Patti Callahan Henry

Fiction 2017/ 326 pages

This  book is very relational, very emotional, very much about self-discovery, self-awareness and insight.  It actually was too much of all this for me.  There was not enough plot or action moving life forward.

The Bookshop at Water's End is about two life-long friends, Lainey and Bonny, who spent their summers in high school in Bonny's house/cottage in Water's End, Florida.  Known as the Summer Sisters, they were inseparable, as they, besides hanging out in the ocean and the river, attempted to replicate Nancy Drew mysteries in their small town.

20 years later, the two women are facing professional and romantic crises in their lives, and return to the house, their children in tow, to find a sense of groundedness, to find their older selves, to determine what is next in their lives.  These two women are extremely close and they know everything ... almost ... about each other.  The closeness becomes, what is the word I want, somewhat suffocating for me.

Lainey's mom left this house decades ago, never to be heard from again.  But Lainey has spent these many years searching and hoping.  Yes, the mystery of her mother Clara is eventually revealed.

I really enjoyed Piper, who is 17, I think, and Bonny's daughter, and struggles with the angst of being a teenage who never feels adequate.  I found her to be the most in-depth and interesting character.

I was disappointed that neither Mimi's bookshop nor books in general play as strong of a role as I think they could have.  One Good-read's reviewer called this book a "Nice read" and I think that is accurate.  It is easy to read.   It is not challenging, but also not memorable.  If you need a beach read, this could suffice.

June 2025