Summer Darlings by Brooke Lea Foster
Summary
In 1962, coed Heddy Winsome leaves her hardscrabble Irish Brooklyn neighborhood behind and ferries to glamorous Martha’s Vineyard to nanny for one of the wealthiest families on the island. But as she grows enamored with the alluring and seemingly perfect young couple and chases after their two mischievous children, Heddy discovers that her academic scholarship at Wellesley has been revoked, putting her entire future at risk.
Determined to find her place in the couple’s wealthy social circles, Heddy nurtures a romance with the hip surfer down the beach while wondering if the better man for her might be a quiet, studious college boy instead. But no one she meets on the summer island—socialite, starlet, or housekeeper—is as picture-perfect as they seem, and she quickly learns that the right last name and a house in a tony zip code may guarantee privilege, but that rarely equals happiness.
Book Setting: Martha’s Vineyard
Flying Horses Carousel: Ash and Heddy take Anna and Teddy for a ride here
Cronings Market: Jean-Rose does her grocery shopping with Heddy here and she meets Gigi for the first time
Sengekontacket Pond: Ruth’s bike got lost in the pond
Katama Beach: Ash teaches Teddy and Heddy how to surf here
Harbor View Hotel: Ruth and Jerome’s mothers worked together here which is how they met
Menemsha: Ash and Heddy go night crabbing
Chappaquiddick Island: Sullivan’s family home is here
East Chop Beach Club: The inspiration for the Island Club
662 Chappaquonsett Road: The inspiration for Ash’s house
Reviews
“"I was immediately seduced by Summer Darlings. Foster cleverly conceals her characters' deceits and betrayal beneath a stunning, sun-spangled surface, and Martha's Vineyard (my third favorite island) is portrayed with glamorous period detail. This is one terrific summer read."
– Elin Hilderbrand
"Summer Darlings is a perfect summer book, packed with posh people, glamor, mystery, and one clever, brave, young nanny. This book just might be the most fun you'll have all summer."
– Nancy Thayer
"A fresh new voice in historical fiction! Brooke Lea Foster spins a delicious tale of a young girl from Brooklyn who spends a summer rubbing elbows with the rich and famous on Martha’s Vineyard. Filled with 1960s nostalgia and a host of deftly drawn characters, this is a novel that gives us an intimate look at the world of privilege, proving once again that money does not buy happiness.”
– Renée Rosen