Return to Sullivan's Island
by Dorothea Benton Frank
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Book Summary Information
Author: Dorothea Benton FrankEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-06-30
ISBN: 0061438456
Number of pages: 400
Publisher: William Morrow
Book Reviews of Return to Sullivan's Island
Book Review: Return Trip to Sullivan's Island Not Nearly as Enjoyable as First
Summary: 2 Stars
One of my favorite writers, Dot Frank, will tell you once you've got Sullivan's Island sand in your shoes your heart will ache to return. Since the original SULLIVAN'S ISLAND was one of my all-time favorite books, I was aching to return and thrilled she decided to pen a sequel. Woe be my sandy flip-flops! Never has such a highly-anticipated book disappointed me so much, and it breaks my heart to say that.
The main problem is Beth, the central character, who is astonishing in her lack of common sense. Maybe it's an inherited trait because the beloved characters from the original seem to have undergone drastic personality transplants. I could never imagine Susan Hayes forbidding her daughter Beth, a recent college grad, from pursing her dreams and going on to graduate school to further her studies. What loving parent would demand their child baby-sit a haunted house for a year and further suggest it would be just grand to waitress at a local hotspot to finance this? And since this formerly interesting family is paying Cecily to come by everyday and check on things, pay the bills, etc. what exactly is the purpose of Beth being there other than to provide a weak premise for an even weaker story. Is there anyone who didn't see this ending coming early in the book?
Beth herself if the main reason I found this book so unlikable. She is a smart-mouthed, senseless moron (yes, at one point she says "I am a moron" and it was the truest thing she said in the entire book). Before I was a quarter of a way into this, I was annoyed by her incessant use of "for real" and "crap." For a would-be writer, Beth's vocabulary was definitely lacking. And as for her actions and motivations, she was more 7th grade than college grad. I was actually hoping something terrible would happen to her and she would get her comeuppance in a humiliating and overwhelming way. Unfortunately, a nice character has to die to make everything work out for Beth. In a most preposterous way, Beth commits a felony but comes out smelling, if not like a rose, at least like a daisy.
Also, I can't overlook the use of spirits haunting the family home. Unless you believe in ghosts, this book will be extremely lacking in substance.
I think Dot Frank was trying to tell us family is all that matters, a sentiment I can whole-heartedly agree with. Alas, she saved it for the epilogue and it was too little, too late. With all this being said, I have still not lost faith in Dot Frank's storytelling ability and will be first in line to purchase her next book, the sequel to another favorite, PLANTATION. Everyone deserves a second chance.
Summary of Return to Sullivan's Island
Beloved New York Times bestselling author Dorothea Benton Frank returns to the enchanted landscape of South Carolina's Lowcountry to tell the story of the next generation of Hamiltons and Hayeses.
Newly graduated from college, Beth Hayes must put all her grand ambitions on hold when the family elders elect her to house-sit the Island Gamble, ghosts and all. Instead of conquering new worlds, Beth will rest and rejuvenate while basking in memory and the magic of white clapboards and shimmering blue waters. But there is much about life and her family's past that she does not yet understand?and her simple plans begin unraveling with the intrusion of developer Max Mitchell. Still, everything here happens for a reason?and disappointment, betrayal, even tragedy are more easily handled when surrounded by loving family and loyal friends.
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