I'm not sure what it is about the Low Country that makes for such a plethora of family saga / romance novels, but they are all good! The "Summer Girls" are half-sisters invited to spend the summer at their grandmother's home on Sullivan Island, South Carolina. Marietta Muir will be selling Sea Breeze, her ancestral home, soon in order to move to a senior community and she wants one last summer there with her granddaughters, all the children of her late son Parker. Dora, the oldest and daughter of Parker's first wife, is watching her life and marriage collapse while she tries to care for her autistic son, Nathan. Carson, daughter of the beautiful nanny, the second wife who died when Carson was just 4 years old, was raised for most of her childhood at Sea Breeze under Marietta's care. Harper, the product of Parker's last marriage to a woman who mistakenly thought he was a promising author, is the youngest and lives primarily to do her mother's bidding.
It was Carson who took care of his father and watched him slowly drink himself to death at age 47. After several years of moderate success as a photographer in California, her job has ended and her drinking has made it difficult for her to find a new one, so the summons from her grandmother comes at a perfect time in her life.
Through the course of the summer, the girls discover family secrets and come to terms with their own relationships. One thing that makes this novel stand out is the inclusion of Delphine, a dolphin that figures prominently in the story. I always enjoy a novel that leaves me feeling like I've gained some interesting knowledge about the world, and this one did. It was a perfect summer read.
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