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Fun,
Slow,
Pointless

7 reviews

Summer Rental
by Mary Kay Andrews

Published: 2012-05-08
Paperback : 684 pages
18 members reading this now
9 clubs reading this now
11 members have read this book
Recommended to book clubs by 6 of 7 members

Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction....Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a ...
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Introduction

Sometimes, when you need a change in your life, the tide just happens to pull you in the right direction....Ellis, Julia, and Dorie. Best friends since Catholic grade school, they now find themselves, in their mid-thirties, at the crossroads of life and love. Ellis, recently fired from a job she gave everything to, is rudderless and now beginning to question the choices she’s made over the past decade of her life. Julia—whose caustic wit covers up her wounds—has a man who loves her and is offering her the world, but she can’t hide from how deeply insecure she feels about her looks, her brains, her life. And Dorie has just been shockingly betrayed by the man she loved and trusted the most in the world…though this is just the tip of the iceberg of her problems and secrets. A month in North Carolina’s Outer Banks is just what each of them needs.

Ty Bazemore is their landlord, though he’s hanging on to the rambling old beach house by a thin thread. After an inauspicious first meeting with Ellis, the two find themselves disturbingly attracted to one another, even as Ty is about to lose everything he’s ever cared about. Maryn Shackleford is a stranger, and a woman on the run. Maryn needs just a few things in life: no questions, a good hiding place, and a new identity. Ellis, Julia, and Dorie can provide what Maryn wants; can they also provide what she needs? Five people questioning everything they ever thought they knew about life. Five people on a journey that will uncover their secrets and point them on the path to forgiveness. Five people who each need a sea change, and one month that might just give it to them.

"Mary Kay Andrews spins a beach blanket sizzler around three lifelong friends...This warm weather treat has a lot going for it, not least the sunny forecast that summer love can blossom into a four-season commitment." —Publishers Weekly

Editorial Review

No editorial review at this time.

Excerpt

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Discussion Questions

1. Each of the four characters comes to Ebbtide with a major problem. How would you characterize each problem?
2. Which of the characters’ dilemmas did you find the easiest to relate to? Which one felt the least identifiable to you,
and why?
3. There is a famous saying that “money is only something you need in case you don’t die tomorrow.” Do you feel that money could have solved each one of these characters’
problems, including Ty Bazemore? Why or why not?
4. Maryn Shackleford leaves her life behind to create a new identity. If you were in her position would you have done the same? Would it be easy to leave your life behind?
Have you ever been tempted to do so?
5. Does the idea of a month-long rental with a group of girlfriends appeal to you? Where would be your dream place to go? What problems could you foresee occurring?
6. Do you think it’s possible to be married to someone and not realize he’s gay? If Dorie’s situation happened to you, what would you do?
7. For someone who has devoted her entire life to her career, being fired is the ultimate devastation. Can you relate to Ellis’s situation? Do you understand why this threw her so much? Do you think being fired can actually end up being the best thing that ever happened to you?
8. Julia fights against the physical realities of growing old. What do you really think she’s worried about?
Do you embrace the concept of aging with humor,
acceptance, or dread?
9. Ty and Ellis could not be more opposite. But did you see any ways in which they are similar? Can you see their
relationship working in the long term?
10. What is your go-to karaoke song?
11. If you were to create a soundtrack to go along with this book, what would be on the playlist?

Suggested by Members

Have you and a group of friends ever gone on an extended vacation together? And if so, what were some of the issues you had to deal with?
In planning a get-away with a group of friends, do you already know who you would and would not want to take with you?
What would be easiest and hardest part of spending a month with your favorite girlfriends?
by cherylwilliams5 (see profile) 04/21/13

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

Note from author Mary Kay Andrews:

Dear Reader:

As a member of a small group of women who’ve been friends since our long-ago junior high days, I know the value of these time-tested friendships. When I set out to write Summer Rental I wanted to explore the themes of friendship and betrayal, secrets and forgiveness, all set against the backdrop of a rambling old beach house on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. I hope my story will remind you of the sweetness of old friends and summer days.

All my best,

Mary Kay Andrews

Book Club Recommendations

Summer Rental
by cherylwilliams5 (see profile) 04/21/13
Locate a beach setting to hold your meeting. If no beach is available, meet at a rustic seafood restaurant. Serve fun summer drinks and grilled cheese sandwiches if meeting in a home with beach boys music playing.

Member Reviews

Overall rating:
 
 
  "Summer Rental"by laurie c. (see profile) 04/21/13

This book was a fun read. The characters were relatable, as I could think of people I knew that they reminded me of. The story line did take predictable turns. I'm a west coast native and this book... (read more)

 
  "Summer Rental"by Cheryl W. (see profile) 04/21/13

Summer Rental was a fun, easy summer read that also had a lean toward predictable. By the time I had been introduced to each character, I knew what was going to happen in the rest of the book. I recommend... (read more)

 
  "Not her best"by Melissa H. (see profile) 08/08/12

 
  "Beachy Summer Read"by Laura G. (see profile) 08/01/12

This was a great summer read that was fun and easy to read.

 
  "Summer Rental"by Debra B. (see profile) 05/14/12

I have read all of Mary Kay Andrews' books. They are addicting.

 
  "Summer Rental"by Elizabeth B. (see profile) 09/10/11

 
  "Summer Rental"by Kerry R. (see profile) 07/15/11

Predictable - but a fun summer read...:) Kinda mindless!

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