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Blue Sky Hill #1

A Month of Summer

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Lisa Wingate has been favorably compared to authors Nicholas Sparks and Richard Paul Evans. In "A Month of Summer," Hannah Beth has been caring for her aging husband—-who suffers from Alzheimer’s—-and her developmentally challenged adult son for years on her own.

But when she suffers a stroke, estranged stepdaughter Rebecca must take the reins. As she cares for her father and the step-brother she’s barely met, Rebecca slowly begins to heal both herself and her family.

Audiobook

First published July 1, 2008

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About the author

Lisa Wingate

52 books13.2k followers
Lisa Wingate is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Before We Were Yours, which remained on the bestseller list for over two years. Her award-winning works have been selected for state and community One Book reads, have been published in over forty languages, and have appeared on bestseller lists worldwide. The group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa and six others as recipients of the National Civics Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. She lives in Texas and Colorado with her family and her deceptively cute little teddy bear of a dog, Huckleberry. Find her at www.lisawingate.com, on Facebook at LisaWingateAuthorPage, or on Instagram @author_lisa_wingate

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5 stars
1,940 (35%)
4 stars
2,389 (44%)
3 stars
908 (16%)
2 stars
135 (2%)
1 star
31 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 504 reviews
Profile Image for Kelly.
34 reviews3 followers
December 1, 2009
I adored this book for many reasons:
1. It is a clean read. No trash or filth involved in the entire book. Harder and harder to find these days.
2. It is a light and easying read.
3. Lisa Wingate never disappoints me with her stories.
4. Being a Texan, I love that she uses Texas as the backdrop of most of her stories....I feel more connected because I actually know the locations she chooses.
5. I feel that she completely nails the mind of a person left unable to communicate by a stroke...the way they are often treated, as though their brain doesn't work. I also thought she expressed how many elderly who are independently taking care of grown children or their spouses feel...the desperation they feel about who will take care of everyone when they are gone.
6. First person is my favorite format...First person by multiple character is even better. I love that this story was told in first person by characters with opposing views.

I enjoyed this book as I do all of the Lisa Wingate novels...but this was a standout.
Profile Image for Relyn.
4,056 reviews70 followers
March 13, 2016
7/22/08
I love Lisa Wingate's Texas novels. I have no idea why I haven't gobbled this one up already. I tend to rush to read my library books because I have to return them and wait around on the ones I've bought. Silly hunh? Of course, I've had the new Marissa de los Santos for at least two months and haven't read it. yet. What's up with me? So many books, so little time.

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9/10/08
Once again, Lisa did not disappoint. This one reminded me of Good Hope Road more than her Texas romances. I just love her books. She makes me laugh and smile and grin in rueful recognition all the while reminding me of some important lessons. Things like the importance of trust and family and service to others. Loved this book!
Profile Image for Joleen.
2,631 reviews1,223 followers
May 20, 2020
This was a tad different than other books by Ms. Wingate. It was a harder read. But getting to the end where things wrap up beautifully is this author's strong suit.

Through much of the book there are assumptions that make life difficult, causing resentment, doubts and mistrust. When these assumptions are clarified with truth there is freedom. Reading how Rebecca dealt with her doubts was fascinating. Only once did she blow up at someone but quickly let it go, at least outwardly. Internally there were battles, doubts, anger and jealousy. But God showed her through revealed truth how to release it all.

A wide variety of characters to enjoy. Mary, a healthcare worker whose husband left her stranded with two young boys and nowhere to live, Rebecca's stroke victim step-mother whom she resented most of her life, Teddy, her mentally challenged adult step-brother, Edward, her father with Alzheimer's, her sweet 8-year-old daughter, and her husband Kyle, who appears to be having an affair.

In true Lisa Wingate fashion there are such poignant truths revealed within conversations or characters' internal dialog.

Rebecca wondering about how she's approached lessons with her daughter about mentally challenged people like her step-brother, Teddy:

"Had I ever tried to teach her the lessons that mattered most? Had I tried to show her what Teddy so naturally understood—that life is beautiful, awe-inspiring in all its forms? Had I ever attempted to combat the perfection-centered culture Macey saw on television, that she lived in every day—the culture that believed people like Teddy should be kept out of the way."

