Maddie and her friends have vacationed together every August for nearly the last twenty-five years. Maddie, Barb, Rachel, and Melinda all met when their husbands were finishing med school at Vanderbilt. They have not had their August vacation for the past few years, after Melinda died. But now Melinda's husband has remarried and The Girls of August are gathering for one more vacation on a remote island of the coast of South Carolina. Teddy's new wife, Baby, is finding it hard to fit in with the other women who have been friends for so long. As their vacation days lazily pass, it becomes clear that each of the women are hiding something big. Will their friendship survive this year's vacation? And will the three "original" Girls of August ever forgive Baby for her transgression of being half of their age?
The Girls of August was my first book by the prolific Anne Rivers Siddons and I must say that I was a bit disappointed. At just 240 pages the book was really a quick read and I almost felt as if I were reading an abridged version of the book. The characters were almost cliched Southern women and I felt like we missed out on the depth that was really there. Especially with Baby, she speaks Arabic for Pete's sake, there should have been more. The story was only told from Maddie's view point and I think that is where the story fell short. If the book had been one of those alternate voices books we might have gotten to know the other characters better. But, having said all of that, I didn't hate the book, I was just expecting something more. The scenery of Tiger Island was depicted well and left me longing for a beach-side home where I could sleep to the sound of the ocean and sleep with the ocean breeze coming through the window.
Bottom line, while I was disappointed with The Girls of August, it was still a beach read. With summer winding down (can you even believe that we are already into August??) we need to get as many beach reads in as we can before school starts and the leaves start to turn. Keep your expectations low and you won't be disappointed.
The Details:
- The Girls of August by Anne Rivers Siddons
- Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
- Publication Date: July 8, 2014
- Pages: 240
- Buy it Here!
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