Book Title: Wait
Author: Gabriella Burnham
Publisher: Random Publishing Group – Random House-One Word
Genre: New Adult
Pub Date: May 21, 2024
My Rating: 2.5 Stars!
Pages: 272

Story is divided into three Parts
Part I: - Home
Part II: -The Guest
Part III – The Main House

Story starts with Elisa excited about her upcoming graduation from UNC. Her mother Gilda and younger sister Sophie will be attending and are traveling the thirteen hours from Cade Cod to Chapel Hill.
Yes home is one of the wealthiest places in America, Nantucket Island,

Elisa is celebrating at a night before graduation party (until 3:00am) and missed the frantic calls from her sister. Sophie is distressed as their mother did not come home from work so they are not on their way to the graduation ceremony.
They learn that their mother was stopped by police and deported to São Paulo, Brazil as an illegal immigrant,

Elisa and Sophie are trying to make sense of this but soon find they are homeless in Nantucket. Elisa’s college roommate Sheba is from a very wealthy family and offers to take them in.

In the meantime, their mother Gilda is living in Brazil with her sister. At first she kept waiting for a call from her daughters now she is try to make the best of it. She has been able to communicate via email with them and tells them that she got a job as a bookkeeper for a kitchen-supply store – no cooking!

I was drawn to this story because I love stories about Nantucket.
After reading a lot of partying and drinking, I checked and noticed the Genre listed as ‘New Adult’ - New adult is considered a subcategory of adult literature rather than young adult literature.

Sheba and adult are not two things I would put together in the same sentence. Her wealth seems to have put her out of touch with reality. Certainly someone I would consider a bad influence and I would not be comfortable leaving my daughters to stay with her.

We follow the girls through the summer -with Sophie’s dream of pursuit of going away to college and Elisa seems to be doing ‘new adult’ things.

The ending was strange
Delighted that Sophie is off to college. It appears Elise is on her way to Brazil to see her mother, family and to study the pink dolphins. Does Gilda know she is coming?

Although story had me curious - it wasn’t the enjoyable read I was expecting.

Want to thank NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group, Random House-One Word for granting me this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for May 21, 2024.

This was a DNF for me even though I got through more than 3/4 of the book…I just couldn’t do it anymore.
A lot of you will like this book…it’s got family drama, struggles, and hope. However, my family drama is more interesting (😑). Plain and simple, I was just bored. I didn’t connect with the main (or any) of the characters. There was nothing “exciting” or drawing me back to the book….it’s s chore to pick it back up.

REMEMBER: Not everyone likes the same books…this may be something you like (especially if you are reading the reviews)…it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

Thank you NetGalley and One World for allowing me try this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for the ARC.

This novel is a great story about two sisters whose lives are upended when their mother disappears off Nantucket Island where they live. They later find out that their mother was deported back to her home country of Brazil, on the heels of one sister graduating college and the other one graduating high school. The bond they share is intimate and lovely. They end up staying with the college grad’s rich friend in her lush home, and that puts a slight strain on their relationship. Social class issues permeate the friendships and the culture of the Island, between the haves and the have-nots. While there was no major climax or turmoil, the major characters are likable and I felt sympathetic toward them which held my interest.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. I was was eager to read this book because I really love books set on Nantucket, but it did not live up to my expectations. The pacing was slow, and the writing was just choppy, switching between different perspectives from one paragraph to the next without a break or any sort of indication. The story had potential, but it remained unfulfilled to the end, which was tough to make it to and seemed to take forever. I would have loved to see more of Nantucket come out through the book too.

WAIT by Gabriella Burnham is an understated yet emotional coming-of-age story, about two sisters whose lives are upturned when their mother is deported to her native Brazil. As the whole family learns to navigate their new lives, now countries apart, they reckon with struggles such as homelessness, social and economic inequality, the legalities of an immigration system rooted in racism, as well as their own personal rifts and disagreements. I was especially moved by Elise’s journey, and the many directions in which she is constantly pulled by her mother and sister, their neighbours, and her friends; as someone who also had to learn how to survive completely on my own in the world much earlier than I was prepared to, and who hasn’t really felt at home anywhere in the world since, I understood her deeply. I wish her story had ended on a more recognisably happier note, like Gilda’s and Sophia’s, but the fact that it didn’t also felt incredibly realistic. Sometimes, just surviving is the happy ending.

