Summer with My Sisters

Yorktide, Maine #4

by Holly Chamberlin

Bestselling author Holly Chamberlin’s heartfelt novel, set in a beautiful Maine beach town, tells of three sisters—and one summer filled with revelations…When Poppy Higgins left Yorktide, Maine, for Boston, she pictured future visits home as brief diversions from her real life in the big city. Fate had different ideas, and at twenty-five, Poppy has been called back to care for her two younger sisters following their father’s death.Sixteen-year-old Daisy resents Poppy’s long absence and chafes under her sometimes fumbling efforts to be a parent. Violet, now thirteen, is a virtual stranger to her oldest sister. Once a happy, united family, the Higginses seem adrift, and Poppy longs to escape her responsibilities. But when Daisy befriends Evie, an enigmatic newcomer to Yorktide, the young woman will be an unlikely catalyst in the sisters’ journey back to each other. For as Poppy discovers the deep loss in Evie’s life, she awakens to the truth about her own, and about the town, and the people, she’s tried to leave behind.Filled with the candid warmth of real sisterhood, Summer with My Sisters explores the many forms a family can take, and the unspoken ties that endure, season after season…

Genres: Fiction, Chick Lit, Summer Reads, Womens Fiction, Ebooks, Adult Fiction, Summer

416 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 30, 2015

About the author

Holly Chamberlin is a native New Yorker, but she now lives in Portland, Maine - the aftermath of stumbling across Mr. Right at the one moment she wasn't watching the terrain. She's been writing and editing - poetry, children's fantasies, a romance novel or two, among many other genres and projects - her entire life. She has two cats, Betty and Cyrus, and when she's not writing her hobbies include reading, shopping, and cocktails at six.

Reviews

[Katy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well this book club read for July was not as good as I had hoped, yet it was much more like what I expected! Maybe this preconceived notion I have coloured my reading experience.

Anyway… I found this book to be a bit dull, somewhat boring, mostly draggy, and often disjointed! And by that point I was only one third of the way through it! Yikes!

At the halfway point the read had not improved for me. Although the interaction between the sisters was at times amusing, there seemed to be something lacking in the plot… like maybe a direction.

This seems to be a story about relationships and adjustments within this family of sisters after the early death of their father following the even earlier death of there mother. Certainly I don’t mean to make light of their situation, as it is an emotionally heavy bucket to haul, but the ho-hum adventures just didn’t hold my interest. Perhaps more rebellious antics of 13 and 16 year old siblings would have been more up my alley.

Snarky young Violet and feisty Evie made the story bearable, however, the story appeared to revolve around Evie’s plight and the three sisters’ reaction. Again not what I expected.

Everyone was beautiful and did “the right thing”. No evil stupid characters, no real drama, no “you deserve what you get” baddies.

Some authors can spin an interesting tale about ordinary people and everyday events, but, IMHO, this was not one of them. Just too much fluff here for me!

2.5 stars
( I just can’t bring myself to round it up to 3 ! )

[Cara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Finished but wondering why.

[Carolynne Mastellotto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn’t sure I would like this book as I began. Not my usual choice of genre but that’s why I belong to a book club whose members have a diverse reading choice. Found it well written and developed the characters at a pace I felt I was getting to know them well. After 2 years of the pandemic where many people were alone or underwent difficulties Violet hiding her anxiety felt very true. Poppy was thrust into a different & uncomfortable situation but overcame the obstacles and found her place in life. An interesting tale where many readers, I’m sure, will find similarities to their own life’s journey.

[Golfergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed following the adjustments of 3 sisters dealing with the aftermath of their remaining parents death. Poppy the eldest in no way feels prepared to return home in the role of guardian to her two younger sisters. The younger sisters are different personalities from each other. Of course the different personalities work through their grief in different ways. The addition of another young girl provides a contrast in another reaction to grief. The book follows the family, and their close friends, as they learn more about each other and begin to find their path in life. The story is well written so it easy reading. The characters and their close supportive friends are likeable. I thought the description of the stages they went through were realistically portrayed. I found it a thoughtful and interesting book.

[Connie Donnelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three sisters Poppy, Daisy and Violet are grieving the loss of their father, their remaining parent. Poppy has been appointed guardian for her two sisters and has serious doubts as to her ability to fill those shoes.
It is a summer where each sister trys to come to grips with the loss of their father and the return of Poppy who has been living and working away from them.
A great summer read.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was chosen by our book club for July. Not my usual genre however it was a quick and easy read about a family facing challenges after their lives changed in a heartbeat. Lots of lessons to be learned by Poppy, Daisy and Violet as their new friends and old help to clear the path of recovery for them.

