Review and giveaway – The Beach House by Jane Green

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The Beach House by Jane Green
ISBN: 0670018856
352 pages

The Beach House is set on Nantucket Island. The main character in the story is Nan, a 65 year old widow who most residents in the area think is crazy because she skinny dips in their pools and picks their flowers. When Nan finds herself out of money she decides to rent out rooms in her beach house rather than sell it. The house, Windermere, is worth millions and is the last thing she has left from her husband Everett who had committed suicide years before.

The residents all had separate lives before meeting at the beach house, and had not met prior to moving in. Daniel is the first to move in. He’s newly separated from his wife Bee and their two daughters, and is learning to live life for himself after hiding something from his wife. Daff is newly separated from her husband because he had an affair. Her troubled daughter Jess does also move into the beach house later in the story. Michael is Nan’s son. He moves back home to avoid the situation created by having an affair with his boss’ wife Jordana, who has a secret of her own. I was pleasantly surprised how well the author spun the threads of the different storylines into one big one. I was totally unprepared for the giant twist Ms. Green threw in towards the end. At the conclusion of the book the residents of the beach house have all become extended family.

In a recent conference call Ms. Green called this a character driven novel rather than a plot driven novel. I understand what she meant but must say the storylines she wrote made me want to turn the page and read more, so in that respect I’d say that I thought the book was plot driven as well. I told my Mom that I thought this book was about people discovering who they are and finding true happiness and peace in their lives. I found myself pleasantly surprised in that I’d enjoyed The Beach House more than I thought I would.  I recommend it as a light read and am looking forward to reading some more of Ms. Green’s books.

I’ve fortunate enough to have been offered to share this book with one of my readers, along with a custom beach towel and a beach bag. To enter just leave me a comment telling me if you’ve read any of Ms. Green’s books, and if so the title and if you recommend it. Feel free to take a look at Ms. Green’s website to learn more about her and the books she’s written, or to read her blog. This giveaway ends Saturday 08/16/08 at 11:59 pm est. US addresses only please. The winner will be selected using random.org. Good luck to all that enter!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED.