Wait is the story of Elise, about to graduate college, when she finds out her mother has been deported to Brazil. She rushes home to Nantucket to watch over her recent high school grad sister, Sophie. I have read many novels set on Nantucket. Most focus on the beach life, romance, and the wealthier set. This was a unique perspective on an illegal immigrant family, but mixed in was Elise's best friend Sheba and her very elitist mothers. When Elise and Sophie are evicted from their mother's home, Sheba offers a new way of life, where the laundry is automatically cleaned, the fridge is always full, and work is not necessary. Although I enjoyed the story, I felt the end was unresolved, too many loose ends left.

Burnham's debut novel WAIT brings to mind those indie films made without scripts where the cast provides the dialogue. It's meandering, occasionally thoughtful, but without a strong thread to keep you invested. You spend time in a film like that--or a book, in this case--because you enjoy the atmosphere of it, the vibe. Burnham's prose is where she shines; there are beautiful phrases throughout. I did not find myself invested in the characters in the slightest, because I felt at arm's length of them the entire time. They are wispy, never looking you in the eye. As a result, you don't ever understand their desires or motivations, and they come across excessively passive. The thematic material is there in a slight sense. I think there are missed opportunities here to really dig into the themes of economic privilege versus disadvantage... but because the protagonist, Elise, seems so passively accepting of things as they are, we never get into the meat of those topics. Read it for the prose, but pass this one over if you're a character-driven reader.

Thanks Netgalley for allowing me to read this book. Elise is excited about her upcoming graduation. When she arrives home, her mom is not home. When she learns where her mother is, it causes all kinds of problems. I enjoyed the different characters in this book.

Elise and her sister Sophie are forced to figure out a plan for their living and working situations when their mother is deported to Brazil. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your perspective, Elise’s friend from college has an enormous mansion they can stay in. The story really kicks off when Sheba enters the picture and it was fascinating to witness their interactions and different outlooks on life.

This was an interesting read and I enjoyed the writing style despite not liking the characters all that much (at one point Elise’s behavior made me almost feel bad for Sheba which is not a position I want to be in!). I think there was a missed opportunity to more deeply explore the issues it sets up from the start including immigration, gentrification, social class.

Would recommend this for readers drawn to stories about young adults facing many challenges as they figure out what’s next for them. 3.5 stars.

Thank you very much to Random House and NetGalley for the opportunity to read a copy.

Thank you Net Galley and Random House for an ARC of this book.
I must say this was a very different story than I expected. The setting being Nantucket with 2 young sisters trying to find their way in life after their Mom is deported was interesting. They get evicted from their home waiting for their Mom to come back to them. They end up staying with a very rich friend and the Mom stays in Brazil in the whole story. I finished it but it felt like it just ended strangely . I don’t think it’s a book I would recommend but I am sure I’m too old for this book.

WAIT is an interesting coming of age story about a young woman, Elise, who is graduating from college. When her mother, Gilda, and sister Sophia, don’t show up for graduation, she contacts her sister and finds out her mother is missing. She immediately flies home to Nantucket and after several days, they discover their mother has been deported in Brazil for not having papers. Sophie, who is just graduating from high school, goes to work while Elise works at her pre-college job for the summer. Gilda is trying to get back to daughters runs into immigration red tape. The girls lose their home because a nosy next-door neighbor told the landlord that the mother whose name was on the lease was gone. Fortunately, Sheba, Elise’s friend from college has a guest house in which they can stay. The relationship between the three girls is interesting. They are continual sexual undertones. Sheba is a “summer” girl and quite affluent. A party gone wrong hurts the relationship between Sheba and Elise. Elise and Sophia must leave the guest house permanently. Sophia goes off to college after being waitlisted. Gilda has found her way back to family in Brazil. Elise is planning to go to Brazil. WAIT is like New England weather. Wait a few minutes and it will change.
Thank you to NetGalley and One World Publishers for this advance copy.