Rebecca pondering the woman for whom her father left her mother:

"Things aren’t always what they seem . I looked at Hanna Beth, next to me in the seat. She isn’t what you thought she was. You could have discovered that long ago. You could have had years with her, with Dad, with Teddy, but you chose to believe the worst. You chose to be angry. You chose not to forgive. You chose the pain."

My favorite that made me laugh right out loud was a healthcare worker, a bit frustrated with an elderly patient who is always out of his room yacking with other patients. She quoted a saying from her country (I think it was Ghana):

"Old rooster, he loud on the fence, quiet in the stew.” ... Which made the gentleman skitter back to his room.

This may have been a bit different from other delightful books by Lisa Wingate, but still worth the read.
Profile Image for Margaret.
1,177 reviews6 followers
March 11, 2021
Lisa Wingate writes so beautifully and of course I was sucked in right away. I enjoy reading Christian fiction that doesn't preach at you or pushes a "should" or "should not" message onto the reader. I can tell that she writes with her heart and perhaps experience and that says so much more than religious gobbly goop! In short, an enjoyable book.
Profile Image for Ram.
939 reviews49 followers
January 30, 2021
At the age of about 40 a few years (or was it months? Not sure) after her mother died, Rebecca is on her way to her childhood home in Texas to aid her father who is suffering from dementia, she is called there by the authorities following the hospitalization of her stepmom.

When Rebecca Macklin was 8 years old, her father left the family to live with Hanna Beth and her intellectual disabled child who was a few years older than Rebecca.
Following this, Rebecca and her mother left the house she grew up in and she did not see her father until this.

Rebecca is leaving behind her sweet 8 years old daughter and her hardworking lawyer husband as she ventures to the unknown in a serious test of her emotional system.

Rebecca, who was influenced by her mother to hate her father, stepmother and stepbrother is confronted with the new situation where she is caring for them and finding that they are loveable people.

I liked the story and the development of the plot and characters. Lisa Wingate did a good job of creating a dramatic atmosphere and touching many conflicts in life and relationships.

While Rebecca is helpful and basically does the right things, she did not appear to me as a nice person (at least most of the book). While she does not owe much to her father and father’s family, her past emotional sediment delays her connection with her new lovely family and causes miscommunication and challenges. While she has been temporarily put out of her comfort zone, she does not realize that she is living a privileged life and can make a few compromises for others (which she does at the end of course). Even in the book itself, there are (at least) three women/mothers who have led a much less privileged life, and she is slow to recognize it.

I was touched by the character of Hanna Beth and I identified with her. She is hospitalized after a stroke and has serious speech challenges. She struggles to be understood and repeatedly encounters reactions that range from apologetical smiles to patronizing looks that hint that the person who is listening believes that she has serious intellect issues.

I regularly spend time with a person who has serious speech impediment and I witness the frustration of not being able to communicate, the impatience of the people around him and the doubt of his intellectual abilities by some of the listeners.

So, this is a nice book and I recommend it to people who like this genre.
442 reviews11 followers
November 12, 2020
Great story that examines holding onto grudges, loving someone different than ourselves, and dealing with sickness when the caretaker becomes dependent. Well written book that I couldn't put down.
307 reviews31 followers
January 20, 2021
A nice clean read that dealt with difficult family situations.
Profile Image for Donna.
4,527 reviews156 followers
February 14, 2022
This is Chick-Lit. Even though that is not my favorite genre, I like this author. I like her stories and the emotion her characters exude. The relationships are always tangled, but in a good way. There is depth and texture, good and bad. She marries those things well.

