Scan barcode
A review by claudiaslibrarycard
Wait: A Novel by Gabriella Burnham
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.