Author: Elin Hilderbrand
Publisher: Reagan Arthur Books
Publication Date: June 21st, 2011
Genre: Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Romance
Meredith Delinn is probably the most hated woman in America. Her husband, Freddy Delinn, has been arrested for cheating investors through a ponzi scheme. Although Meredith had no knowledge of what was going on, she and one of her sons are under investigation and could be facing jail as well. With her future uncertain and no one to turn to, Meredith calls her former friend Connie, who she hasn’t spoken to in three years. Connie and Meredith were childhood friends, and Connie invites Meredith to spend the summer with her in Nantucket. Although she comes to Meredith’s recue, Connie has problems of her own: her husband died of cancer two years ago and she and her daughter have been estranged ever since. As the two of them try to patch up their friendship and move on, the summer provides Connie with a second chance at love, while Meredith is reminded of the person she used to be.
It might be below zero outside, but reading Silver Girl made it feel like summer again. I know I’m always saying this, but I didn’t expect this book to be so good. I assumed it would be a light beach read that would be fun but nothing special. Instead, I found realistic and flawed characters and an engaging plot. The story isn’t exactly original since it’s based on the lives of Ruth and Bernard Madoff. All the same, it was an interesting topic that worked well in the story. This book is very character driven and focuses a lot on flashbacks of Connie and Meredith throughout the years. The use of flashbacks worked very well, especially since it showed how Meredith feels she let down her late father and never lived up to the person she could have been. The strongest part of the story was Meredith’s continuing sadness over her father’s death, which had me a little teary at times. Meredith was an interesting character: she was raised by a doting father who believed she could do anything. Meredith was smart and seemed to have the world at her feet. Her father died while she was away at university, and she saw Freddy Delinn as a sort of answer to her prayers. While they struggled financially in the early days of their marriage, Freddie’s “economic genius” lead him to becoming very rich. Meredith became the sort of person who wouldn’t think twice about spending a small fortune on something like candles. She was blind to Freddy’s illegal activities, and truly believed his success was due to talent. When Freddie was arrested, Meredith lost everything and found herself friendless, broke and universally hated. Now, Meredith is sickened over the person she had become: someone who spent money frivolously and put money before her oldest friendship. I liked how this book showed that a person can start their life over, even when it seems impossible. It also showed that friendship can withstand so much. In a lot of ways, this was a perfect summer read. Silver Girl was well written, had a beautiful setting, flawed but realistic characters, a life long friendship and an entertaining plot. The story was well paced and enjoyable, while it still touched on some more serious issues. I would recommend this book to fans of chick lit or romance. In the summer when I am looking for a beach read, I will have to read more of Elin Hilderbrand’s books.
I received this e-galley from Little, Brown & Company.
4/5
“Sail on Silver Girl, Sail on by, Your time has come to shine, All your dreams are on their way.”