Holly Robinson does an excellent job of pulling at your heart strings and she does not disappoint with BEACH PLUM ISLAND. Ava and her sister Elaine have just buried their father. One of the last things he says to Ava is "I want your brother to know the truth". Huh? They don't have a brother. Ava strikes it up as the medicine talking but when her half sister Gigi says the same thing, they all decide to dig deeper. All that is except Elaine. Elaine doesn't like Gigi. She is her fathers daughter from his second marriage and she blames Gigi's mother, Katy for busting up her family. Ava and Elaine are grown ups and Gigi is just a kid so Elaine doesn't try and get to know her, but Ava does. In fact, Elaine won't even give Gigi the time of day. Many times, I just wanted to read in through the pages and slap Elaine and tell her to stop being so selfish!

Ava and Elaine have been on their own since their father walked away from an unhappy marriage to their alcoholic mother. Ava left and got married and has two boys and Elaine stayed to take care of their mom in her final days. Ava knows it isn't Katy's fault that their father left and wishes Elaine would grow up and give Gigi a chance. Now that their father has passed away it is Ava who tries to bring the family together. This will not be easy as far as Elaine goes. She is a hot mess. She is drinking heavily and hooking up with random men on many nights. BEACH PLUM ISLAND is tough to read at times and your heart will break over and over for Ava, Elaine, and Gigi.

I can totally see BEACH PLUM ISLAND being made into a movie. Holly Robinson has a way of pulling you right in and never letting you go until the very last page. The journey that these three sisters embark on to find out if they really do have a brother is bitter sweet and they all do some major growing up and at the same time, learn to let go of deep resentment. By the end of their story, I felt as if I were sitting in the car beside them, trying to figure out life. I was instantly hooked on the characters lives and found myself cheering for them one by one.

Holly Robinson is one of my favorite authors and I can't wait to read more by her. The characters all felt very real to me and they are the kind of women I would expect to run into at the grocery store.