Product details
- ASIN
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B00A6CM7AS - Publisher
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Gallery Books; Reissue edition (June 25, 2013) - Publication date
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June 25, 2013 - Language
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English - File size
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3681 KB - Text-to-Speech
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Enabled - Screen Reader
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Supported - Enhanced typesetting
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Enabled - X-Ray
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Enabled - Word Wise
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Enabled - Sticky notes
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On Kindle Scribe - Print length
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402 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #3,762 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #19 in Women’s New Adult & College Fiction
- #26 in Contemporary Literary Fiction
- #68 in Sisters Fiction
- Customer Reviews:
Devorah –
As a Lowcountry lady, this book’s setting was my most cherish memories as a young adult on through today (“many” years later). I loved the story, it hit home in so many ways. I have an autistic grandson I dearly love, and Mary Alice described the behavior very accurately. It’s something more folks need to be aware of, the nature and character with autism. Most don’t understand! I felt having this addressed in the book is helpful for those unaware. I have a 43 year old daughter, that is named Dolphin. We received a lot of strange looks during the time to name her. Our love for dolphins inspired her name. We studied in depth the character and wit of dolphins and was the “only name” we could agree on. So on these 2 points, along with the sisters, and grandmother with her companion housekeeper/cook, the relationships brought such pleasure and a taste of my world here in SC on the beach! I loved it and already into her next book in this series! A fantastic read!
Amazon Customer –
Mary Alice Monroe is an excellent author, one of my favorites! Her 7 book series, The Beach House, is the best I have ever read! I enjoyed The Summer Girls, as well. It is also set in the beautiful Low Country of South Carolina. I like that Monroe uses her writing as a platform for awareness regarding conservation. I liked this book’s focus on dolphins and how to protect them and their environment. I have purchased and look forward to reading the other 3 boos in The Summer Girls series, as well as other books by Monroe. Highly recommend this gifted author!
MsVee –
This was an awesome read about family, secrets and forgiveness.Three sisters, half sisters, return home to South Carolina to spend what they think will be a weekend celebrating their grandmother’s 80th birthday. But Marietta Muir affectionately called Mamaw by her granddaughters… Dora, Carson and Harper has other plans.As the story unfolds a weekend turns into a summer full of laughter, tears, secrets coming to light, myths being shattered and bonds forged.
Terry Skones –
I think I found another favorite author, I have a few! I was looking for another series to read and came across this one. I have read several of Mary Alice’s books before, so thought I would try this one. I was not disappointed. The story is about a grandmother living in the low country. Mamaw wants her three granddaughters to come home for her birthday. This story is about so much more than the party. It’s about each of the half sisters and how the summer brings out all kinds of memories. The story also includes a love story, a boy with autism and a dolphin that ties them all together. Read the book, enjoy !
Cheryl Ashcraft –
Loved this series and any book by Mary Alice Monroe
Pam Jackson –
I am now dolphin smart! I will share my knowledge about dolphins after finishing this enchanting story of the heart! I am always inspired by the nature of MAM’s novels and dolphins are my favorite sea creature! When I read the teaser, I was enthusiastic about learning the personality and character of each sister. “The Summer Girls” is so much more! I think we can all see a part of ourselves in each girl. They are now my friends! Lucille is also so important to the family. “Mamaw felt a rush of love for her, thinking how those hands formed the bedrock of her world.” Mamaw could see herself through Carson because of their ability to be strong in a heartbreaking world. “Mamaw looked into Carson’s eyes and thanked her, As she spoke the words, she wondered at the perspicacity of the woman who could capture glimpses of someone’s soul.” The calming effect of the life of the ocean is well illustrated in “The Summer Girls.” I love this quote, “The tides breathed in and out of the wetlands, their rhythms as complex and interconnected as the veins in her body.” I have chosen many quotes that touch my soul and I will finish with my favorite…”She put her hand in the water and let it drag in the wake. She felt its coolness and felt connected to this water and everything in it. She gazed up into the infinite sky and felt connected to the birds of the air, the clouds, the grass that surrounded her, and creatures of the sea. She felt this in her deepest nature. She was part of something so much bigger that herself. And this realization simultaneously made her feel more vulnerable and stronger that she ever had before.” “The Summer Girls” will touch your heart and soul! You will want to read all of Mary Alice Monroe’s novels if you haven’t already! I am so looking forward to the next MAM novel!
