The Edge of Summer by Viola Shipman was a really nice story set in a Michigan lakeshore resort town, with flashbacks to a life in the Missouri Ozarks. It brought back memories of my mom and grandma, who both loved to sew – and were really good at sewing. The plot has a little mystery, a little romance and a lot of nostalgia. It was a perfect summer ‘light read.’
Sutton Douglas has lost her mother to Covid, quit her job as a designer and moved for the summer to a little beach resort town in Michigan to try and restart her life. Her mother, Miss Mabel was a talented seamstress in the Ozarks and passed her love of sewing on to Sutton. (Buttons are a major symbol in this novel.) Mabel never shared much about her past and Sutton has grown up rather isolated and lonely – although her mother loved her very much and took wonderful care of her. Sutton wonders if she should search for information about Mabel’s past and in doing so, she begins to find herself again. Life begins to have meaning and Sutton begins to make connections to others in her new community. But there are also family secrets that come to light!
I really liked The Edge of Summer!! I used to play with buttons as a child – they were so fun to sort in different ways. Sutton Douglas has a love of buttons too – in fact, they are one of her signature symbols as a designer. This story is told so wonderfully and I loved each and every character!! I’m so glad Darcy, our director, recommended this book to me!!
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