First published 2012
Penny Alistair climbs behind the wheel after graduation night festivities on Nantucket beach. The car crash kills her and leaves her twin brother fighting for his life in a coma. Jake, her boyfriend, and Demeter, her friend, walk away without physical injuries, but the emotional wreckage runs deep. No one can explain what drove Penny to take control of the car that night. The island summer brings buried secrets into the light. Parents and teenagers alike confront the lies they have told and the promises they have broken. Jake struggles with guilt while Demeter grapples with her own hidden truths. The tight-knit Nantucket community rallies around the grieving families, but support cannot erase the questions that torment the survivors. Hilderbrand reveals how tragedy strips away pretense and forces people to face who they really are. The story shows how a single moment can shatter multiple lives and how the pieces might eventually form something new.
Genres: fiction, mystery, contemporary, family-drama
Vibes: emotional, intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: grief, secrets, tragedy
Setting: Nantucket
Period: summer
416 pages · Hardcover · Little, Brown and Company
Content warnings: death