Review by Booklist Review
Perennial best-seller Higgins (On Second Thought, 2017) writes about coming home again in this warmhearted novel. After being tormented as a chubby, awkward, overachieving teenager, Nora fled for Tufts University, followed by medical school and life as a gastroenterologist at a Boston hospital. It takes being hit by a van, and realizing that her boyfriend isn't as devoted as she thought, to bring Nora home to Scupper Island, Maine. There Nora lives with her stoic mother and surly niece, Poe, whose mother, Nora's sister Lily, is in prison. Her childhood home brings up memories of her father leaving when Nora and Lily were young. In this vulnerable state, she is also assailed by recollections of a horrific assault she survived in Boston and never shared with her mother. Over the course of the summer, Nora reconnects with old friends, makes new ones, and discovers some secrets about her family and hometown. She realizes she is both more resilient and more loved than she thought. Higgins' fans will clamor for her latest and be richly rewarded.--Walker, Aleksandra Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
The journey to recovery is filled with love, loss, memories in the rewarding latest from bestseller Higgins (On Second Thought). Dr. Nora Stuart is broken: her clavicle literally after a recent accident and her heart figuratively after a breakup. She travels home to Scupper Island, Maine, to recuperate and reclaim the family she once loved. She's determined to reestablish her relationship with her bitter, distant sister, Lily; bond with her angsty teenage niece, Poe; have meaningful conversations with her mother; and maybe find out where her father disappeared to when he left them. Nora's path is as much about healing others as it is about healing herself. As she connects with her family, Nora also finds out the truth of why her father left. The dialogue is witty and the prose is smooth, and readers will be delighted to follow Nora's discovery of new love with her old friend Sully. The ending wraps up neatly, though perhaps a little too quickly. Higgins's fans will no doubt enjoy this moving take on starting over and repairing past hurts. (Jan.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by Library Journal Review
Dr. Nora Stuart no longer finds comfort and excitement in practicing gastroenterology, being in a relationship with her handsome doctor boyfriend Bobby, or living in the hustle and bustle of Boston. Then it hits her, literally; she is struck by a van. As she arrives in the ER, she hears Bobby flirting with another doctor over her bruised and broken body. Taking this as a sign, Nora leaves Boston for her hometown on Scupper Island, ME. She hopes to make amends with her closed-off mother, build her relationship with her teenage niece, reestablish ties with her sister (currently in jail for drug dealing), and find out what really happened when her dad left years ago. But her mission is difficult. Most of the islanders don't remember her, and those who do think she stole a scholarship from the town golden boy Luke Fletcher. While Nora heals emotionally and physically, she makes connections and starts to fall for Luke's brother Sullivan. VERDICT Higgins (Fools Rush In; If You Only Knew) is in top form. Many readers will relate to the family saga and rough past, and the light romance and humor sprinkled throughout will suit a wide audience. Readers won't want to put down this highly recommended title. [See Prepub Alert, 7/9/17.]-Brooke Bolton, Boonville-Warrick Cty. P.L., IN © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Years after escaping her tiny Maine community and completely reinventing herself, Nora Stuart is coming home to heal from an accident, determined to forge new connections, especially with her distant mother and angry niece.Nora grew up on a tiny Maine island and suffered her father's abandonment, becoming an overweight, miserable adolescent, scorned by classmates and, even more devastating, by her beautiful younger sister. But when she wins a coveted scholarship, she transforms her life, shedding the weight and gaining a medical degree. She settles into an exciting life in Boston until tragedy strikes and a shaken Nora is surviving but not thriving. After she's hit by a van, she decides to go back home to Maine to healboth physically and psychologicallyknowing it won't be easy, since her relationship with the island and many of its residents is, well, complicated. This includes Luke Fletcher, her biggest rival for the scholarship and the island's favored son. It also includes her motheran almost comically laconic Mainer who can barely muster a conversation with Nora but coos at her pet bird and offers "hug therapy" to wounded soulsand her niece, Poe, daughter of the aforementioned sister, who is now serving time. One friend and ally, however, is Luke's twin, Sullivan, whose daughter, Audrey, has weight issues Nora can relate to. Nora steps in to help at the community clinic, tries to break through her mother's prickly exterior, helps Poe and Audrey find common ground, and makes new friendships while tightening some old ones, but old and new resentments rise to the surface, too. Nora has lots to unpack and sift through, but figuring out who she is and wants to be is a powerful, entertaining journey.Balancing emotion, humor, and a redemptive theme, Higgins hits all the right notes with precision, perception, and panache. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