Laurel-Rain Snow –
With engaging prose that captured me from the opening lines, The Summer Girls (Lowcountry Summer Book 1) takes the reader on a voyage of discovery. A special wish and invitation from an aging grandmother brings three half-sisters to the lowcountry in South Carolina, and to a beach house that was a wonderful part of their childhoods.Dora (Eudora), Carson, and Harper, all named after Southern authors by their wannabe-author-father, Parker, have been separated from one another by their life circumstances, and only brought together occasionally at Sea Breeze, their grandmother’s summer home.Marietta Muir is an intriguing, eighty-year-old character who is used to getting what she wants. And what she especially wants is for her granddaughters, her only living heirs (her son died years before) to cement the bonds they once had together.She lures them in with promises…and then divulges some secrets.Carson’s life is in a shambles, her TV series canceled and her money gone. Dora’s husband Calhoun left her when he could no longer handle their autistic son. And Harper has been under her controlling mother’s thumb for too long.Will the reunion summer on Sullivan’s Island be the answer for each of them? Will they find that special something that will turn their lives around? And how does the presence of a unique dolphin in the cove help Carson find the ability to connect?A delightful beginning to a trilogy that I am looking forward to, this novel earned 5 stars.
Diane –
I didn’t have a lot of time for summer reading, but picked this book up because of the largely positive reviews. I so agree – this is a great summer read. Mary Alice Munroe combines just enough character development, scene painting, and real science (local wildlife) to make me truly appreciate many aspects of this story. Yes, it is a classic story of someone (in this case, more than one person) finding themselves and starting “over,” but this is a story line I LOVE. I hope that I am never too old or stuck in my ways to try something new. At the half-way point in my life, I actually buy into the fact that sometimes a lot of bad stuff precedes good stuff – in relationships, career, and life overall, so I enjoy stories that celebrate this roller coaster ride called life. I truly can’t wait until the second book is released. I was hoping to find it today on Amazon, but oh well, I guess I’ll wait. In the meantime, I want to encourage you to read this story if you even think you MIGHT enjoy it. I most certainly did!
R. Boyd –
Mary Alice Monroe is one of my favorite women’s authors. The Summer Girls carries the themes of most of her books; family, secrets and reconciliation. This Lowcountry series is similar to the Beach House series in that there is an elderly matriarch; in this case Marietta Muir. She was a Charleston socialite in her younger years. She has sold her mansion in Charleston after the deaths of her husband and son some years ago and has been living in the old beach house on Sullivan’s Island. She is turning 80 and wants to sell the house. But first, she wants to reunite with her three granddaughters who haven’t been there in ten years. Her son was their father, but they all had different mothers and were raised separately. She and the girls have memories of the summers they all spent together. There is also a storyline about dolphins that is as interesting as the beach house.Mary Alice acquaints you with her characters in such a way that you feel you know them and would recognize them if you met them on the street. Her stories draw you in with her themes. I especially enjoy the wildlife and lowcountry conservation themes that are informative and interesting. Makes me want to see the lowcountry!Great summer read!
DianeL –
I read The Summer Girls and at the end of the book, I wanted to know more! I had been looking forward to reading the most recent book by Mary Alice Monroe and this one did not disappoint. As I read I could almost sense the sun on my shoulders, the sea spray upon my face, the smell of the sea grass, and the feel of the sand on my feet….the Carolina beach!The author has written with a depth of understanding about the emotions of love and longing for family acceptance in a dysfunctional setting. The family members are not presented as being perfect, they each have problems they must come to terms with and make serious decisions. The family dynamic is compounded by the troubles regarding growing up with an alcoholic father, either dependent upon or absent from the lives of Dora, Carson, and Harper. Over the course of years Mamaw’s `Summer Girls’ deal with fragile feelings, misunderstood actions, and the possibility of a genetic factor which will affect each of them personally.The grandmother wants to see the girls weave a bond of sisterhood within their lives before the girls grow older. She also has some secrets which must be revealed and confronted. The girls experience a wary acceptance of each other as they remember childhood laughter, emotional hurt and resentments of feeling rejected during their past years. As the story unfolds for the girls and Mamaw, I found myself drawn to the emerging strengths of Dora, Carson, and Harper.The storyline also addresses the possible consequences of our actions due to our love for the mammals of the sea, especially the dolphins. Now when I vacation in the lowcountry and the beach towns, I will be more aware of the results of trying to become too close to the dolphins. There are some heartrending scenes in the book which will give insight to crossing boundaries with wild nature even when we think we are helping. The relationship between little Nate and Delphine is a prime example of how our very best of intentions can go extremely awry.There are layers to the book which make this story more than a `chic lit’ beach read for this summer. The different levels of family interaction and responses during tragedy and in times of joy are heartfelt. I enjoyed the book and anxiously wait to read more about this family.