The premise was one which I was excited about. The description oversold the book, in my opinion. I couldn't get into it and stopped at chapter 6.

Appropriate given the title, I was sort of waiting for something at the end that was never coming. That's a little bit of the point maybe. I hated several people in this. More than several maybe? Okay, almost all. I liked the sisters and their relationship. Free advanced copy courtest of Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, book publishes 5/21

I wanted to love this one, but it’s just a bit boring for me. The writing is fine, the characters all have their place, even the plot has variations and somewhere to go, but we’re just not getting there..!

this is just a look at two sisters' single summer, and i wish it told me more or had more of an ending or wasn't omniscient in perspective which i hate, but i love sisters and i love summer and i love new england and this scratched all of those itches.

Wait is a simplistic, moderately-paced novel about the lives of two sisters following their mother’s sudden and unexpected deportation. Following Gilda’s unjust deportation, I enjoyed watching Elise and Sophie reconnect in sisterhood and all the ways in which they show love and protection to each other. Their relationship and the happiness they desire for each other is inspiring, and it was interesting to see Sheba’s character development through the loneliness and selfish envy she feels as a result of the sisters’ bond. However, I found that the plot point of Gilda’s deportation and the sisters’ subsequent survival quickly became monotonous. I struggled to get into Elise and Sophie’s heads and often found myself wondering how they could go on as if nothing traumatic happened. I did not enjoy reading a repetitive daily routine of wake, work, swim in a pool, drink, sleep, rinse and repeat and wished for more of an emotional and intellectual conversation surrounding immigration justice in the United States. Further, the seemingly random and unnecessary inclusions of romantic prospects and sexual scenes left me confused, and the ending unfortunately felt equally as random and unrealistic (though I appreciated the glimmering strands of hope and looking towards the future).

Thank you to Random House and Netgalley for this ARC!

How would you react to the news your mom is missing? You find out the night before your college graduation. Elise returns to Nantucket to help her sister; Sophie tries and find their mom. They soon learn the truth that she has been deported back to Brazil. Wait follows the siters as they try to find a way to bring their mom back. I gave this book 3 stars as it was a little muddled. Thank you, Net Galley and One World-Random House Publishing, for the ARC. I am leaving this review on my own and is my own opinion. #wait, #gabriellaburnham, #netgalley, #randomhouse

Two sisters have lived with their single Brazilian Mother in Narraganset all their lives. The elder, Elise, has just graduated from Chapel Hill. The younger, Sophia, has just completed high school. Their Mother has disappeared and when she finally calls they learn ICE has returned her to Brazil. This is the story of that summer, their struggles, their successes, their friendships and follies and their growth. Initially I really didn’t get sufficiently interested in them to get involved with them but after finding myself reading just a bit more time after time I admitted to being captivated . Thanks to Net Galley and Random House for an ARC for an honest review.

Wait is a lovely character study read. It delves into the lives of two young sisters, Elise and Sophie, living on Nantucket Island whose mother has been deported by ICE to her native Brazil. They are islanders and their lives contrast sharply from the summer people which include Elise's best friend from college, Sheba, and her wealthy mothers.
The contrast in lifestyles was what I experienced as the true focus of the story and as such there was little direction in the plot. It is more about the evolution of characters and getting to know each girl through their lives during one summer together. The book is not a thrilling or dramatic story, although there are seem to be potentials for that at points in the story. Readers wanting more development of the plot will be disappointed.
Personally, I really enjoy an occasional book that just reveals people more than events. It's like peeking into someone's world and getting to know them just by how they live their life. The author does a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life in describing how they think and act. The prose of the book is also quite beautiful, as is the descriptions of the island and nature found there.
If you are searching for a dramatic or captivating read, this may not work for you. If, like me, you enjoy a character focused story about believably real people and getting a glimpse into their heads, I would absolutely recommend Wait.
My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

“Wait: A Novel” by Gabriella Burnham is a poignant and thought-provoking tale that delves into the complexities of family, identity, and belonging. Set against the backdrop of Nantucket Island, the story unfolds through the eyes of Elise, who is abruptly pulled back into her past when her mother disappears, leaving her to reconnect with her teenage sister, Sophie.

The narrative is a tapestry woven with threads of socioeconomics, psychology, and the stark realities of immigration. Burnham masterfully portrays the stark contrast between the working-class life Elise grew up in and the affluent world of her college friend, Sheba. The deportation of their mother, Gilda, to Brazil after two decades as a tax-paying resident of the United States, serves as a catalyst for the sisters to reevaluate their lives and the bonds that tie them to their motherland and to each other.

Burnham’s prose is both beautiful and haunting, capturing the essence of Nantucket with vivid descriptions that transport the reader to the sandy shores and the tumultuous emotional landscape of the characters. The novel is a story about the physical wait for Gilda’s return, and also about the emotional wait for reconciliation, understanding, and acceptance.

The book is a commendable accomplishment, tackling serious issues with grace and empathy. It’s a reminder of the invisible lines that divide us and the undeniable connections which draw us together.

For readers who appreciate a narrative that challenges and enlightens, “Wait” is a must-read. It’s a story that speaks to the soul, asking us to consider the depth of our relationships and the lengths we would go to preserve the place we call home.