Now I will say this one was predictable. There were no surprises or reveals that you don't see coming ahead of time, but it felt so satisfying. So that wasn't a deal breaker. There was also a fair amount of sweetness at the end. Not my favorite, but by then I didn't care and it felt right. So 4 stars.
Profile Image for Hella.
1,129 reviews49 followers
July 4, 2020
allemachtig wat ben ik blij dat ik dit uitheb, wat een opeenstapeling van Kommer en Kwel, en niet alleen de hoofdpersonen maar ook alle bijfiguren zijn Vreselijk Zielig en wat er gebeurt is ook Vreselijk Gemeen maar gelukkig komt het allemaal op de allerlaatste bladzij weer Helemaal Goed
Profile Image for Kathy.
274 reviews
May 27, 2019
Difficult book to get through. Could one family really have so many huge challenges hit at once?
Husband - divorced and had a daughter. She was 12 when he left. Re-married a woman with special needs son, loss of memory and paranoid from Alzheimer’s.
Wife -loss of most physical abilities from a severe stroke.
Son - sweet special needs.
Divorced ex-wife - recently passed away but her bitterness for ex-husband leaving and brainwashing left their daughters ability to have a close marital relationship was damaged.
Adult married daughter - mother to an adorable 9 year old daughter. She is caught between estranged family member lives and the constant stranglehold of her dead mothers hatred of men. She becomes the only source of care for her dad, step-moms and her special needs son who live several states away. She assumes her own marriage will crumble. And more bad news is on the horizon.

I didn’t enjoy the storyline of this book as I have other Lisa Wingate writings. Can’t say I’m glad I even read it. Would have given it 4 stars because It was solidly written but tediously repetitive, hard to get through. I sped through it, finding myself skipping through sections and not missing anything important to the storyline. I’d already gotten the point, no need to give yet another similar example. Didn’t strengthen the plot, there came a time this became annoying. Don’t plan to continue with this series.
Profile Image for Michelle.
64 reviews
July 10, 2010
I just love Lisa Wingate. I've read two of her books and I can't wait to get to the library tomorrow to get more. She can put to words what is in most peoples hearts and Its so wonderful to feel that emotion threw her writing.

"Life, he says, is a journey by train. Outside the window, the scenery is rushing by.If you look away for even an instant, something passes uncaptured. Far in the future, when you leaf through the photo album of memory, your finguer, aged and crooked, will rub lightly over that empty speace, and you'll wonder, what might have been there?"

I just want to reread this book over and over, it was difficult at times because one of the caracters has a disabiled son and I conected so much with her. Her love of her child and drive to help him anyway she could! loved it.
Profile Image for Janie.
426 reviews3 followers
August 3, 2018
3.5 stars rounded up.

Easy comfort read. Wingate tells a good story. This is only my second book by her, and I have the remaining three in the Blue Sky Hill series to finish. I hope her style does not make the remaining stories predictable. A positive about Wingate that I've noted is that her characters seem to react to life difficulties in a realistic way, and the morality issues she writes about are resolved agreeable with my own views.

This book should not have taken me so long to finish; it is not hard reading. But I've been so busy that I haven't been able to stay awake to read barely five pages at night!
Profile Image for Chris.
225 reviews11 followers
August 7, 2008
I really, really liked this book. I have enjoyed Lisa Wingate's writing and thoroughly enjoyed her Tending Roses series. This is the beginning of a new series and it feels to me like her writing is energized and really becoming honed. She does a wonderful job with the characterizations and she has created many likable characters in this book that you want to know more about. I see lots of richness to be mined in future books in this series and highly recommend it. A very good novel.
Profile Image for Millie.
352 reviews
July 5, 2019
Okay, I didn't get super far into it. I have great hopes that it will be a wonderful book, but it was a little depressing, so I put it down in favor of something else.

As the sister of a special needs brother I was so sad at perceptions of this awesome special needs boy/man. Sigh. Patience is a virtue!
Profile Image for Melissa (So Behind).
5,132 reviews3,082 followers
June 19, 2019
Very sweet story set in Texas. Heartfelt and full of the love of family--and those you might not have chosen to be your family but who end up that way. Subtle spiritual content make this book approachable for all readers.
Profile Image for Kim.
314 reviews190 followers
March 22, 2020
Touching

In this time of a pandemic, this story is such a sweet reminder of the input of family above all else. Keeping family healthy, safe and together is not always easy, but it's worth the effort
123 reviews
July 23, 2015
I really enjoyed this book. I liked how the characters all intertwined and became stronger because they needed one another. Forgiveness goes a long way.
670 reviews59 followers
February 22, 2025
Audible Plus 13 hours 30 min. Narrated by Johanna Parker (5)
3.5 rounded up
I was looking for something lighter to read this month and thought this book would fit the bill. The writing is simpler, but the cascade of complicated characters kept me hoping for some quick, easy resolution, but instead, the plot grew more complex.

