The Goodbye Summer

The Goodbye Summer, by Patricia Gaffney

This is a nice book. Nothing too earthshattering, but nice. It tells the story of Caddie, a 32-year-old single woman living with her grandmother. Her mother is dead, and she never knew her father. She is perfectly happy with her life, until her grandmother breaks her leg and moves into Wake House, kind of like a retirement home (definitely not a nursing home).

Caddie has a hard time adjusting to living alone, and makes friends with all the other elderly (mostly) residents of Wake House. The Goodbye Summer is at times funny, sad, poignant, and aggravating. Sometimes, I just wanted to shake Caddie and say, "wake up! Life doesn't work that way!" Other times, I was laughing so hard I had to put the book down. But in the end, this book tells a story of living life, with all the hellos and goodbyes that entails.

©2004, HarperCollins
ISBN 0-06-018529-5