First, thanks to NetGalley, Random House & Ms Burnham for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Honestly, I was the wrong audience for this story based on the reviews I have now read.
Written in 3rd person POV, please know this ahead of time, as I find it distracting. Their mother(who would leave the girls alone previously) has been deported to Brazil & starts her life over without her girls. The girls work, have the next door neighbor who tells their landlord the house is a dump & he evicts them with no notice. Elise, has a rich roommate from college who happens to arrive at her summer home & decides Elise & Sophie will live with her. The roommate was not only rich, but out of touch with reality, self-centered & annoying. The story ends with Mom happily in Brazil, Sophie magically having a full ride to Berkley & leaving for CA, & Elise texting her mom (who hasn't had any contact recently with them) that she is "on her way" to Brazil.
Again, others may enjoy this story & read into it, however, I did not.

3.5 stars

There was so much going on in this book - deportation, coming of age, clashes between social classes, and so much more. However, by the end, it felt unfinished. I wanted more resolution.

It’s written in a third-person omniscient POV which is not my favorite. That’s a personal preference, not a critique of the writing.

Thank you Random House Publishing Group - One World and NetGalley for the invitation to read a digital ARC in return for an honest review.

This may well be a Four-Star review for others, but the book did not speak to me. Present tense narration is very intrusive to me and distracted from the story.

And the story is about an unusual friendship between two college roommates: Elise, the daughter of an illegal resident from Brazil and the offspring of the Play-Dough fortune heir (Sheba, who has two mothers). Elise's younger sister Sophie has just graduated from high school and Elise from college. The girls live on Nantucket and suddenly find their mother absent. It turns out she has been deported (restoring ties with her sister and father in Brazil)

There is much drinking and partying on the island, particularly after the girls are evicted and move in with Sheba in her mothers' mansion. There are several extraneous characters, Harry and Rahul for example, whose inclusion in the novel escapes me. Sheba is a neurotic rich girl with endless supplies of money.

So is this novel highlighting the tale of friendship, of sisterhood, of the pain of parting from a deported parent? And why does the novel end so abruptly? An acceptance and scholarship for Sophie? And what for Elise? And Gilda, their mother? But at this; point, I did not truly care.

Thanks to NetGalley and One World Publishers for an Arc copy to read and review.

This is an insightful book which draws attention to current immigration hardships in the U.S. within a family.

Elise, 22 years old, was getting ready for her college graduation ceremony when her sister, Sophie, at 18, called her and said her mother, Gilda, was missing. It’s predictable: Gilda, an immigrant from Brazil, was arrested by ICE and now living with her sister where she was raised.

Meanwhile, Elise and Sophie are on their own which is a little hard to believe that they're able to pay the bills which includes rent and utilities for a house on Nantucket. Everyone knows the island is packed with wealthy folks. Elise takes on a job that she had at the beach in high school and Sophie is trying to scoop up tips in the food industry – minimum wage earners.

There are three parts: Home, The Guest and The Main House. It’s reads well as the two sisters are trying to figure out how they're going to survive. But, there are no chapter heads; just breaks. It’s annoying to me if there’s something I want to quickly refer to later such as “phosphorescent jellyfish” which happens to be quite interesting.

Most of us – I would hope – would agree that the immigration laws need to be revised to take in consideration of a parent paying taxes with American children. The story zeros in on wealth versus the working class with a huge gap in between. It has a good flow with the dialogue even though the author excluded quote marks. The characters are believable and it captured my attention from the beginning. Immigration is on the news all the time and is a good topic for reviews.

My thanks to One World and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy of this book with an expected release date of May 21, 2024.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC Of Wait.

I needed a break from my usual reading material of serial killers, domestic dramas, and backstabbing frenemies so I thought Wait would be a palate refreshers. so to speak.

Elise returns home to Nantucket when her little sister, Sophie, informs her their mom is missing. Eventually, the siblings discover their mother has been deported to Brazil and the sisters spend a summer growing up, learning about each other, and becoming their own person.

I'm not the ideal audience for this story and in the beginning, I couldn't get into it.

Gradually, I liked reading about the sibs spending time together, growing close again, reminiscing about their childhoods, and eventually learning to live apart from their mother.

At the same time, their mother, distraught at being separated from her daughters, establishes a new life in Brazil with her own sister, and reconnects with her father.

When the sibs are evicted, Elise and Sophie crash at Elise's wealthy BFF's summer home and the dichotomy between the haves and have-nots is a not so subtle theme that rears its head throughout the narrative.