I cheated and looked at some other reviews of this book, who found this book was "quick and pleasant."" I may have found this dual storyline struck home more deeply because I can relate to the voice of Hannah Beth Parker, who speaks to us from her mind and memory as a victim of a stroke. One day, she is active, busy with the care for a beloved husband who is suffering from Alzheimer's and for her son Teddy,a 47-year-old boy trapped in a man's body. While doing laundry, she suffers a stroke, and her first clear memories come to her as she is rehabing a nursing care facility, unable to speak or move. How fragile our health is! Nearing 78 myself, I found her Hannah's voice, especially compelling.

The other woman is Rebecca Macklin, Hannah Beth's estranged stepdaughter. Rebecca is spreading her life too thin by trying to be a successful immigration lawyer, business owner, mother to a 9-year-old daughter, and wife. Throughout her story, we learn how her divorced mother has poisoned her daughter against her father. Rebecca's mother's character reflects the way some women today use divorce as a way of getting even with the man by whom she feels rejected. Unfortunately, it only causes lingering doubts and unhealthy memories in Rebecca's mind as she deals with problems within her own marriage.

As a divorced and remarried mother, it brought back doubts I also had. However, I was determined to make sure that my son and daughter kept a close relationship with their father. They lost him a few years ago to Alzheimer's, so I was also impacted, especially because he would have been a better grandfather than a father.

It always amazes me to find an author who can into the minds of characters and build a plot to share a message of forgiveness and the need for trust.
There is a necessary forced timeline within the story. License has been taken with a quick recovery from stroke by Hannah and the especially good day Mr. Parker has her birthday, but that is why this "fiction."

P.S. Everybody needs a "Claude" and a "Teddy" in life. The first gives perspective on life's problems, and the latter gives unconditional love. Wish these two could be ordered from Amazon!
Profile Image for Irene.
1,128 reviews15 followers
June 28, 2019
A Month of Summer by Lisa Wingate. An engrossing, emotional read. Touches on many topics and each are presented realistically. All the of characters are well written and reliable, it is hard not to like any of them except for Kay Kay. Gives a perspective of recovering from a stroke that rings very true.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.
Profile Image for Martha.
1,939 reviews73 followers
January 10, 2022
I really enjoyed this book, but the premise made me almost want to review it with lower stars. It was heart-wrenching to experience the heartache with the character. This is a great women's fiction story, with love and care, but deep emotion throughout. It is a love story, not of the romantic kind, but one of family love. I adored the character of Teddy, and hearing the mind of Hannah Beth as she struggled in recovery after a stroke.
661 reviews10 followers
July 2, 2020
The book is really two narratives. One written from the point of view from a stepmother who was the other woman in her husbands life. The other narrative is from the point of view of a stepdaughter who has had no relationship with the stepmother, her father who now has Alzheimer's and a retarded stepbrother for thirty-three years.
Profile Image for Amber.
151 reviews1 follower
April 24, 2021
This was wonderful! I had the opportunity to have both audio and text of this novel. The audio is wonderful because the narrator does an amazing job being a stroke patient, a 40 + year old man with special needs and several other characters. The audio really is wonderful! Either way, it was perfect!!
449 reviews3 followers
April 29, 2023
4.5 stars. At the beginning I didn’t think I’d like this book or that I would finish it. So glad I continued beyond the beginning. Powerful story about “family,” obligations, forgiveness, Alzheimer’s and being different. Will need to read the next in this series
297 reviews3 followers
August 27, 2023
Another powerful book. This story reminds us of how our parents rely on us as they grow older and helps us to understand their unspoken fears as they become more dependent on us. Beautifully scripted!
Profile Image for Lise.
76 reviews1 follower
September 9, 2020
It was good enough to finish but rather formulaic. But if you want a no brainer easy read about people and lives with complications that work out it was definitely that.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Profile Image for Leah.
260 reviews5 followers
September 25, 2024
3.5 stars

There were some bright spots to this book, but a lot of it felt melodramatic to me.
6 reviews1 follower
October 1, 2024
Feel-good book with beautiful characters who all had obstacles to overcome. The narrator did an amazing job with such variety of voices!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 504 reviews

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