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michellekmartin's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
bookreviewswithkb's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
thank you so much to @oneworldbooks for the #gifted copy 🧡
“how long until their roots, planted in soft soil, are washed up my another rainstorm?”
this is a book that explores the local side of Nantucket - the side that lays the foundation for the white wealthy people to “summer” in their 2nd, 3rd, 4th house, the side of immigrants, of working hard in exchange for low wages, of holding onto the minimal amount of affordable housing left. it examines wealth disparity, racism, and gentrification all through deeply meaningful relationships.
Burnham doesn’t answer our questions or provide us the insights - she leaves it bare for us to infer based on the conversations, the betrayals, the longings, allowing space for each reader to look inside of themselves and to the broader scope of the way our society operates
i really enjoyed this novel
Content Warnings
Moderate: Deportation
tsmithers's review
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Publishing May 21, 2024
Wait is a coming-of-age story focused around Elise, freshly graduated from college, and has to rush home to Nantucket when her sister, Sophie, says their mother, Gilda, is missing. We learn that their mother has been deported to Brazil and now Elise and Sophie have to figure out how to live on their own and for themselves. They’re lost. Elise’s college friend, Sheba, happens to have a massive summer house on the island where they end up staying.
It’s an interesting amalgamation of coming of age, class inequality, and how some relationships have a place and time. I liked Elise and Sophie, but as soon as I felt they were starting to blossom and grow, the story ended abruptly!
Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an advanced copy through Netgalley.
claudiaslibrarycard's review
challenging
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Wait is an emotional novel about two sisters whose mother goes missing. I am a lover of books set on Cape Cod and Nantucket, and this hit many of the notes I expect and want when I pick one of these up.
Set on the island of Nantucket, this story speaks to class dynamics and includes wonderful nature imagery and details. Burnham wrote so well to the divide between summer visitors and tourists and working class year-rounders. With beautiful and emotional details about plovers, an endangered species of the area, this really is a well rounded book. So to move beyond setting, this is a very character driven novel with a few key plot points but no clear climax and dénouement. The sisters, Sophie and Elise, are together again for the first time in four years since Elise has just returned from UNC Chapel Hill. There are clear rifts to repair as a result of Elise never visiting during her four years of undergrad, and when their mother does not come home for days on end the stress rises for everyone.
Elise and Sophie spend much of their time with Sheba, the very rich heiress to the Play-Doh fortune who Elise met at UNC. Each girl has their own baggage and way of interacting with each other and the world, and that's really the meat of this book. In a short number of pages, these characters are so vivid and feel fully formed, ready to come off of the page and into the world.
I had a wonderful time with Wait by Gabriella Burnham and I know I'll be reading her backlist. I highly recommend this one!
Heads up: No quotation marks! However, Burnham's writing style is easy to adapt to and it becomes very clear what is spoken versus internal dialogue.
Set on the island of Nantucket, this story speaks to class dynamics and includes wonderful nature imagery and details. Burnham wrote so well to the divide between summer visitors and tourists and working class year-rounders. With beautiful and emotional details about plovers, an endangered species of the area, this really is a well rounded book. So to move beyond setting, this is a very character driven novel with a few key plot points but no clear climax and dénouement. The sisters, Sophie and Elise, are together again for the first time in four years since Elise has just returned from UNC Chapel Hill. There are clear rifts to repair as a result of Elise never visiting during her four years of undergrad, and when their mother does not come home for days on end the stress rises for everyone.
Elise and Sophie spend much of their time with Sheba, the very rich heiress to the Play-Doh fortune who Elise met at UNC. Each girl has their own baggage and way of interacting with each other and the world, and that's really the meat of this book. In a short number of pages, these characters are so vivid and feel fully formed, ready to come off of the page and into the world.
I had a wonderful time with Wait by Gabriella Burnham and I know I'll be reading her backlist. I highly recommend this one!
Heads up: No quotation marks! However, Burnham's writing style is easy to adapt to and it becomes very clear what is spoken versus internal dialogue.
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