Pawleys Island- Review

Book: Pawleys Island

Author: Dorothea Benton Frank

Publisher: Berkley

Goodreads Summary:

Catapulted from her home, her marriage and her children, artist Rebecca Simms has come to Pawleys Island to hide herself from herself. Little does she know that on this “arrogantly shabby” family playground, she’ll encounter three people who will change her life: a wise and irresistible octogenarian who will pry her secrets from her, a gallery owner who caters to interior decorators and heaven save us, tourists, and a retired attorney from Columbia who’s complacent in her fat and sassy life until Rebecca’s stormy advent.

With characteristic humor and a full cast of eccentric and wonderfully lovable characters, Dorothea Benton Frank brings us a refreshingly honest and funny novel about friendship, family, and finding happiness by becoming who you are meant to be.

My thoughts:

I am in love with the south, or at least my romanticized version of it. One day I will live there- perhaps when home values go back up in Michigan and we can sell our house. Until then, here I am in the North, dreaming of the south. I find myself in the same reading patterns every summer - reading books set in the south, Faulkner to Tennessee Williams (love him), to Connie May Fowler (another favorite), to Dorothea Benton Frank. There are no limits or limitations.

This summer is no different. As soon as the weather began to change from the cool spring weather to the humidity of Michigan summers, I found my reading material shifting course. I picked this book up in the library, and fell in.

What a wonderful world Rebecca landed in - and such good, influential friends she found immediately. Yep, this book was true escapism. The book begins by talking about how at times we all want to just run away, start over, become someone new somewhere else, leaving our problems behind. Rebecca runs away to start over, but her new friends help her to face what she is trying to leave behind. She just gets to do it from a condo on a Georgia coastal island, with rich friends. If I were going to run away and start over, this is how I would want it to work out for me too.

Great book for daydreaming about island living in the south - makes you want an ocean view and a hammock if you don't have one, that is for sure!

It's Monday, What Are You Reading?

It's Monday, What Are You Reading is a weekly blog meme hosted by Sheila at Book Journey where you list the books you read last week and the ones you hope to read this week!

Read Last Week:

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly: Calpurnia Tate is a coming of age story set in a rural area of Texas during the 1890s. It is a Newbery Award Winner, and is one of my "summer reading requirements" that I assigned myself this summer. I brought home a huge pile of books from work to read over the summer break - there is nothing worse than when one of the students asks me what I think of a book and I have to say I haven't read it! I am hoping to have my review finished in the next day or two, but I thought this book was a lovely little read.

The Bucolic Plauge by Josh Kilmer-Purcell: Definitely one of my favorite books I have read all year!! I wanted to crawl through the pages and hang out with Josh, Dr. Brent and Farmer John. I wanted to help with the goats. This book was charming and funny, and I absolutely love books that are about farming- especially when the farmers have never really farmed in their adult lives before. This book was fabulous, you can read my whole review here.

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese: I planned to read this, but just wasn't in the mood. Unfortunately, I am not in the mood this week either. I will read it though! It sounds amazing!

Currently Reading:

The Magnolia League by Katie Crouch: I love this book because of its cover- yes, I do judge books by their covers sometimes, sadly. I love the city of Savannah, and this book looks interesting. I have read good things about it around the internet, I am looking forward to it.

Pawley's Island by Dorothea Benton Frank: Lately I have been beach dreaming from my house in the Michigan suburbs. I think this has prompted what I feel might become another mini author fixation. But it is summer, we all need to read something beachy and fun sometimes.