This was a unique coming of age story set on Nantucket. The characters and their conflicts along with the author's descriptive style highlighted a different perspective of those that live on the island year-round than what I have previously read about in so many other books based on Nantucket.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

At 22, Elise's graduation preparations are abruptly interrupted by a distressing call from her younger sister, Sophie, announcing their mother, Gilda, is missing. Predictably, Gilda, a Brazilian immigrant, has been detained by ICE and is staying with her sister back in Brazil.

Elise and Sophie, now left to fend for themselves, somehow manage to cover their expenses in Nantucket. Elise revisits her old beach job from high school days, while Sophie navigates the challenges of earning minimum wage in the food industry.

The narrative unfolds in three distinct sections: Home, The Guest, and The Main House, capturing the sisters' struggle to persevere. However, the absence of chapter titles, offering only breaks, poses a minor frustration, especially when wanting to revisit specific moments, like the intriguing mention of "phosphorescent jellyfish."

Wait introduces us to a different side of Nantucket Island than we read about in Elin Hilderbrand and Nancy Thayer novels. Elise and Sophie have grown up on Nantucket, as daughters of a single mother who constantly struggles to keep her family afloat. She also happens to be an undocumented person who has long overstayed her visitors visa from Brazil. As the book opens, Elise is about to graduate from college but there's a problem back home.
As the story continues, the focus is on the sisters, as well as Elise's close college friend, Sheba, who happens to have tremendous family wealth, including a house on Nantucket. Sheba was an interesting character, but at times, it was hard to believe/understand how she and Elise were such close friends.
I also had trouble deciding what the focus of the novel was: Is it a coming of age story, or one about families, or a story about relationships between sisters, or a look at class differences? A number of the story lines were interesting and well developed, such as the relationship between Elise and Sophie. But others, such as their mother's situation, weren't developed enough for me. The book also had a confusing structure where the mother's story popped up in the middle of a chapter, and then quickly turned back to Elise or Sophie. The ending was very abrupt, and for me, not satisfying. I did like the look into life on Nantucket for the year round working people. The author grew up on Nantucket and the book is a positive reflection.
Thanks to Netgalley and One World Publishers for the opportunity to read Wait in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the Kindle ARC. "Wait" is a slower read but worth the time. Sisters Elise and Sophie who are young women, with Elise just out of college and Sophie just out of high school, go through a rough period in their lives when their mother Gilda is deported to Brazil. Gilda has lived and worked in the U.S. for over 20 years, rents a home, pays taxes but the past finally catches up with her. Ms. Burnham's writing is tender, showing the love between the sisters who have to figure out their lives much sooner than they thought they would. The book is based in reality and will hit home with anyone who is young and must find their path in life.

Wait is presented as a novel about two sisters living on Nantucket, dealing with their lives after their Brazilian mother is deported in the middle of the night, effectively disappearing from their lives. The book opens the night before Elise graduates from college, partying with her uber wealthy college best friend, Sheba. The next morning she gets a call from her younger sister Sophie that their mother is gone, so Elise returns to Nantucket for the first time in 4 years to pick up the pieces.
This book meandered and felt aimless as it recounts that summer, primarily from the point of view of Elise, as both sisters work to save money, and eventually move in to Sheba's family vacation home after being evicted. I kept waiting for the point of this book to unveil itself. It's sold as a coming of ag story about Elise, but I never really felt like she grew or developed as a character, and then the book just ended abruptly.
I just don't think this was a book for me, although the writing was nice and it was easy to read, it just felt unsatisfying overall.
Thank you to Random House and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

Wait
by Gabriella Burnham
Pub Date: Mary 21, 2024
Thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
A young woman reunites with her teenage sister in their childhood home on Nantucket Island after their mother disappears in this alluring coming-of-age novel from the acclaimed author of It Is Wood, It Is Stone.
Unfortunately, this is not a top read for me. I will not be recommending it.
This is a well written book, and I did like it but I just didn’t feel a strong connection to the characters. It felt as if they were just floating along without much agency. So, while it was a good read, I’m not sure it is one that I will remember for long.
3 stars

I was sent this book from the publisher and I just could not finish this book. The writing style was just too disjointed for me. Maybe someday I will go back and read it, but I could not do it at this time.

