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

A coming-of-age story about two sisters navigating the world after their mother is deported. I thought this was a beautiful novel. I enjoyed Gabriella Burnham’s first novel It is wood, it is stone. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this one. I look forward to hearing more from her in the future!

This book was different with an odd flow. Not sure if it was just my format since I read an ARC but no quotes in conversations and such made it jarring to read. But otherwise a good storyline with characters. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review.

The protagonist of this novel comes home from college to find her mother has been deported. The storyline interweaves a lot of commentary about wealth when her wealthy college friend are juxtaposed upon her circumstances. That addition felt like the mile too far for me, really.

“Wait,” by Gabriella Burnham, follows a family (mother and two daughters) having to adjust to life after the mother is deported back to Brazil. The daughters have to adjust to life not only without their parent, but also trying to continue in general. This book had a lot going on - deportation, immigration, survival under difficult times, and social class clashes. This book was interesting, but something about it just didn’t work for me - and it could be as simple as lacking quotation marks. I would recommend this book to others as I think the underlying topics were interesting ones, but I’m probably not the target audience for this book.

I really enjoyed reading this book, it had a strong concept that I enjoyed and the sisters were wonderfully written. I was invested in figuring out what happened to their mom and enjoyed reading this journey with them. It was beautifully done and a great story about womanhood. Gabriella Burnham has a great writing style and the characters were realistic and glad I read this.

Thank you One World! In reading the summary, I was intrigued. I am a reader that likes to read of other places, especially places I have never been. The writing allowed me to envision a bit of Nantucket and I enjoyed the dynamics among mother & daughters, sisters and college friends.

What was not favorable for me was the lack of care or compassion the neighbors had. Was this due to their own lack of empathy? Were these not lifelong neighbors that encompassed looking out for each other or was the mother not one who asked help from "her village"? And was that fault of her being an immigrant? A fear she had since day one?

I felt the storyline with Sheba was one that I can see as the privileged, especially the young ones, do not recognize their privilege. Could Sheba have helped more? Was she doing all she is capable of?

All in all, this was a good read.

Despite being set in Nantucket, this is certainly not a beach read. Two sisters, raised on the island come back together the summer after their mother is deported to Brazil. They are trying to take care of themselves by moving into the home of a college friend (that house/wealth IS similar to a beach reach). The summer becomes complex with romances, limited funds, issues with friends and the underlying worry about their mother.