Little Island

FROM THE AUTHOR OF HER SISTER'S SHADOW

Grace
Flowers
By the water
Have fun!

These are Joy’s grandmother’s last words—left behind on a note. A note that Joy’s mother, Grace, has interpreted as instructions for her memorial service. And so, the far-flung clan will gather at their inn on Little Island, Maine, to honor her.

Joy can’t help dreading the weekend. Twenty years ago, a tragedy nearly destroyed the family—and still defines them. Joy, Grace, her father Gar, and twins Roger and Tamar all have their parts to play. And now Joy, facing an empty nest and a nebulous future, feels more vulnerable than ever to the dangerous currents running through her family.

But this time, Joy will discover that there is more than pain and heartbreak that binds them together, when a few simple words lift the fog and reveal what truly matters…

 

• ISBN10: 0425266354
• ISBN13: 9780425266359
• Publish Date: 3 September 2013
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Berkley
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9780425266359

Reviews

[lovelybookshelf]

Originally posted on my blog, A Lovely Bookshelf on the Wall:

Little Island caught my attention when I happened to be in the mood for a contemporary fiction, family-drama type of novel, and it had the added bonus of being set in Maine. It didn't disappoint.

Joy, her mother Grace, her father Gar, and her twin siblings Roger and Tamar have been working through a tragedy from their past, one that has affected each of them in a different way. When they come together to hold a memorial service for Grace's mother, tensions come to a head. Each family member is forced to deal with one another, as well as look within to find peace.

The dialogue was realistic, the characters complex. Britton spent plenty of time fleshing them out. Details about what happened in the past are revealed slowly, in pieces, giving the reader a chance to get to know the characters before judgment could cloud an opportunity to connect with them.

Gar seemed to get the short end of the stick as far as character development goes, but ultimately this is a book about mothers and their children, how motherhood affects identity, and the grief that comes with losing your mom. It's wonderfully executed, complete with all the complexities that come with those relationships and the ways they change with age.

There wasn't a single moment of this novel that failed to keep my attention. Little Island a feel-good women's fiction type of story that kept me up into the wee hours of the night to finish it. Enjoyed this one. 4 1/2 stars

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via TLC Book Tours in exchange for my honest review.

[Lianne]

The premise of this novel sounded interesting as I’m always up for a good family-centred drama. However, I found it difficult to get into this novel. There’s a number of different perspectives present in this novel and while I’ve read other novels with shifting perspectives within the family, it felt rather disjointed. There’s also a lot of vagueness at the beginning of the novel regarding what happened to Joy’s grandmother and the tensions there, “the day they almost lost Tamar”, etc. While it’s supposed to serve as a hook to the plot, because of the differing perspectives it felt rather confusing and by the time events become clear, I had lost interest.

It’s a frustrating read on some level because the reader definitely sees this weird tension building and developing as the family comes together for a weekend memorial. But the further I read, the more confused and frustrated I felt about the characters. They really had a lot of issues to sort out because, and this is perhaps one of the major points of the novel, they didn’t really feel like a family. There were not a lot of good moments to balance the underlying antagonisms. In the end, Little Island held some promise but never really caught my attention.

My complete review of the title was originally posted at eclectictales.com: http://www.eclectictales.com/blog/2013/08/26/review-little-island/