A charming story with a load of cliches and artificial dialogues. It seemed that the author created his female characters and their conversations based on own stereotypes and not on a careful study of female psychic and real-life chats and exchanges between girls - really disappointing:( ( )

We've all been there - kind of stuck in life. This is a story about three women that came together to honor their friend's passing and renew their own passions.

Four teenage girls are totally different but they become best friends at Camp Birchwood in Michigan in the mid 1980s. The reader quickly discovers each character. Veronica is the leader of the pack...and beautiful. Rachael loves to sing and dance and wants to be a movie star. Emily is the mother of the group. And Liz is an artist that creates fashions.

After years of being separated - married, divorced, kids, careers, etc - each get a letter from Emily in 2021. She is dying of breast cancer and won't be around much longer. She asks her friends to spread her ashes at the camp and come for a week of fun, friendship and nature. They all agreed: "Sometimes we need to stop, assess, lift our heads - and our hearts."

The story is simple and predictable. Yet, it has a sense of meaning that gets lost for all of us when we're so busy we forget about our friends and the things we did as kids to laugh. I enjoyed this book. It's filled with good therapeutic messages. ( )

I tried to enjoy this book. I really did. About halfway through I realized that I almost couldn't tell the 4 women apart. I was not interested in their pasts or their futures. I felt like they were just a little bit self absorbed. I like this author a lot and I'm sure I'll read other books by Viola, but this one just didn't work for me.

This is probably my favorite Viola Shipman book. It follows 3 friends from 1980s camp to the present day. They reunite at their former camp and rekindle old bonds.

While The Heirloom Garden still remains my favorite book by Viola Shipman (Wade), this is another sweet book that I have found to read between my regular reads of thrillers, horror and dystopian stories! I probably would have enjoyed this book more if I had ever been to camp as a camper! I was a camp counselor for 2 years but I don't think it's the same experience. ( )