Yet, during the course of the summer, the sibs and their mother, an ocean away, learn to adapt to their new circumstances, moving forward with their lives, developing new skills and relationships and discovering resiliency and independence within themselves.

First and foremost I would like to thank Netgalley and the publishing company for allowing me to read and review this Arc. Thank y’all so much!

I was very hesitant about reading Wait. Simply because it follows a mother and her daughters having to adjust their lives after the mother is deported back to Brazil.

It shows the struggles and the continuation of the daughters’ lives.

I smpthaized with Elsie and her “big sister” characteristics as she tries to balance taking care of her younger sister and longing for her mother to come home.

It’s a very moving story that displays struggle and triumph.

Elise is looking forward to the next day when her sister and mother will arrive to see her graduate from college. A phone call from her sister, Sopia, informing her that their mother has mysteriously disappeared and despite all of her efforts, she has not been found. Elise is on the first flight back to Nantucket Island, where she grew up, totally missing the graduation ceremony.
The sisters discover that their mother was stopped by the police on the way home from her job at a restaurant, and deported back to Brazil, where she is from. She evidently had been in the United States illegally for a very long time. Although Elise and Sophia tried their best to get their mother back, hoping because they had both been born in the United States, that would make a difference, however, it did not. Elise stays on the island, taking the same job she had before she left for college so that the sisters could continue their quest to bring their mother back. A friend, Sheba, from college who comes from a wealthy family, inherits her grandfather’s mansion on Nantucket and offers to let Elise live there.
This is a poignant story with insight into the immigration system, inherited wealth and the merit of sisterhood.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All comments and opinions are my own.

Wait
A Novel
by Gabriella Burnham

Thank you NetGalley & Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
What a beautifully written book about siblings. It was a tender, sweet, and sometimes funny book. I even shed a tear or two ,

Sisters…a missing mother…Nantucket…the recipe for a story of intrigue. Family issues…caring for others…this talented author has written a page turner. Experiencing issues that no one should go through…imagine having a mother sent away…spend an afternoon with this cast of characters…difficult issues keep the reader wondering. thanks Netgalley.

A wonderful coming of age novel interwoven with the complex tensions of racism and classism Elise faces in returning to Nantucket. I read this in one sitting!

When Sophie calls her older sister, Elise, to say that their mother is missing, Elise rushes back to Nantucket Island to discover that their mother has been deported back to Brazil. The sisters were both born in America, however, their mother was never granted citizenship as she missed her hearing due to medical issues. After twenty years of living and working in America, their mother still is not safe from deportation.

The book encompasses immigration and wealth inequities equally and true to life. We are given glimpses into the imperfect ways that immigrants are treated and the socioeconomic injustices at play.

This book gives good insight into a broken system while highlighting how those left behind can survive. I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in a great coming of age story. Thank you, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC.

Thank you NetGalley & Random House for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. This review is also posted on Goodreads.

A poignant coming of age story for two sisters, Elise and Sophie. When their mom is unexpectedly deported after living in the US for over twenty years, the girls are left picking up the pieces. Elise has just graduated college, and Sophie has just graduated school. They remain in Nantucket, growing and learning together while their mom is half the world away in Brazil.

Gilda, their mother, worked hard to provide for the girls and give them a good life. Now in the wake of her deportation, Elise and Sophie must reconcile their childhood and try to push forward. They are lucky to be sheltered with Elise's wealthy friend from college, Sheba, who lets them live in their Nantucket mansion. As the girls, and their mother, reconfigure their life, they discover themselves and find a new beginning.

I liked Wait. I appreciated that the book kept me engaged and entertained. I would definitely recommend this book!

This was a thoroughly enjoyable read for me- I like stories about people who have immigrated to the US, coming of age stories, and books about nature. This book had all three. The family of the Brazilian mother and two daughters seemed very realistic to me- the struggles with survival and immigration services difficult to process but every day realities for many people. Despite the hardships the family lived in the wonderful, scenic natural area of Nantucket and it was fun to hear the descriptions of the birds and their nesting habits, and stories of the girls playing on the beach when younger.
I particularly liked the character of Elise as she struggles to determine her future direction and to understand her relationships with Sheba and Rahul.
This is a highly recommended read and the ARC was provided by the publisher, author and NetGalley in exchange for a review