About the Book:
Sometimes all you need is one person to really see you.
Piper Parrish’s life on Frick Island—a tiny, remote town smack in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay—is nearly perfect. Well, aside from one pesky detail: Her darling husband, Tom, is dead. When Tom’s crab boat capsized and his body wasn’t recovered, Piper, rocked to the core, did a most peculiar thing: carried on as if her husband was not only still alive, but right there beside her, cooking him breakfast, walking him to the docks each morning, meeting him for their standard Friday night dinner date at the One-Eyed Crab. And what were the townspeople to do but go along with their beloved widowed Piper?
Anders Caldwell’s career is not going well. A young ambitious journalist, he’d rather hoped he’d be a national award-winning podcaster by now, rather than writing fluff pieces for a small town newspaper. But when he gets an assignment to travel to the remote Frick Island and cover their boring annual Cake Walk fundraiser, he stumbles upon a much more fascinating tale: an entire town pretending to see and interact with a man who does not actually exist. Determined it’s the career-making story he’s been needing for his podcast, Anders returns to the island to begin covert research and spend more time with the enigmatic Piper—but he has no idea out of all the lives he’s about to upend, it’s his that will change the most.
My Review:
I love Colleen Oakley and the premise of this book sounded so intriguing! (Yes, it does borrow a little from ‘Lars and the Real Girl’, the quirky 2007 indie movie starring Ryan Gosling.) A young, beloved woman named Piper has lost her husband Tom to a boating accident. But she acts as though he is still present, and the small village of Frick Island goes along with her.
If you are looking for a whimsical, rather breezy read, then you will like this book. The author deftly works in discussions of grief and throws in quirky characters so the whole story has somewhat of a magical feel.
“On Frick Island, you’re either a Come Here or a From Here. And you’re definitely not a From Here.”
Anders, the journalist sent to cover the annual Frick Island Cake Walk, is at first puzzled by Frick Island, its remoteness, Piper, the townspeople…he just doesn’t get the appeal of the remote island. He is intrigued by Piper and their initial encounters are very sweet and add a rom-com vibe to the book. For me the plot took a little too long to develop and sweet, cozy stories just don’t hold my interest right now.
I enjoyed the narrator Sara Sheckells, and her voice gave just the right amount of whimsy and wonderment to the characters. I also loved the description of life on the fictional Frick Island, and felt like it was actually a real place instead of a fictional creation. This book is just the ticket if you are looking for a fictional escape with a guaranteed happy ending and a cast of quirky, loving supporting characters. All in all, a captivating read if you are intrigued by the premise of this book.
