Summerland

Summerland by Elin Hilderbrand  392 pp.

High school juniors Penny Alistair and her twin brother, Hobson were Nantucket Island's golden children. Penny was blessed with a beautiful singing voice and Hobson with first class athletic ability. Their futures were destined to be successful. All that changes the night of graduation when, after attending the traditional bonfire, they are involved in an automobile accident which kills Penny, severely injures Hobby, and leaves Penny's long-time boyfriend Jake and their friend Demeter uninjured but in shock. The story takes place over the summer following the accident and follows the teens, their parents as they adjust to the changes and losses in their lives. The question all are asking is what upset Penny and caused her to drive the Jeep off the end of the road. Is Demeter to blame, as she thinks she is? And can they all come to terms with what has happened and move on with their lives? Hilderbrand has created characters that are realistic in their feelings, flaws, and actions in a story that makes you want to know what will happen next.

Island Practice

Island Practice: Cobblestone Rash, Underground Tom, and Other Adventures of a Nantucket Doctor by Pam Belluck 274 pp.

Dr. Timothy J. Lepore (rhymes with peppery) is the type of doctor you don't find anymore. He is similar to the old time country doctor, on call pretty much 24/7 (except for during the Boston Marathon), he treats just about every ailment, and performs surgeries (sometimes with a handmade obsidian scalpel) that he and the small hospital on the island of Nantucket can handle. He's the high school football team doctor, medical examiner, and an expert on tick-borne diseases. Occasionally his practice isn't always confined to people. Now in his late sixties, it won't be long until Nantucket loses the services this gem of a man. He's treated the famous and the unknown and been paid in cookies, antique guns, or nothing at all. He has unusual hobbies like collecting roadkill for his falcon and knitting dog hair sweaters. He is a self proclaimed gun nut with a large collection of firearms. He is a walking contradiction in that he is rabidly conservative but gives cancer patients marijuana cookies and performs abortions. In this biography, Belluck gives an honest portrayal of this unusual man with all his expertise, eccentricities, faults, successes, and failures.