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Reviewed by Anne Boling for Readers' Favorite
I recently received the audio version of "Barefoot: A Novel" by Elin Hilderbrand. Hilderbrand won my admiration when I first read "The Castaways". Since then I have read "A Summer Affair", "The Island", and now I can add "Barefoot" to that list. I have quite a list of favorite authors and Elin Hilderbrand is at the top. To some degree her books remind me of Nicholas Sparks. His books touch the heart, and are character driven and realistic and usually make me cry. I can say the same things about Hilderbrand’s books. Mr. Sparks definitely has competition! "Barefoot" is my favorite Hilderbrand novel to this date. This is not a book you can halfheartedly read; the plot demands your full attention. In "Barefoot" we meet Vicky, Brenda, and Melanie as they disembark the plane at Nantucket along with two children. Each female is facing a situation. Vicky has lung cancer and returns to Nantucket for the summer, where she feels secure. She invites her sister and best friend to accompany her. Her sister Brenda tags along to take care of Vicky and the boys while she works on her screen play. She was recently fired from her position at a college for dating one of her students and vandalizing a painting by hitting it with a book. Vicky’s best friend Melanie has just discovered she is pregnant and that her husband is having an affair. Brenda soon realizes she cannot handle her two young nephews, take care of Vicky and work on her screen play all at the same time, so they hired a young college student, Josh to help out. They soon discover that he is a help to all of them.
Hilderbrand’s characters are beautifully created. At first I wasn’t sure I liked Melanie; she whined a lot and seemed pretty useless when it came to helping out around the cottage. Brenda comes across as hard nose but soon we discover her softer side. Vicky is fighting for her life; she is terrified. I quickly came to care about each woman. I was caught up in their lives. I found myself in tears more than once before finishing this book. Until Hilderbrand’s next book comes out, "Barefoot" is her best!
