100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Thanks for supporting our 100% NZ-owned independent bookstore ❤️ Open Sat & Sun until 5pm

Summer Island

A Novel
By Kristin Hannah
0.0 (0 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Summer Island by Kristin Hannah explores the complex relationship between Nora Bridge, a renowned radio host and columnist, and her youngest daughter, Ruby, a struggling comedienne. Years after Nora left her family, a scandal from her past resurfaces, prompting Ruby to return home under false pretences to care for her injured mother. The story unfolds on Summer Island, where Ruby confronts childhood memories, reunites with lost loves, and embarks on a journey of forgiveness and understanding, ultimately learning to see her mother—and herself—with new eyes.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$5200

International Supplier

This title is in-stock with overseas suppliers. While it is not available locally, we fly books in weekly from the US and UK to our Auckland warehouse for immediate dispatch.

AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 2-3 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This poignant and luminous novel appeals to readers of contemporary fiction interested in family dynamics, emotional growth, and heartfelt reconciliation. Fans of character-driven stories with rich emotional depth will find it especially compelling.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Includes reader's guide and an excerpt from Magic hour.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER – The renowned author of The Women presents a poignant, funny, luminous novel about a mother and daughter—the complex ties that bind them, the past that separates them, and the healing that comes with forgiveness.

“[Kristin] Hannah is superb at delving into the characters’ psyches and delineating nuances of feeling.”—Washington Post Book World

Years ago, Nora Bridge walked out on her marriage and left her daughters behind. She has since become a famous radio talk-show host and newspaper columnist beloved for her moral advice. Her youngest daughter, Ruby, is a struggling comedienne who uses her famous mother as fuel for her bitter, cynical humour. When the tabloids unearth a scandalous secret from Nora’s past, their estrangement suddenly becomes dramatic: Nora is injured in an accident and a glossy magazine offers Ruby a fortune to write a tell-all about her mother. Under false pretences, Ruby returns home to take care of the woman she hasn't spoken to for almost a decade.

Nora insists they retreat to Summer Island in the San Juans, to the lovely old house on the water where Ruby grew up, a place filled with childhood memories of love and joy and belonging. There Ruby is also reunited with her first love and his brother. Once, the three of them had been best friends, inseparable. Until the summer that Nora had left and everyone's hearts had been broken...

What began as an exposé evolves, as Ruby writes, into an exploration of her family’s past. Nora is not the woman Ruby has hated all these years. Witty, wise, and vulnerable, she is desperate to reconcile with her daughter. As the magazine deadline draws near and Ruby finishes what has begun to seem to her an act of brutal betrayal, she is forced to grow up and at last to look at her mother—and herself—through the eyes of a woman. And she must, finally, allow herself to love.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780345483447

Publisher: Random House USA Inc

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 02 November 2004

Country: United States

Imprint: Ballantine Books Inc.

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 24.0mm

Width: 131.0mm

Height: 202.0mm

Weight: 318g

Pages: 448

Collections

Fiction General Fiction Kristin Hannah Literary Fiction Penguin Books

About the Author

Kristin Hannah is the bestselling author of On Mystic Lake, Angel Falls, Distant Shores, Between Sisters, and The Things We Do For Love. She lives with her husband and son in the Pacific Northwest. Visit her online at www.kristinhannah.com.