[Marie desJardins · Rating 1 out of 5]

It would be difficult for me to convey how much I disliked this book. The writing is just awful, at the sentence, paragraph, and plot level. Characters do random things with no motivation; the plot ending is telegraphed a mile away; the characters are all less than one-dimensional (they're just like blurry blotches without even a stereotype you can pin onto them).

I wasn't expecting much -- I picked this book thinking it would be a light vacation read -- but it was absolutely impossible to actually read the whole story. I skimmed the last 3/4 of it, hoping that maybe there would be some kind of character development or plot twist, but no.

[Debra Oliva · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished it but I skipped chapters.

[Kristi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book. However, it just wasn't my cup of tea. I found the book to be depressing and at times hard to read. Several times I thought about not finishing the book and going on to something else. However, I was given a free copy of the book so I continued to the end.

The book centers on three sisters who are dealing with the loss of their parents. Poppy, the oldest, leaves her life in Boston and returns home as the legal guardian of her two younger sisters. Daisy, who is sixteen, doesn't have the best relationship with her sister and at times seems rebellious. Thirteen year old Violet, my favorite of the sisters, is an old soul in a young girls body. If not for her and her cat, Grimace, I probably wouldn't have finished the book. Over the course of the summer the three sisters learn to live without the traditional two parent family. A secondary storyline is that of Evie, a runaway who becomes friends with Daisy. Evie is harboring a secret that eventually brings the family together.

My thoughts: the book was depressing, at times repetitive, and at 377 pages, just too long. I think some editing could have brought the story down to around 300 pages and made the story more interesting and easy to read.

I was given a free copy from All You magazine. I have provided my honest opinions of this book.

[Amy Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A light hearted, story of three sisters who are brought back together by tragic loss. Learning to trust someone who has been away and not much of a relationship their older sister who is now in a situation where she is responsible for people other then herself. She has lost her way and is now trying to figure out her next step in life.

Great beach read for your summer.

[Janine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful. All of the characters were the same whether old or young. Don't bother

[Linda Power · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been a great book. I liked the characters and the plot. The author spent too much time trying to educate the reader on the plight of the homeless. That education could have fleshed out better in other ways.

[Sheri Vasconcellos Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts out slow but picks up. A sweet story about life and death, sisterly love and friendships homeless and helping people who need it

[Cecile Paddle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Totally agree with MY sister - a good, nice story!!

[Christy imworthyandenough · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ - a nice, good read. Totally works as a standalone book, even though it’s 4th in a series. I love a small town storyline.

[Sarah Sherman · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is fine if you like books where nothing really happens and there’s no conflict but I found it very boring.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite book that i have read of hers

[Susan Becraft · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book confirmed it. I am a cynic.

This is the story of three sisters: Poppy, 25; Daisy, 15: Violet, 13. After their parents die within a few years of each other, Poppy, who lives in Boston, is informed by the family attorney that her father, who died after her mother, appointed her legal guardian of her sisters. With no forewarning, she must move from Boston to a small town in Maine and assume the role of mother and father to two girls she hardly knows because of the age difference. This turn of events was nonsensical. What parent would make a life-altering decision for his eldest daughter without discussing it with her?

Poppy packs up and moves to Maine, where she is greeted half-heartedly by her sisters. It seems that the parents were paragons of everything - revered intellectuals and writers, beloved by everyone in town, fashion, entertainment, interior design and famous gardens. Despite the amount of time that has passed since the deaths, the younger girls are still in deep mourning.

Poppy does her best to assume her daunting role with no help from Daisy and Violet. Everything from her cooking to housekeeping is criticized - mom did things better. On and on the book extolled the parents' marriage. Nary an argument or raised voice was ever heard. The girls were never disciplined because they, too, were perfect. I find this to be patently ridiculous. As a wise man once told me, "Anyone who brags about having no disagreements in the marriage is either lying or extremely boring."

