Review: Sailing Lessons – Hannah McKinnon

I received this book for free from in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

On the shores of Cape Cod, the Bailey sisters reunite with their long-lost father for a summer of hope and forgiveness in this heartfelt novel from the author of the “sharp and evocative” (Kirkus Reviews) Mystic Summer, The Lake Season, and The Summer House, sure to appeal to “fans of Elin Hilderbrand” (Booklist).

Wrenn Bailey has lived all her life on Cape Cod with her mother Lindy, older sister Shannon, and younger sister Piper. Growing up, life was dictated by the seasons with sleepy gray winters where only the locals stayed on, followed by the sharp influx and colorful bustle of summer tourists who swept up the elbow of the Cape and infiltrated their small paradise.

But it wasn’t just the tourists who interrupted Wrenn’s formative years; her father—brilliant but troubled photographer Caleb—has long made a habit of drifting in and out of his girls’ lives. Until the one summer he left the Cape and did not return again.

Now, almost twenty years later, Caleb has come back one last time, suffering from pancreatic cancer and seeking absolution. Wrenn and her sisters each respond differently to their father’s return, determined to find closure. But that means returning to the past and revisiting old wounds—wounds that cause the tightknit Bailey women to confront their own wishes and wants, and admit to their own wrong-doings over the years. In a place that brings both great comfort and great pain, the Bailey sisters experience a summer on the Cape that promises not only hard endings, but perhaps, hopeful new beginnings.

Sailing Lessons is a story filled with family drama, secrets, forgiveness and a whole lot of love.

The story centers around Lindy Bailey and her daughters Shannon, Wrenn, and Piper who live on Cape Cod. Their father, Caleb left the family over 20 years ago after a horrible boating accident. This event impacted them so much that when Wrenn receives a letter from him asking if he can come for a visit, the daughters have no clue what to do or how to react.

This is a compelling read and beautifully written. Hannah McKinnon does a wonderful job of showing how each daughter deals with the memories and current feelings of this potential visit. This would make a great book club read. I wish I had someone to discuss it with when I finished reading.

This was my first McKinnon read and it will not be my last. The writing flowed however with that said there were a few grammatical errors I hope an editor will look at and correct before the final printing. I recommend you read this book!

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