Nona's generosity to Charlotte, secretly her favorite grandchild, doesn't sit well with the rest of the Wheelwright clan, however, as they worry that Charlotte may be positioning herself to inherit the entire estate. Though Charlotte's skill with plants is bringing her success, cultivating something deeper with people-particulary her handsome neighbor Coop-might be more of a challenge. The free spirit enjoys running an organic gardening business on the island of Nantucket, thanks in large part to her spry grandmother Nona, who donated a portion of her land on the family's seaside compound to get Charlotte started. Charlotte, meanwhile, suddenly finds herself attracted to two men, but which will she choose? The clich d family's clich d squabbling and the narrative as a whole ends up being much ado about nothing.After years of wandering from whim to whim, 30-year-old Charlotte Wheelwright seems to have at last found her niche.

Much of the group, including Charlotte's addict brother, stay at the house all summer, to share in more festive occasions like Nona's birthday celebration, a wedding and the birth of a child.

The clan gathers at the seaside mansion for the annual family meeting where the fate of Charlotte's garden will be decided. A few years into her project, Charlotte begins making a small profit, and some members of the extended family have a problem with that. Nona is nearly 90, and the family is happy to have someone on the island with her year-round. Charlotte Wheelwright has a guilty conscience, so she flees Boston for Nantucket to start an organic farm on her grandmother's land. Thayer (Shell Moon Beach) explores the tarnished interior of a family of Boston bankers as well as the more polished exterior they display in public in this tepid melodrama. Bringing together three generations of strong-willed women, each wrestling with life-changing decisions, Nancy Thayer’s luminous novel shows that no matter where life’s path may lead, love always finds a way back home.

Now the entire Wheelwright clan is making its annual summer pilgrimage to the homestead, including Charlotte’s mother, Helen, who brings a heavy heart as she confronts a betrayal that threatens her sense of place and her sense of self. Though Charlotte’s skill with plants is bringing her success, cultivating something deeper with people-particularly her handsome neighbor Coop-might be more of a challenge. Thirty-year-old Charlotte Wheelwright seems to have at last found her niche, running an organic gardening business on the island of Nantucket, thanks in large part to her spry grandmother Nona, who donated a portion of land on the family’s seaside compound to get Charlotte started. BONUS: This edition contains a Summer House discussion guide and an excerpt from Nancy Thayer's Island Girls.

Summer house by nancy thayer