I kept waiting for the big reveal. Affairs galore, key parties, cross dressing - anything to bring these people down from their height on the ladder, but I was disappointed. The book is a fable; completely unrealistic and almost silly.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a sleepy book about three sisters who are grieving the loss of their parents in a sleepy town in Maine. Chamberlin's book about a young woman who becomes the legal guardian of her two youngest sisters is plodding and predictable, but wholesome and not awful, but I found it rather dull. The author does a lot more telling than showing, relies heavily on description for her characters, even prototype, which I think hurts the book's inherent sweetness. The story itself is painfully predictable, and reads somewhat like a pilot for a television show that would play on the Hallmark channel. I didn't hate it, but I wouldn't recommend it. Two stars.

[Sharon Heaverly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I received Summer with My Sisters through the Goodreads/FirstReads giveaways in return for an honest review.
I really wanted to like this book but it just seemed flat and not noteworthy. I like the premise of the story. An older sister gets called back home from her life elsewhere to care for her 2 young teenage sisters after their parents have died. The oldest sister seems stuck in her own struggles and not much help to her sisters.
The book just seemed to move so slowly and the characters were not all that interesting.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Won book through a goodreads giveaway**

I'm glad that I was able to have the opportunity to read and review this book, but although I finished it, it probably isn't a book I'd recommend to anyone else. The characters thoughts/feelings/actions never felt realistic and the storyline was predictable. An easy beach read but not really my thing.

[Brittany Hordij · Rating 1 out of 5]

I couldn’t finish it which is saying something because I think I’ve only not finished maybe 5 books in my entire life. It seems like the author was trying very hard to make the characters unique and interesting but in reality, they were just not relatable or easy to get into.

[etherealfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Library Kindle e-book

[Keeley Young · Rating 1 out of 5]

Made it about 100 pages in, and couldn't get into it.

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. Ended up flipping pages, wasting my time.

[Alexis Fish · Rating 1 out of 5]

Incredibly boring, couldn't get into it. I don't like leaving a book unfinished so maybe I'll come back to it.

[Elizabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn't even finish this book. Boring story line and writing. Snoozer for sure...

[Sue Gogo-Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Took a little too long to get to the interesting part of the storyline.

[Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer With My Sisters is by Holly Chamberlin. This is a wonderful book to read during the summer or any time you want to sit down with some light reading. It is well-written and is very realistic. You can learn a lot from the various themes that show up; but you can also just enjoy a good story. The story takes place in Maine.
Poppy Higgins was not particularly happy about having to come back home. It wasn’t that her life in Boston was so great; but it was because she had to come home. Poppy had just found out that she had been given guardianship of her two younger sisters after their Dad died unexpectedly from a heat attack. Poppy had left before their Mother died of cancer so she had missed out on their lives with only Dad. However, they were family and family took care of family, so Poppy was here to be there for her sisters. Her sisters, Daisy and Violet, were not particularly thrilled that Poppy had come home either. They had missed her; but they were still upset that she had left in the first place. Now, she was here and thought she would set all new rules and traditions. Not if they could help it, she wouldn’t. It was a rough transition for all of them.
Evie Jones wandered into town looking for a job and a place to stay, temporarily. She had run away from an unbearable situation at home. She was living with a cousin of her Father after he had run off, drunk as usual. Things were not well there, so Evie ran. She was lucky enough to get a job at the diner and through her boss, found a place to stay- housesitting. She didn’t mind taking on extra shifts as she needed to save her money for transportation out of here. Although it was her choice to run, she was still lonely but kept to herself to avoid having to tell more lies to her boss.
When Daisy and Evie meet, it is great luck that they were pleasantly surprised by the other even though they were basically different. Eventually, Evie told Daisy a made-up version of her life and felt guilty for lying to her; but felt it was necessary. This lie would backfire on Evie. It drew all of them into danger. Should the truth be told?

[Gayle Cappelluti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teenaged Daisy and her older sister, Violet, are left on their own when their dad passes suddenly, just three years after the loss of their mom. Fortunately, their dad, who suffered from congenital heart problems, left all his affairs in order; their home and finances are all secured, and their older sister, 25-year-old Poppy has been left as their guardian. How can they possibly survive their grief? How will Poppy, who has never had to care for anyone besides herself possibly become surrogate parent to two minors, looking after them and all their needs, as well as her own, taking care of the house and all that entails? They do have adult friends, but how much help can they realistically be expected to provide? As the author reveals in this tender story, all things are possible with love.
Summer with My Sisters is a heartwarming tale about family, loss, love, and resilience. The Higgins sisters are all different, unique and loveable. Their small town in Maine is homey and inviting. With many bumps in the road, these sisters grow tighter and with only one character that is distatsteful, one even the sisters agree to dislike, this book is completely enjoyable.