Also by Kristin Hannah

View all
  • New Release
    On Mystic Lake
    One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Women
    An instant Sunday Times bestseller and soon to be a major motion picture! "Utterly absorbing. Kristin Hannah is singular in her ability to tell unforgettable stories about some of the women our world has forgotten. The Women is a triumph." - Taylor Jenkins Reid 'Astonishing. Compelling. Powerful' - Delia Owens, bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing 'Stuns with sacrifice....
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Eve's Pick Eve's Pick
    The Nightingale
    A REESE WITHERSPOON BOOKCLUB PICK Soon to be a major motion picture, The Nightingale is a multi-million copy bestseller that has captivated readers worldwide, becoming a cultural phenomenon. In this gripping and evocative novel, Kristin Hannah paints a hauntingly vivid portrait of bravery, courage, fear, and love during the harrowing times of the Second World War. The story follows two...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Between Sisters
    Sisters by blood. Strangers by choice. Meghann Dontess is a woman haunted by heartbreak. Twenty-five years ago, she was forced to make a terrible choice, one that cost her everything, including the love of her sister, Claire. Now, Meghann is a hotshot divorce lawyer who doesn't believe in intimacy – until she meets the one man who can change her...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Great Alone
    From the worldwide number one bestselling author of The Four Winds and The Nightingale, The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss. 'A master storyteller' - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing 'A rich, compelling novel of love, sacrifice and survival, as epic as the Alaskan landscape it so vividly describes' - Kate...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $1999
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Summer Island
    From the multi-million copy bestselling author of The Women, The Four Winds, and The Nightingale, Summer Island is a poignant, warm, and tender novel about a mother and daughter—the complex ties that bind them, the past that separates them, and the healing that comes with forgiveness. Years ago, Nora Bridge walked out on her marriage and left her daughters behind....
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Four Winds
    Kristin Hannah is a classic storyteller and The Four Winds sees her at the top of her game - Matt Haig Powerful and compelling - Delia Owens, number one international bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing A story of love, family, unbreakable bonds, bravery and hope. I loved this book so much! - Christy Lefteri, bestselling author of The...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Home Front
    Home Front by Kristin Hannah takes readers on an emotional journey through the inner workings of a marriage on the brink of collapse and the profound effects of war on personal lives. This poignant narrative delves deep into themes of hope, honour, loss, forgiveness, and the complex nature of love. On the surface, Michael and Jolene Zarkades appear to lead...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Winter Garden
    From the Number One multi-million copy international bestselling author of The Four Winds and The Nightingale. Winter Garden is a haunting and compelling novel illuminating the intricacy of mother-daughter bonds and the enduring links between past and present. Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her family and manage the...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $2000
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Wild
    From the New York Times number one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah, comes Wild, a remarkable story about the resilience of the human spirit, the triumph of hope, and the promise of new beginnings. In the rugged Pacific Northwest of the United States lies the Olympic National Forest — a vast expanse of impenetrable...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $1700
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Night Road
    In Kristin Hannah's Night Road, the consequence of one terrible night changes a group of young people's lives forever. Lexi and Mia are inseparable from the moment they start high school. Different in so many ways - Lexi is an orphan and lives with her aunt on a trailer park, while Mia is a golden girl blessed with a loving...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $1900
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Great Alone
    The Great Alone
    'One of the greatest storytellers of our time' - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska - a place of incomparable beauty and danger. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $2299
    Elsewhere:
    $2800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    By Alison Espach
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Throne of Glass Box Set (Paperback)
    Enter the realm. Unleash the darkness. Live the legend. Discover the worldwide phenomenon of the #1 New York Times-bestselling Throne of Glass series in this gorgeous 8-book box set! In a land without magic, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She has no love for the vicious king who rules from his throne of glass, but she has not...
    By Sarah J. Maas
    Set
    $12400
    Elsewhere:
    $15500
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Goal
    Welcome to Briar U!Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy!Read The Goal now for the perfect forced proximity romance! She's good at achieving her goals . . . College senior Sabrina James has her whole future planned out: graduate from college, kick...
    By Elle Kennedy
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Score
    Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession... Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Score now for the perfect friends with benefits romance! He knows how to score, on and off the ice... Allie Hayes is in crisis mode. With graduation looming, she still doesn't have...
    By Elle Kennedy
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Yesteryear
    A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE — Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE — Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE — Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS — Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale — Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...
    By Caro Claire Burke
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    The Ballad of Falling Dragons [Special Deluxe edition]
    The No.1 Sunday Times bestselling sensation When the Moon Hatched continues with the second book in The Moonfall Series, The Ballad of Falling Dragons… Raeve’s thirst for vengeance continues to burn, as does her love for Kaan Vaegor – a staunch beacon from a past she’s yet to face. With Rekk’s blood still fresh on her hands, she learns the...
    By Sarah A. Parker
    Hardback
    $5999
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Dylan's Pick Dylan's Pick
    Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    By Allen Levi
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (5)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Golden Son
    ENDER'S GAME meets THE HUNGER GAMES in this, the second in an extraordinary trilogy from an incredible new voice.'I'm still playing games. This is just the deadliest yet.' Darrow is a rebel forged by tragedy. For years he and his fellow Reds worked the mines, toiling to make the surface of Mars inhabitable. They were, they believed, mankind's last hope....
    By Pierce Brown
    Paperback
    $2400
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Mistake
    Welcome to Briar U! Get ready for your newest obsession . . . Discover the addictive world of the Off-Campus series from The Queen of Hockey Romance, Elle Kennedy! Read The Mistake now for the perfect second chance romance! He's a player in more ways than one . . . College junior John Logan can get any girl he wants....
    By Elle Kennedy
    Paperback
    $2499
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...
    By Matt Dinniman
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Project Hail Mary
    Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, the SUNDAY TIMES and NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of The Martian, offers a gripping new adventure in hard science fiction. With endorsement from notable figures such as Barack Obama and a slew of five-star reviews, this novel promises a thrilling and intellectually stimulating journey. Ryland Grace, a lone astronaut, finds himself on a...
    By Andy Weir
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2400
    (4)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    On Mystic Lake
    One of the greatest storytellers of our time - Delia Owens, author of Where the Crawdads Sing Annie Colwater's only child has just left home for school in England. On that same day, her husband of twenty years confesses that he's in love with a younger woman. Left alone in the beautiful California house which was once a home, Annie...
    By Kristin Hannah
    Paperback
    $3100
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all