"Wait" delves into the intricate layers of family, identity, and the harsh realities faced by undocumented immigrants in the United States. Through the lens of protagonist Elise, who is American, we are drawn into a world where the promise of a bright future is overshadowed by the cruel hand of fate and the unforgiving nature of bureaucracy.

The story begins with Elise about to graduate from the University of North Carolina, but her mother and younger sister never show up. Afraid of what could have happened to them, Elise travels back to her childhood home in Nantucket to find that her mother, Gilda, has been deported back to Brazil by ICE, leaving her behind as well as her seventeen-year-old sister Sophie. This sudden separation forces Elise to confront the harsh realities of her mother’s undocumented status and the fragility of the life they have built in Nantucket.

Through flashback sequences, we are introduced to Gilda's journey as an undocumented immigrant and single mother abandoned by her husband, living in the shadows of American society for over twenty years. Despite her contributions to her community and her unwavering determination to provide for her daughters, she is ultimately torn away from them by a system that values paperwork over humanity. As Elise and Sophie grapple with the devastating impact of their mother's absence, they learn that friends and neighbors who they thought they had known for years, cannot be trusted.

Issues of class and entitlement are also important themes in this book, as both Elise and Sophie learn self-sufficiency due to the fact that they can only depend on themselves.

Through its compelling narrative and compelling characters, "Wait" sheds light on the often-overlooked struggles of undocumented immigrants and challenges readers to confront their preconceived notions of belonging and identity.

(This review has been posted on UnderratedReads)

The night before Elsie's graduation she receives a call from her younger sister Sophie because their mother is missing.  Elsie leaves school and returns to their home in Nantucket (where Elsie has not been in 4 years) to discover that their mom, who has been illegally in the US for their entire childhood, has been deported back to Brazil.  Now homeless (because the neighbors who the girls trusted for years have let the landlord know), the two sisters move into Sheba's (Elsie's wealthy college friend) guesthouse.  Now living with Sheba, Elsie's two worlds collide - the new life she created while she was away at college and her life as a "townie" from before.  Elsie is trying to figure out who she is and who she wants to become.
This was a wonderful novel about family, immigration, friendship and the imbalance of wealth.  I loved the relationship between the sisters - so close as children but since Elsie had chosen to stay away during college, the two sisters now need to reacclimate themselves with each other.  I thought the author did a nice job of creating the dynamic between the three women, it was tense but continually interesting.  This is not a plot driven novel but it still kept my attention throughout and that is definitely due to the writing and the characters themselves.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House/One World for the ARC to review

Burnham’s coming of age novel, Wait, tells the story of two sisters working together when their mother disappears. Elise, the oldest, is one day away from college graduation when she gets a call that her mother has disappeared. After four years away, she returns to her home on Nantucket to help her younger sister, Sophie. The sisters are forced to pull their lives together without their mother.

Elise’s two worlds collide as her best friend from college, a wealthy heiress to a toy company, arrives on Nantucket to live in the family mansion she’s inherited. Elise and Sophie are evicted from their home and move in with Elise for the summer. The two sisters struggle to balance a sense of abandonment with the new found freedom of being on their own.

This moving tale of sisterhood addresses themes of class, immigration and wealth. The author captures the poignant story and struggle faced by the sisters juxtaposed against the backdrop of Nantucket’s wealthy summer playground. Thanks to NetGalley and Random House for the advanced reader’s copy.

Elise grew up on Nantucket Island, an ideal setting, but in a dysfunctional family. Her father left the family early on and her Brazilian mother struggled to provide for the family. She went away to college and did not return home for 4 years. The night before graduation, her younger sister calls to say their mother disappeared. Where has she gone? Against her will?
Elise and her younger sister work to pay the rent and survive. When they are evicted, they move into the guest house of her college friend, Sheba. Will their friendship survive when there is such disparity between being poor and super rich? Will the girls every find their mother?
This is a story of survival, friendship and struggles in life. I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

Thanks to NetGalley for this eARC.

I’m a fan of It Is Wood, It Is Stone, so when I learned Gabriella Burnham was going to release this book, I was excited! This was another great read. Highly recommend it.

Elise is at a party the night before her college graduation when she gets a call from her younger sister. Sophie and their mom were supposed to be there the next day to see her graduate., but Sophie said their mom was missing. Elise leaves UNC, skips her graduation and goes home. They search everywhere, call around, even check the hospital, and finally give up and report her missing to the police. A few days later, their mom calls - she was deported back to Brazil. ICE knew that she would be at the ferry because she had posted about Elise's graduation on social media and they had been monitoring it apparently. The remainder of the book is about their mom trying to cut through all of the red tape in order to get back in the U.S., and Elise & Sophie trying to make it on their own, with no parents, and no help.

This book started out making me mad with the deportation situation. I know that goes on and this is a very timely book for this reason, but reading about families being ripped apart, neighbors turning other neighbors in, the lengths ICE goes to, just sickens me. I felt sympathy for the girls, but it did feel like I was basically reading about one party after another, so after a while it felt kind of redundant. Overall the book was ok. Not great, but something that could definitely spark some discussion.

This is a story of two sisters who go back to their childhood home, Nantucket Island, after their mother disappears. Life is different today, and Gabriella Burnham, takes us on a journey of seeing a different side of Nantucket Island. I am much older than the sisters, and as I read the book, I could see that times have changed, and I learned a lot from how they have to navigate the path life has them on.
I received an ARC from One World through NetGalley.

Wait by Gabriella Burnham was truly an amazing story.
I had so much fun devouring it.
The writing was truly captivating, with amazing characters that sucked you into the story and holds you captive.

