Date of Reading: 29/7/2018
Author: Kristan Higgins
Publisher: Harlequin
Place: Ontario
Year: 2017
Rating: 4.5/5
About the book:
One step forward. Two steps back. The Tufts scholarship that put Nora Stuart on the path to becoming a Boston medical specialist was a step forward. Being hit by a car and then overhearing her boyfriend hit on another doctor when she thought she was dying? Two major steps back.
Injured in more ways than one, Nora feels her carefully built life cracking at the edges. There's only one place to land: home. But the tiny Maine community she left fifteen years ago doesn't necessarily want her. At every turn, someone holds the prodigal daughter of Scupper Island responsible for small-town drama and big-time disappointments.
With a tough islander mother who's always been distant and a wild-child sister in jail, unable to raise her daughter--a withdrawn teen as eager to ditch the island as Nora once was--Nora has her work cut out for her if she's going to take what might be her last chance to mend the family.
But as some relationships crumble around her, others unexpectedly strengthen. Balancing loss and opportunity, a dark event from her past with hope for the future, Nora will discover that tackling old pain makes room for promise...and the chance to begin again.
My Review:
This was my book club read and I am so glad we selected it. My first Kristan Higgins book couldn't have been any better. With a fast-paced narrative, mixed with a splendid amount of humour, the novel will win over any reader's heart just like the pet dog featured inside. And the regular Harry Potter comments . . . I was a goner with the first reference itself. I may have to revisit my Potter books again; reading this has made me nostalgic for my Hogwarts days (I am a muggle, still . . .)
Don't get me wrong here. This is no laugh out loud romantic comedy, but a tale on the complexities of familial relationships and societal bonds. As a woman, I am proud of what you have achieved Dr. Nora Stuart, irrespective of the hard school days you have endured. If I were a few years younger, I would have joined with Audrey in commenting, "I want to be you when I grow up".
All in all an inspiring read that gave me the boost I so needed these days. I have been so immersed in the emotional turmoil towards the end that my cheeks were practically drenched. Who knew that I had this catharsis thing going on!!!
Summary:
Dr. Nora Stuart is a gastroenterologist in Boston City Hospital, New England's biggest and busiest hospital. Her life may not be the most glamorous one - since she is not part of the ER department where lies all the excitement - but she has an almost content life with a handsome boyfriend. That is until she is hit by a van and almost died. While on emergency care, she heard her boyfriend Bobby flirting with Jabrielle, a girl who had a crush on him and that was the end of their relationship.
They were already drifting apart as Nora was constantly haunted by another near-death experience happened a few months ago. She was nearly raped and killed at her own home and the guy was never captured. She took self-defence classes, bought a dog - Boomer - and also a gun for protection. Still, the insecurity remained. And Bobby was getting tired of the greyness surrounding their life.
The near-death experience made Nora realise certain things. She decides to go back to her home at Scupper Island to mend the broken bonds with her family. Her mother was a highly competent and a woman of few words. The children were therefore close to their father. He instilled life-threatening adventurous spirit in his two daughters, Nora and Lily. In spite of their one year difference, both girls were really close though both of them favoured quite different looks. Lily, the youngest, was the beauty.
Their childhood bliss was vaporised when their father left home suddenly. Lily drifted apart from her sister and her mother as a consequence. She became a part of the beautiful girls' group while Nora started overeating and made herself chubby. But she was a studious student and won the prestigious Perez scholarship beating everyone's favourite, Luke Fletcher. A despaired Luke met with an accident while driving in a drunken fit. His twin brother, Sullivan, who was also there with him, suffered a brain injury and went into a coma.
Isolated and bearing the blame of this incident, Nora left for college and there after to medical school. She never returned home again. While years were kind to her, Lily's life was taking a downhill. Becoming a single mother at a young age, Lily's dealings in drugs culminated in a prison sentence. Now her daughter Poe lives with her grandmother.