I liked the two female sisters in this book. I just wish there was more to the story. I felt like there was something missing and I struggled to finish this book. #Wait #NetGalley

3.5 stars. This book follows two sisters, Sophie and Elise, who grew up living year round on Nantucket with their mom. With their mother’s recent deportation to Brazil, Sophie and Elise are left rootless and reliant on the hospitality of their rich friend Sheba who owns a summer house on the island. This is a well written book and I did like it but I just didn’t feel a strong connection to the characters. It felt as if they were just floating along without much agency. So while it was a good read, I’m not sure it is one that I will remember for long. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

Elsie had just graduated from college when her sister Gilda contacted her to tell her that their mother Gilda was missing. This prompted Elsie to rush home to Nantucket to find out what was going on. Getting there she finds out her mother had been deported back to Brazil.
Now the sisters have to figure out what they will do and luckily Elsie has a college friend who has a summer home that they can stay in while they come to terms with their new lives.
This book really made me think of all that goes on when this type of life change happens.
Thank you NetGalley, Gabriella Burnham and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC of the book Wait. This is my personal review.

I got about halfway through this book and couldn’t finish it. I liked the story line idea when I read the description, but so many unnecessary things in here. Why all the sexual talk out of nowhere? Definitely not my cup of tea

Publishing May 21, 2024

Wait is a coming-of-age story focused around Elise, freshly graduated from college, and has to rush home to Nantucket when her sister, Sophie, says their mother, Gilda, is missing. We learn that their mother has been deported to Brazil and now Elise and Sophie have to figure out how to live on their own and for themselves. They’re lost. Elise’s college friend, Sheba, happens to have a massive summer house on the island where they end up staying.

It’s an interesting amalgamation of coming of age, class inequality, and how some relationships have a place and time. I liked Elise and Sophie, but as soon as I felt they were starting to blossom and grow, the story ended abruptly!

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing an advanced copy through Netgalley.

This was such a good book! I loved the characters, and their story. The dialogue was realistic and enjoyable. I was very surprised by the ending!

Wait is an emotional novel about two sisters whose mother goes missing. I am a lover of books set on Cape Cod and Nantucket, and this hit many of the notes I expect and want when I pick one of these up.

Set on the island of Nantucket, this story speaks to class dynamics and includes wonderful nature imagery and details. Burnham wrote so well to the divide between summer visitors and tourists and working class year-rounders. With beautiful and emotional details about plovers, an endangered species of the area, this really is a well rounded book. So to move beyond setting, this is a very character driven novel with a few key plot points but no clear climax and dénouement. The sisters, Sophie and Elise, are together again for the first time in four years since Elise has just returned from UNC Chapel Hill. There are clear rifts to repair as a result of Elise never visiting during her four years of undergrad, and when their mother does not come home for days on end the stress rises for everyone.

Elise and Sophie spend much of their time with Sheba, the very rich heiress to the Play-Doh fortune who Elise met at UNC. Each girl has their own baggage and way of interacting with each other and the world, and that's really the meat of this book. In a short number of pages, these characters are so vivid and feel fully formed, ready to come off of the page and into the world.

I had a wonderful time with Wait by Gabriella Burnham and I know I'll be reading her backlist. I highly recommend this one!

Heads up: No quotation marks! However, Burnham's writing style is easy to adapt to and it becomes very clear what is spoken versus internal dialogue.

4.5 rounded to 5 for Goodreads

I found it difficult to get through this novel. It’s a touching story of a young woman who returns home to learn that her mother has been deported. There was too much that rang untrue to me. I couldn’t pull it all together.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC. L