Thank You NetGalley and Publisher for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!

The premise of the story is what attracted me to the book and that’s where the attraction ended.

Elise is just about to graduate college when she finds out her mother has been deported to Brazil. She returns home to Nantucket to take care of her younger sister, Sophie.

The book absolutely fell flat. What could have been a captivating story turned out to be utterly mundane.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Elsie should be celebrating her college graduation not receiving a call that changes the course of her summer and life. Her mother has been deported back to Brazil and she has to go back home to Nantucket to help her sister. Nothing can prepare Elsie for what is to come because everything is falling a part. How will they get her mother back? What will happen to her sister? Will Elsie be able to carry this hardship? Who can she lean on for support?

This is a story about a mother and her daughters trying to figure out how to reunite. Living in two different places, yet fighting to not lose their connection. The novel is in present day, but the reader gets glimpses of Elsie and her family’s past. I felt like “Wait” had indie movie coming of age vibes. Following a young woman trying her best when given a heartbreaking situation. It’s a slow burn story that leaves you with some unanswered questions, yet that will have you thinking about them days after finishing this novel.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing for this eARC.

Intriguing premise but so confusingly and poorly written that it was almost impossible to fully engage in the story. I do not recommend.

This was my first time reading a book by Gabriella Burnham and it was stunning. I picked this book up one weekend day and finished it the same day. The characters are well developed and it’s a beautiful book about who really belongs to a place, class, family, and the bonds that stretch across generations and countries. Thanks to One World publishers and Net Galley for this glorious ARC.

A thrilling, engaging and human story about the love between mothers and daughters. The perfect heartrending beach read for summer 2024!

I was interested to read Wait by Gabriella Burnham because Nantucket is one of my favorite book settings. While this is her sophomore novel, it is my first read by this author. On the day of Elise's college graduation, she receives a call from her younger sister Sophie telling us their mom is nowhere to be found. Elise returns home to Nantucket immediately, only to learn that their mother has been deported to Brazil, after living and working in the US for 20 years. What follows is the story of two sisters, living without resources or other family in the land of wealthy summer homes and families. I thought that this was going to be a book of two sisters banding together to save themselves, or bring their mom home. I just didn't feel like much happened in the book. It left me wanting for more.

Elise's world is turned upside down when her mother is deported and she's left to help her teenaged sister Sophie navigate the world. A recent college graduate, she's back on Nantucket and struggling to keep things going until she doesn't and they move in with Elise's wealthy pal Sheba. This is a melange that could have been so much better if Burnham has chosen the lane she was most interested in. This has echoes of coming of age, of classism, of immigration, of so many things but it's also a swirl of alcohol and so on, Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. For fans of literary fiction.

When I received an invite to read Wait by Gabriella Burnham I was excited because it takes place on Nantucket. I’ve always wanted to go there, it’s on my bucket list so when I get the chance to read about it, I jump at the opportunity. However, if I’m being honest, this story was a little disappointing to me. Although the scenery was beautiful, the storyline fell a little flat for me. It’s the story of 2 sisters, Elise and Sophie, who live on the island with their mother Gilda. Gilda works in a restaurant and she works a crazy amount of hours just to make ends meet. The girls are used to having to take care of themselves because their mom is gone all the time. But on one occasion, she doesn’t come home because she’s been deported back to Brazil. When Sophie reaches out to tell Elise that their mom is missing, she comes home instead of attending her college graduation in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. After that the story fell flat as it just went on to tell what the girls day to day lives were like, how they survived by working and how they spent their time. Elise’s best friend Sheba, who she met at college, did enter the picture as a rich kid that had a summer house on the island and that brought a little more interest to the dynamic of the story. In the end, I was happy for the way Sophie’s life was headed but I didn’t really understand what exactly was happening with Elise. I’d like to thank One World, an imprint of Random House for the widget and invite to read and NetGalley for the arc. I feel really bad but I can only give this book a 3 star rating.

Wait is a coming-of-age story set on Nantucket of two sisters who learn their mother has been deported to Brazil. They fend for themselves, with the help of a wealthy college friend who offers her beach house to the girls when they are evicted from their home. Living with someone with unlimited cash is fun at first, but things get out of control, and the sisters move on with their lives. I didn't care for the character of the wealthy friend at all and it was satisfying to see the girls figure her out. This was just an ok read for me.

This book had a lot of promise, but it fell flat for me. The story centers around two sisters Elise and Sophie, and their mother Gilda. At the beginning of the story Gilda goes missing and they find out she is deported. Then the book goes on to follow their lives after that. This book could have shed light on immigration issues, sister bonds, duty to family, parent and child relationships, but it just missed the mark on all of those. The characters weren’t likable, and the storyline had very little to no drive to it. I received an ARC and this is my honest review.

I don’t usually give bad reviews, but sadly I didn’t like this book. It was anti-climactic and boring for me. I wish someone had helped Burnham add more interesting aspects to the story because it felt very lacking. Thank you to NetGalley for this advanced copy

Oh dear, this book is just not it. I don't always hate books where not much happens, but in this case, it was a bit painful. It starts with a Mom who misses her daughter's college graduation so we think it's a mystery. Instead, we sadly find out it's because she has been deported to Brazil and her daughter Elise must go back to her home town in Nantucket to watch over her younger sister Sophie who just graduated from high school.

It's a strong start, but falls apart pretty soon after that because the action is truly lacking and I couldn't connect with the characters either. Loose ends aren't tied up, the ending is confusing and falls flat (I was hoping it would make it up for it) and themes aren't fully explored. I hate to give a bad review to a book like this, but I simply can't recommend.