he and his children will learn how to become a family once more.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Legal thriller fixture Baldacci (Deliver Us from Evil) churns out a creaky, contrived family drama about Jack Armstrong, a terminally ill family man just praying to make it to Christmas. Sadness abounds, much more so when Jack's wife, Lizzie, is killed in a car wreck while on a medicine run. Plans are made by Jack's mean mother-in-law Bonnie: the three kids will get divided up among aunts and uncles across the country, and Jack will be put into hospice. Miraculously, Jack's health turns around, and he's able to reclaim his kids and move the brood from Ohio to the South Carolina shore where Lizzie grew up. There, he tries to reassemble the family and learn how to be a single parent, and just as they're beginning to settle into a functional family again, Bonnie sues for custody of the kids. Yes, it possesses all the subtlety of a dog fight, but it's also choked with pap ("No matter what you do, no matter how hard you fight, life sometimes just doesn't make sense") and so sappy you'd think Baldacci was earning a commission on each tear jerked. (June)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Review

"If you know David Baldacci only as a thriller writer, you need to read more of David Baldacci. In One Summer, he writes as beautifully and insightfully about the pathways of the human heart as he does about the corridors of power. The twists and turns in this hugely emotional and unforgettable novel come from the resilience of one father's spirit and the revelation of the love that binds a family, in this world and even beyond. If you read one book this summer, make it One Summer." (Lisa Scottoline, author of Save Me )

"Just when you think David Baldacci has a permanent bird's eye view of the Pentagon from Air Force One, he surprises us all with a beautifully told story of the fate of a family devastated by loss and healed by love. One Summer has it all, humor, grace and redemption, delivered with humanity and wisdom in the capable and sure hands of America's great storyteller." (Adriana Trigiani, bestselling author of Very Valentine and Lucia, Lucia )

"One Summer is a beautifully written story about family, redemption and hope. Baldacci demonstrates why, regardless of genre, he's one of the world's foremost storytellers." (Richard Paul Evans, #1 bestselling author of The Walk and The Christmas Box )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Grand Central Publishing; First Edition edition (June 14, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0446583146
• ISBN-13: 978-0446583145
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (219 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #56,726 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Baldacci made a big splash on the literary scene with the publication of his first novel, Absolute Power, in 1996. A major motion picture adaptation followed, with Clint Eastwood as its director and star. In total, David has published 26 novels, all of which have been national and international bestsellers. His novels have been translated into more than 45 languages and sold in more than 80 countries; over 110 million copies are in print worldwide. David has also published three children's books. He has received numerous accolades for his writing; most recently, he was inducted into the 2011 International Crime Writing Hall of Fame and received the 2012 Barnes & Noble Writers for Writers Award.

A lifelong Virginian, David was born in Richmond in 1960. He received his Bachelor's degree in political science from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1982 and his law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1986, after which he practiced law for nine years in Washington, D.C.

While David is involved with several philanthropic organizations, his greatest efforts are dedicated to his family's Wish You Well Foundation®. Established by David and his wife, Michelle, the Wish You Well Foundation supports family and adult literacy in the United States by fostering and promoting the development and expansion of new and existing literacy and educational programs. In 2008 the Foundation partnered with Feeding America to launch Feeding Body & Mind, a program to address the connection between literacy, poverty and hunger. Through Feeding Body & Mind, nearly 1 million new and used books have been collected and distributed through area food banks. David explains, "With this program, people go home with food, which they need to live, as well as with books, which they need to change their lives."

David and his family live in Northern Virginia.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#5 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#3 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#3 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#5 in Books

#5 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction

#6 in Books > Literature & Fiction

#3 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Thrillers

#3 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Thrillers

#5 in Books

#5 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction

#6 in Books > Literature & Fiction

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

120 of 137 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A family suffering June 14, 2011

By A&D

Format:Hardcover

This was kind of a heartbreaking, lovely story. The plot short and simple: The husband is dying and saying goodbyes to everyone: his friends and his wife and kids. He is sure to die first, but he didn't. His family seems to have a really bad luck and one bad thing happens after another: his is terminally ill and then his wife dies in a car accident. Now he has to face the hard choice of what to do with the kids, who would take care of them, where would they go. He recovers, and gathers his kids back togehter and they all go to South Carolina.

This is one of those books were miracles actually happen. It was a sweet story. The author made it believable by the way he told the story of the family.
If you are looking for a good summer reading, then you probably want to pick up this one. It is not similar to the Camel Club novels, but it was still likable story. I liked the Camel Club more because the characters seemed to be more believable than in this novel. But then again, maybe this is a start of a new series with this family and what happens next...

This is a very well written novel. The pace is good. The dialogue and prose is good. It is worth reading even if it is not the normal Camel Club style -novel. If you are looking for a light summer reading then pick up this book. You will like it.

51 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes life doesn't work out June 17, 2011

By wogan TOP 50 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Jack Armstrong is a former army ranger married to his other half...a marriage meant to be, made in heaven. Then he comes down with an unnamed fatal illness which will leave his wife and 3 children alone.
David Baldacci completes an artful and accurate description of what illness does to the whole family. The story is told from Jack's viewpoint..."he couldn't make it upstairs to his bedroom...It was another piece of his life taken from him, like he was being dismantled, brick by brick. ". The story is heart rendering and oh so true in its description of its` characters, in the thoughts of Jack, the actions of his wife and his teenage daughter. The two younger sons really do not have much depth in their part, but that does not hamper the story.

The family suffers another horrendous tragedy and blow after blow. Jack has to struggle to rebuild his life, his emotions and most of all his family. The bulk of the story takes place at his wife's family beach house, where we see a family struggling with the anger, the angst of the setbacks they are dealt.

This is a heart wrenching story, but also one that proves the power of love and determination and yes of miracles. It is for romantics and those who search for what life is all about, what people can do and learn and how they can change their lives. It shows the mistakes and tenderness that we all need to see and would find absorbing to read about. This is a book, a good story with all the interesting plot twists and turns of a mesmerizing summer read....Sometimes life doesn't work out and then maybe it does.

65 of 81 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Not the David Baldacci I know June 21, 2011

By cazzar

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I don't know who took over Baldacci's brain while he was writing this, but I have a suspicion it was Danielle Steele. If you like her novels, buy this book. If you're a David Baldacci fan (as I am), then don't waste your time or $. Looks like the author, along with Patterson, has gone away from writing good novels to writing novels that he hopes will sell because of his name.