My Magnolia Summer

Frank’s evocative debut depicts a young woman’s return home from New York City to an island in South Carolina. Aspiring chef Magnolia “Maggie” Adams left remote Sullivan’s Island, S.C., for a glamorous big-city life. After her beloved grandmother Rose is put in a coma following a car accident in which her intoxicated mother, Lily, was at the wheel, Maggie comes back to visit Rose in the hospital. She has a crash of her own on the way, rear-ending a car driven by pediatrician and farmer Sam Smart. Moments later, Maggie sees Sam at the hospital, where they collide again and she spills her coffee on his white coat. Soon, Maggie and Sam discover a powerful attraction, though Maggie is distracted by dealing with Lily during her visits to Rose. Maggie’s narration is prone to overstatement, particularly in her descriptions of the dreams she’s had about Sullivan’s Island (“Far away from my beloved land by day, at night I am there”). It’s unnecessary, because once Frank gets the reader there, the island comes to life with well-honed details. When Maggie passes familiar houses, she reflects, “It was nice to see them just as they’d always been. Like the people who lived inside them, the houses were old friends.”. Readers will savor this skillfully told tale of unexpected love and family drama. Agent: Suzanne Gluck, WME. (June)