Along the coast of Maine lies Haven Point. Its residents are families who have spent summers there for generations. Author Virginia Hume, in an impressive debut novel, sets this story in a beautiful part of New England where people are not very welcoming to those not of the same background.
In 1944, Maren is a nurse at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington DC. She was raised on a farm in Minnesota. Maren meets and falls in love with Dr. Oliver Demarest, who is from a prominent Boston family. Once they marry, she spends summers at the family home at Haven Point and has trouble fitting in. By the summer of 1970, Maren and Oliver have three children. Life at Haven Point proves difficult for their daughter Annie who decides, after tragedy strikes, that she never wants to return to Haven Point. In 2008, Annie’s daughter Skye takes her mother’s ashes back to Haven Point and will discover, with the help of her grandmother Maren, why her mother left Haven Point and had vowed never to return.
This well-written book was quite an emotional story. There is strong sense of place and well-developed characters especially Maren, Annie and Skye who each felt like outsiders in Haven Point. Some sections felt a little long but overall this was a satisfying read as each woman tried to find their place in a community that was not accepting of people unlike themselves.
Many thanks to the author, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the opportunity to read Haven Point in advance of its publication. I’ll be anxious to read what Virginia Hume writes next.
Rated 4 out of 5 stars.
Contemporary & Historical Fiction.
Publication Date: June 8, 2021.
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IS THIS ANYTHING LIKE "OLIVE KITTERIDGE?"