Everyone will want to live at Tom Lake. This family has rich layers.

I loved everything about this book. The characters, some perfect, some flawed, but every single one was a warm hug at one point or another as this beautiful story unfolded. Even the few slow parts were beautifully written to culminate into an unexpected ending. Thank you Ms. Patcher for sharing this heartwarming and heartbreaking story with all of us.

I enjoyed the perspective of how the story was told. By sharing the story via multiple conversations with the primary character’s daughters, the author is allowing the story to be its own character. I wasn’t sure this was the book for me, initially, but I soon found myself quite vested. A great read with some surprising revelations.

Loved the writing. So relatable.

Rambling adventure with no real point. Read for book club or wouldn’t have read. Ugh!

Trite. Didn’t care enough about the characters

This is my first book by AP. I absolutely loved it. Rich characters. Full circle story. Relatable. Believable. Feels like it could be a true story but of course it isn’t. I could see this as a movie. Really enjoyed it!!

This is a seriously boring book, with the most boring characters. It was like reading the story of one of the two ladies in the SNL NPR skit. There is no way children would be that interested in their parent’s past.

No development of the characters or real insight into their behavior. The premise borders on the ridiculous - daughters hanging on their mother’s every word for details about her personal life? Most of us can’t get our kid to call us every two weeks. The NYC ending is just wacky. I felt like I was laboring through it, committed to finishing only because it was a book club read.

Not as compelling or interesting or well written as her other novels. Basically, a mother telling her daughters about her coming of age summer. Good story, not more than 3 stars.