New England

The Lost Letters from Martha’s Vineyard

/ Book Girl / Leave a comment

The Lost Letters from Martha’s Vineyard by Michael Callahan

Another good beach read, this one a dual timeline novel set in 1959 and 2018. Actress Mercy Welles leaves Hollywood after a breakup to spend the summer of 1959 on Martha’s Vineyard. Going by her real name of Edie, she is soon recognized as Mercy, and is asked to star in a new play in an island theater. She also meets a charming oysterman, Ren.

In 2018, Kit O’Neill, a young tv producer in New York City, helps her older sister Claire clear out their late grandmother Nan’s house. In the attic, Kit finds mementos of Mercy Welles, and is stunned to learn of her grandmother’s hidden past. Unwisely, Kit doesn’t immediately share the news with Claire, telling her demanding producer Lucinda instead. Kit travels to Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Martha’s Vineyard to research Mercy’s life, where she also meets an attractive man, historian Seth.

Most of the chapters are told from Mercy’s point-of-view, and are hard to put down, if overly dramatic. Many family secrets are uncovered on Martha’s Vineyard, and there are a few similarities between her summer and the Nancy Drew mysteries she enjoys reading. Island life is appealing and the play sounds promising. A young but acclaimed actress, she is considering her next move when she’s asked to read for a starring role in a new movie based on Wuthering Heights. She and Ren bake apple pie, he teaches her to swim, and she meets the matriarch of one of the island’s first families, and falls in love.

Why did Mercy never share her story with her granddaughters, who she raised after their parents’ early deaths in a car accident? Kit, meanwhile, is trying to reconcile her memories of a very loving but occasionally tough grandmother with what she’s learning of a lovely young starlet. Mercy and the Martha’s Vineyard setting make this an immersive and memorable read, with plenty of romance and adventure.

Brenda

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association

/ Book Girl / Leave a comment

The Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association by Caitlin Rozakis

Hard to put down, this contemporary fantasy novel is full of drama, humor, suspense, and guilt. Vivian has felt guilty since she couldn’t prevent her daughter Aria becoming a werewolf. Vivian and Daniel have relocated to a mostly magical town in New England, where Aria is starting kindergarten at a private school. Daniel is still commuting to New York City by train while accountant Vivian is helping Aria adjust to her new surroundings and trying to fit in as a non-magical parent. Of course, Vivian ends up on the PTA board, trying to sort out the accounts from last year’s gala.

While Aria was granted a scholarship for kindergarten, Vivian is dismayed to learn that Aria must participate in three events to determine if she will qualify for first grade: a talent show, a sports day, and a research project. It is rather ridiculous to have a kindergartner be expected to do anything except learn to stay in her human form more often and not to be too hard on her clothes. Vivian is told that a consultant can help, if needed. Then there’s Daniel, who is ready to move the family somewhere more welcoming, if they can find the right place. Oh, and there’s an ominous prophecy that might involve Aria or Vivian. Aria is adorable, the community is quite interesting, and the reader hopes that Vivian will learn which parents can be trusted and welcoming.

An excellent, immersive read. I’m not sure if it would be quite as enjoyable for a PTA parent in a new town, but they might find it hilarious. I haven’t even described the over-the-top kids’ birthday parties, or the magical gala. And why have I never seen a book set at a magical school from the point of view of an ordinary parent, or even a magical parent?

Brenda

Every Tom, Dick & Harry

/ Book Girl / Leave a comment

Every Tom, Dick & Harry by Elinor Lipman

Humorous and witty, this contemporary novel has the zaniest plot of any book I’ve read since The Husbands by Holly Gramazio. Every Tom, Dick & Harry is set in small-town Harrow, Massachusetts, with a large ensemble cast like Amy Poeppel’s novel The Sweet Spot.

Emma Lewis has been involved with her parents’ estate sale visit for years, but is startled to have their business, and her childhood home, left to her when they retire to Cape Cod. Also, Emma gets a boarder to help with expenses, her dad’s recently widowed friend, Frank. Frank was also Emma’s algebra teacher.

Frank and Emma both start dating, but not each other. Emma is quietly seeing the new chief of police, Luke, while Frank is dating Luke’s widowed mother, Connie. Frank also adopts a cute dog, Ivy, and helps out with the estate sales. Emma is trying to get a contract to hold an estate sale at Quail’s Nest, a mansion and former B and B in town. The house is chock full of classic estate sale items, from an espresso machine to Persian rugs to bikes, a lawn mower, and lots of silver. Then she learns that an escort service was run out of the mansion’s attic, and the family is not at all shy about their former business.

Emma’s parents come back to help with the sale, which definitely does not go as planned. Emma and Luke, meanwhile, are helping plan their 15th high school reunion, while still pretending they’re not dating. Add in some stolen art, a very ugly statue, and Frank’s stepdaughters to round out the wild plot. I’ve read Lipman’s books On Turpentine Lane and Ms. Demeanor, and there are many more titles for those looking for quirky, upbeat, and witty reads.

Brenda