Burnham has indeed crafted a novel that is as much about the journey as it is about the destination—a journey that is well worth the wait.

Wait by Gabriella Burnham was an excellent novel. I appreciated the setting and the author's use of detail to make you feel there!

‘Wait’ is my first book by author Gabriella Burnham. Enjoyable story based on Nantucket Island highlighting just how tough life can be sometimes. I will definitely try another book by Ms. Burnham.

Wait is a soft, lyrical novel that follows Elise as she graduates college only to find her mother has been deported back to Brazil. Elise and her sister Sophie must figure out how to keep moving forward without their parent and their home.

It took me a little while to get into the writing style, but it ended up growing on me. The supporting cast gets some development, but Elise herself feels not as fleshed out as the rest.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC!

This book had a lot of promise, but it fell short on the execution. The characters were good - Elise, Gilda, Sophie, and Sheba were all decently developed and interesting. The idea of the story - Gilda is deported in a way that she can't let her children know where she has gone - is a good one. Elise and Sophie, at 23 and 18, have to fend for themselves for the summer (or longer?) The story just never goes anywhere. The ending was very anticlimactic and unsatisfying. There were many threads that were dangled but not cleaned up. It just felt underdeveloped and almost unfinished.

At its core, Wait follows Elise's journey to find her place after news from her sister that their mother disappeared, causing Elise to make her first return trip to their home on Nantucket since leaving the island for college. Elise and her sister, Sophie, soon find out their mother was deported to Brazil, the country she has not returned to since before Elise and Sophie were born. The girls get jobs to try and keep things afloat in their mother's absence, but in only a matter of weeks, their remote landlord evicts them, forcing the sisters to find a new place to live. Fortunately for the girls but perhaps unfortunately for the reader, Elise's best friend from college, Sheba, swoops in, offering her newly inherited mansion as a safe place to land.

Wait was written well, but the story quickly became muddled as it lost focus on its most interesting components. We were only given sporadic updates on Elise and Sophie's mother, and there was little exploration into the developing friendship between Sophie and Sheba. There were also kernels dropped of interesting dynamics in each of the aforementioned characters'. lives that weren't explored beyond a passing note. Even for Elise, an intelligent girl stuck somewhere between her childhood and adulthood, we were left with a journey that felt like more of a float than an exploration.

Thank you to Net Galley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. This is a coming of age novel where Elise is a college student who needs to rush home to Nantucket as her mother has been deported and her high school sister, Sophia, is on her own. Years ago, their mother didn't renew her visa as she went into labor and missed her appointment; and she never took care of it after that. Their lives are in the balance as they don't have much money and get evicted from their apartment. Elise's white friend, Sheba, has a family house that was just inherited and invites Elise to live there during the summer. Sheba parents are a lesbian couple, well-to-do, have a house in the mainland, and live a completely different life from Elise and her sister. What seems to be a generous gesture comes with many costs and also brings light to the differences of haves/have nots, the people that work on the island, many of whom are immigrants, and the frustrating position of being American/having the American dream and how it is so unfair to those who work so hard and try to live that dream. The storytelling was fine but it didn't draw me in...I felt there was something missing. Yet, I appreciated the awareness it brought of those who are invisible in vacation towns such as Nantucket and the complexities of our system related to immigration and belonging.

DNF at 26%.

I unfortunately wasn't excited or looking forward to reading this book whenever I wasn't engaging with it. And even when I was engaging with it, I found myself getting confused often as to which sister was which.

I think the story is important, and I've seen other reviewers say that it's a beautiful coming-of-age story that delves into family, friendship, and the immigration system in the US. This just didn't keep me hooked, and I have so many other books I'm desperately looking forward to reading.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for advanced reader access. This title published May 21, 2024.

I was expecting a sweet Nantucket read, but this was not it. While the book has a decent story of two young sisters living in a rental on island, who work hard and play hard. Their mother has been deported and they move into the guest house of one of the sister's college bestie after facing eviction. Once both sisters move into the guest house, the story takes an odd turn.
Just was not for me.
Thank you for ARC,

3.5 ⭐️

I gravitated towards this book due to the synopsis. And the book delivers somewhat, but it was not what I was expecting.

What was I expecting? Maybe something I had not read before. This just felt like the author stuck to something that works and didn’t really push any boundaries.

Elise and Sophie’s mother was deported back to Brazil the day before Elise graduated from college and Sophie is about to graduate from high school. They need to survive by themselves on Nantucket. This book is written in a point of view that is not quite first person and I could not really get into it. I would give it 2.5 stars.

There may have been more to this book than I got out of it, but I somehow missed it if there was. It's a story dealing with deportation and the effects on the family of that person. It seemed like that part was almost glossed over to me. Way more time in the story was spent on the relationship of the daughters of the deported woman with the super rich college friend of Elise.

I didn't see the purpose of the book. If it was supposed to show the hardships of having a parent or parents deported, then the author shouldn't have had them rescued by the Play-Doh princess, who let them live in her mansion for free. And somehow, I feel like the process of getting back in this country after being deported is a lot harder than just making sure that you get social security numbers right. It seemed like the book could have used a little better development. I also hope that before this was published,
they went back and put quotation marks where characters were speaking. I've read many, many advance copies of books, but never any without those quotation marks.

Thanks to Penguin Random House and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own.