* * *
“Sleep little baby,” Jane said. And Hazel replied.
“Clean as a nut.”
“Your fingers uncurl,” Jane continued.
“And your eyes are shut,” Hazel continued some more.
And they recited the entire poem, leapfrogging each other’s words, re-intertwining their stories. Reminding themselves that they were connected in ways that could only be felt. She knew that Silas and Eve, and even Susie and Torrey, had found that, too. And she was grateful for it all. Mothers and daughters and fathers and sons and lovers were all home. They were all finally home.
* * *
That Summer
in Maine
BRIANNA WOLFSON
Reader’s Guide
Questions for Discussion
Which character do you identify with most? Why?
Does this book have an uplifting or tragic ending? Do some characters have a happier ending than others?
What do you think about Jane’s decision to let Hazel go visit Silas? Susie’s?
If the book were told from Silas’s perspective, what more do you think we would have learned? Eve’s?
In what ways are Hazel’s and Eve’s stories the same? Different?
How would this story look different if Hazel and Eve were five years younger?
Do you or anyone in your life have experience discovering a biological sibling they hadn’t known about? What was that like?
Hazel wants so badly to be more connected to those around her. Do you think she was running away from something or running toward something? How do you know?
Silas’s house is almost like another character in the book. How does the setting enhance the book?
Do you like or dislike Silas? Is he a good or bad father figure?
What role do you think the twins play in Hazel’s story?
How would you characterize Eve’s relationship to Silas? To Hazel? To her mother? How are Eve’s relationships different than Hazel’s relationships?
What is the significance of the notebook for Jane and Susie?
What does this book suggest about the nature and trajectory of motherhood? Daughterhood? Fatherhood?
If there were a sequel to this book, what would the plot be?
Hazel finds herself at one of her lowest points while at the market. What do you think was really going on there?
What are the important symbols in the book? What do they represent?
A Conversation with Brianna Wolfson
What inspired you to write this novel?
I think, write and talk to others a lot about family dynamics. (This is the center of my debut novel, Rosie Colored Glasses, too.) The topic of meeting biological parents is one that comes up again and again. This is especially true lately with the availability of genetic testing and online communities that connect genetic relatives. So many people I know and have talked to are using these genetic tools and finding new family members, and I’m always interested in how these stories go. I’m specifically interested in how others weigh nature versus nurture in these relationships. I have some nonbiological family members of my own (stepsiblings and stepparents) whom I deeply adore, so it’s a topic near to my own story, as well.
How would you describe your writing process?
I do my best to write every day! I think of writing like I think of exercising: it’s much easier once it’s a habit. And once I’ve gotten out the door and in front of my laptop or into the gym, I may surprise myself with what I can do!
What are you working on now?
I’m always working on projects related to family dynamics, some narrative nonfiction based on my experiences and some fiction. What family stories are you interested in seeing? Get in touch at briannawolfson.com.
ISBN-13: 9781488088599
That Summer in Maine
Copyright © 2020 by Brianna Wolfson
“Lullaby” from Collected Poems by John Fuller. Published by Chatto & Windus. Reprinted with permission of The Random House Group Limited. © 2002
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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