Back in the island Nora takes a job in the local clinic and manages to get close with Poe after several failed attempts. She tries to find out about her father from his friends but to no avail. Luke had destroyed his life due to drug addiction and he still resents her. But, Sully, who has been losing his hearing due to the brain injury welcomes her warmly. He is a divorced father now with his daughter Aubrey staying with him. Aubrey and Poe become thick friends. Nora finds out the presence of a tumour in Aubrey which was the cause of her abnormal physical growth. The surgery saves her from the humiliation of teenage years.
Sully and Nora start dating and she also learns that her mother is in a lesbian relationship. She finally gets to know that her father suffered from bipolar disorder, but he refused to take medicines. This caused the rift in the family that ended in his leaving. Her mother took all the blame so that her daughters can keep the fond memories of their father. He had died a few years back in a car accident.
Lily is also afflicted with the same disorder. A quarrel in the prison results in her stabbing a jail mate and a few more years are added to her imprisonment. Nora understood that Lily's act was deliberate so that her daughter can have a comfortable life with her aunt. Nora accepted Poe's custody and decided to stay on the island as she is in love with Sullivan.
In between, Luke makes an attempt on Nora, but this time her self-defence classes and her protective dog come to the rescue. Luke is sent away from the island and his mother finally accepts Nora as her potential daughter-in-law.
Summary:
Dr. Nora Stuart is a gastroenterologist in Boston City Hospital, New England's biggest and busiest hospital. Her life may not be the most glamorous one - since she is not part of the ER department where lies all the excitement - but she has an almost content life with a handsome boyfriend. That is until she is hit by a van and almost died. While on emergency care, she heard her boyfriend Bobby flirting with Jabrielle, a girl who had a crush on him and that was the end of their relationship.
They were already drifting apart as Nora was constantly haunted by another near-death experience happened a few months ago. She was nearly raped and killed at her own home and the guy was never captured. She took self-defence classes, bought a dog - Boomer - and also a gun for protection. Still, the insecurity remained. And Bobby was getting tired of the greyness surrounding their life.
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| Source:http://time.com/4552201/doctor-physician-voting-election-day/ |
Their childhood bliss was vaporised when their father left home suddenly. Lily drifted apart from her sister and her mother as a consequence. She became a part of the beautiful girls' group while Nora started overeating and made herself chubby. But she was a studious student and won the prestigious Perez scholarship beating everyone's favourite, Luke Fletcher. A despaired Luke met with an accident while driving in a drunken fit. His twin brother, Sullivan, who was also there with him, suffered a brain injury and went into a coma.
Isolated and bearing the blame of this incident, Nora left for college and there after to medical school. She never returned home again. While years were kind to her, Lily's life was taking a downhill. Becoming a single mother at a young age, Lily's dealings in drugs culminated in a prison sentence. Now her daughter Poe lives with her grandmother.
Back in the island Nora takes a job in the local clinic and manages to get close with Poe after several failed attempts. She tries to find out about her father from his friends but to no avail. Luke had destroyed his life due to drug addiction and he still resents her. But, Sully, who has been losing his hearing due to the brain injury welcomes her warmly. He is a divorced father now with his daughter Aubrey staying with him. Aubrey and Poe become thick friends. Nora finds out the presence of a tumour in Aubrey which was the cause of her abnormal physical growth. The surgery saves her from the humiliation of teenage years.
Sully and Nora start dating and she also learns that her mother is in a lesbian relationship. She finally gets to know that her father suffered from bipolar disorder, but he refused to take medicines. This caused the rift in the family that ended in his leaving. Her mother took all the blame so that her daughters can keep the fond memories of their father. He had died a few years back in a car accident.
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| Kristan Higgins |
Lily is also afflicted with the same disorder. A quarrel in the prison results in her stabbing a jail mate and a few more years are added to her imprisonment. Nora understood that Lily's act was deliberate so that her daughter can have a comfortable life with her aunt. Nora accepted Poe's custody and decided to stay on the island as she is in love with Sullivan.
In between, Luke makes an attempt on Nora, but this time her self-defence classes and her protective dog come to the rescue. Luke is sent away from the island and his mother finally accepts Nora as her potential daughter-in-law.
