Summer Darlings

March 6, 2020

DEBUT It's 1962 and Heddy Winsome is ready to embrace her summer on the glamorous haven of Martha's Vineyard, working as a nanny to a wealthy, well-established family. Her position comes at the recommendation of her Wellesley classmate, a member of this elite class, while Heddy's background as a scholarship student has her on unfamiliar ground. An added complication is that her scholarship to Wellesley has been revoked, and she needs to figure out her future plans once the summer ends. Living and working among the wealthy while striving to envision her future throws Heddy into turmoil. She's torn between two men: does she follow her instincts and fall for the charming surfer who seems to know everyone on the island, or does she try to land the Harvard student from a moneyed background? Throughout her summer adventure, Heddy's interactions with social climbers of all types shape her perspective. VERDICT Lifestyle journalist Foster's first novel aims to be a solid beach read and mostly succeeds, though the story could have benefited from greater character development.--Julie Kane, Washington & Lee Lib., Lexington, VA

Copyright 2020 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 23, 2020
Journalist Foster makes her fiction debut with this engrossing chronicle of an impoverished Brooklyn college student’s summer spent as a nanny for a wealthy family on Martha’s Vineyard in 1962. As the child of a struggling single mother, 21-year-old Heddy, an aspiring screenwriter, hopes to make the most of her acquaintance with the seemingly perfect Ted and Jean-Rose Williams, the envy of their social circle. Heddy tends to the couple’s bratty children, Teddy and Anna, while befriending their housekeeper, Grace. In true beach-read fashion, Heddy catches the eye of awkward Sullivan and confident Ash, two young men who spend their summers on the island, and is taken under the wing of Jean-Rose’s rival, movie star Gigi McCabe. Heddy soon witnesses the Williams’s dark side: physically abusive Ted is likely having an affair, and catty Jean-Rose is barely interested in their kids, with the exception of berating Teddy for liking dolls. Matters come to a head when she accuses Grace and Heddy of stealing, and a staid subplot about choosing between Sullivan and Ash blooms into something else altogether. Foster’s musings on money and class, along with her believable depictions of over-the-top behavior, elevate this tale above typical summer fare.