The Book of Summer

Book excerpt: A New York Times bestseller “has moved in on Hilderbrand’s home turf with a humorous and smartly written story of two generations of love and vacations” (Wall Street Journal). The ocean, the wild roses on the dunes and the stunning Cliff House, perched atop a bluff in Sconset, Nantucket. Inside the faded pages of the Cliff House guest book live the spellbinding stories of its female inhabitants: from Ruby, a bright-eyed newlywed on the eve of World War II to her granddaughter Bess, who returns to the beautiful summer estate. For the first time in four years, physician Bess Codman visits the compound her great-grandparents built almost a century before, but due to erosion, the once-grand home will soon fall into the sea. Bess must put aside her complicated memories in order to pack up the house and deal with her mother, a notorious town rabble-rouser, who refuses to leave. It’s not just memories of her family home Bess must face though, but also an old love that holds new possibilities. In the midst of packing Bess rediscovers the forgotten family guest book. Bess’s grandmother and primary keeper of the book, Ruby, always said Cliff House was a house of women, and by the very last day of the very last summer at Cliff House, Bess will understand the truth of her grandmother’s words in ways she never imagined. “Gable cleverly illuminates the past, revealing how it mirrors the present. . . . a splendid multigenerational novel about the strength of the women of Cliff House.” —Publishers Weekly “A sure bet for women’s-fiction fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Nantucket novels.” —Booklist “A must for any summer reading list.” —The Boston Herald