Vonny and Andrew live in Martha’s Vineyard with their five-year-old slow-growing son, Simon. Their next-door neighbor, Elizabeth Renny, falls from a window and must get assistance, which arrives in the form of her rebellious teenage granddaughter, Jody. Eddie, called “the Giant,” lives alone with his chickens, avoiding social contact due to his extreme height. This is the story of people living in this small community. Each of the main characters is dealing with an issue.

I liked parts of this book quite a bit, especially the first half. The description of “illumination night,” an annual event, is beautiful. I enjoyed the relationship between Jody and her grandmother, a much-needed relief from her overbearing parents. The last half of the book is extremely sad. The characters start with problems and end with problems, though perhaps different ones. There is little humor or joy to be found. Surely someone in this town is happy? The storylines are well developed until they just….end. Maybe I missed something, but it seems it seems unfinished to me.
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This is the first novel by Hoffman that I have read and I hope her subsequent work is better. Neither the story or the characters ring true. She should not have included references to birds since she knew nothing about what birds would be on Martha’s Vineyard at what season. Not worth the time to read. ( )

I liked this story enough for it to hold my interest but the whole time I kept feeling like there was something missing but maybe that is the point of it. Most of us live our lives feeling like something is missing or off and few of us ever figure out what that something is. The setting of this story is Martha's Vineyard. The characters all lead fairly normal but simple lives until Jody moves in next door to help her ailing grandmother. She stirs things up enough to add interest and some drama to the characters lives and then she slips away to pursue a more freeing kind of life...or so we assume. ( )

The plot takes a back seat in this languid, dreamlike tale that perfectly captures the passions and fears of Martha’s Vineyard neighbors. Especially striking are the descriptions of teenage Jody’s ambivalent emotions and her first love with the island’s most reclusive inhabitant.

I think many readers will be disappointed with the slice-of-life style, preferring something with a more proactive plot and story resolution.
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ok @ diff. people on M. Vineyard

Vonny lives on the island of Martha's Vineyard with her husband Andre and son Simon. Their neighbour Elizabeth, a woman in her seventies, falls from an upstairs window and her granddaughter Jody is summoned to nurse her through her convalescence.