"'Hilderbrand's sixth novel heaps on the trauma as a substitute for realistic connection in this heady mix of beach house, cancer, affair and mom lit. Connecticut housewife Vicki, diagnosed with lung cancer, has packed up her two kids for a chemo-commuting summer at the family's Nantucket cabin; sister Brenda, a newly minted high-powered assistant professor, has just been fired for having an affair with one of her students; Vicki's best friend, Melanie, newly pregnant, has discovered her husband is cheating. The three hit the tarmac of the tiny island airport, where they run into home-for-the-summer Middlebury senior Josh Flynn, who has a summer job there that he hates. Hardened clich Brenda pines for her stereotypically weathered Australian lover. Melanie is a chronic complainer until she romances grim aspiring writer Josh, whom she has run into again and brought on as the house babysitter. (Josh thinks his old girlfriend should 'locate her center' and 'operate from a place of security.') Of the three women, only the suffering, stubborn Vicki, who keeps a list of 'Things That No Longer Mattered' and cries when she can't seduce her visiting husband, draws readerly sympathy. There are some tender moments in Hilderbrand's latest beacher, but others are as irritating as sand in your swimsuit. (July)' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

It's summer on Nantucket, and as the season begins, three

women arrive at the local airport, observed by Josh, a local

boy, home from college. Burdened with small children,

unwieldy straw hats, and some obvious emotional issues,

the women--two sisters and one friend--make their way to

the sisters' tiny cottage, inherited from an aunt. They're all

trying to escape from something: Melanie, after seven failed

in-vitro attempts, discovered her husband's infidelity and

then her own pregnancy; Brenda embarked on a passionate

affair with an older student that got her fired from her

prestigious job as a professor in New York; and her sister

Vickie, mother to two small boys, has been diagnosed with

cancer. Soon Josh is part of the chaotic household, acting

as babysitter, confidant, and, eventually, something

more, while the women confront their pasts and map out

their futures.