Shem Creek

I give this a book a meh, it was ok, hand wave. The parts I loved: the description of the area, the creek itself, the beach, the lifestyle the characters led, the cute boathouse on the water they lived in. I fell more in love with the idea of this book, I think, than the actual book itself. What I didn't like: The crazy sudden relationship at the end between Linda and Brad- throughout most of the book you maybe got the sense that Linda was starting to develop a crush on Brad, but you didn't get the feeling that he reciprocated. I also was put off by the lack of concern for the environment in this book- the book is set in such a gorgeous area of the United States, the author makes a point to mention that it is being destroyed, but the show more only character who really cares about it is an extremist maniac. It was interesting, I guess, to see this issue from the other side, from a business who is contributing to the demise of the creek by trying to make a living, not realizing that what they are doing is causing the creek to essentially become a dead creek. I didn't like that the characters learned this, and didn't seem to care. I think at one point, Linda's character actually says something like "like who cares, right?" when referring to the environmental problems. Only after the restaurant is burned down by the extremist character, do they make concessions - they move the newly built restaurant back further from the creek, add appropriate drainage, and make brochures. But it just seemed really throw away to me. What I could overlook: the quick turnaround in behavior from the youngest daughter, and the ease in which Linda rebuilds a brand new life.

I think this book was just ok- I liked the other Frank book I read better. I will probably read her again, however, since I have read one good, one marginal. This book is a great vacation book, but not really much more than that. show less

Linda, a recently divorced mom from New Jersey, decides to move back to South Carolina to get her younger daughter away from the influence of tough friends. She gains a 'family' through her job as manager at a local restaurant and also has the benefit of living near her only sister. Pretty predictable but entertaining. I enjoy reading about 'the low country' and recommend another author--Anne Rivers Siddons.

I give this a book a meh, it was ok, hand wave. The parts I loved: the description of the area, the creek itself, the beach, the lifestyle the characters led, the cute boathouse on the water they lived in. I fell more in love with the idea of this book, I think, than the actual book itself. What I didn't like: The crazy sudden relationship at the end between Linda and Brad- throughout most of the book you maybe got the sense that Linda was starting to develop a crush on Brad, but you didn't get the feeling that he reciprocated. I also was put off by the lack of concern for the environment in this book- the book is set in such a gorgeous area of the United States, the author makes a point to mention that it is being destroyed, but the show more only character who really cares about it is an extremist maniac. It was interesting, I guess, to see this issue from the other side, from a business who is contributing to the demise of the creek by trying to make a living, not realizing that what they are doing is causing the creek to essentially become a dead creek. I didn't like that the characters learned this, and didn't seem to care. I think at one point, Linda's character actually says something like "like who cares, right?" when referring to the environmental problems. Only after the restaurant is burned down by the extremist character, do they make concessions - they move the newly built restaurant back further from the creek, add appropriate drainage, and make brochures. But it just seemed really throw away to me. What I could overlook: the quick turnaround in behavior from the youngest daughter, and the ease in which Linda rebuilds a brand new life.

I think this book was just ok- I liked the other Frank book I read better. I will probably read her again, however, since I have read one good, one marginal. This book is a great vacation book, but not really much more than that. show less

This by far is my favorite book by D. Frank. I loved Susan, her sister Mimi and her girls Gracie and Lindsay. They were all a hoot. Brad and his gang made the story so wonderful to read. I could read this book again and again. Susan shows what a real single parent is like and how easy it can be to start over. Just a lovely read all around.

Shem Creek by Dorothea Benton Frank is listed as another "Lowcountry Tale." I really liked Sullivan's Island and was hoping for more of the same reading pleasure from Shem Creek; however, I was disappointed. The writing in SHEM CREEK was choppy and poor. Frank kept raising the tension level, leading a reader to think something significant was going to happen, and then...and then...nothing! The mother/daughter relationship is central to the story again, but done far less well than in Sullivan's Island. I had a real sense of place when reading Sullivan's Island, not so with Shem Creek - the story could have taken place almost anywhere along the coast--east or west.

Definitely not my favorite book by Ms Frank, but as always she makes her characters come to life.

Not super crazy about this book. I dont like books that are written in first person, as a rule. I also dont like the type of humor that are in this type of book. That said, after I finally got into the story around 100 pages or so, it ended up being very cute. Sometimes the chapters were narrated by different people and it didnt tell you that was happeneing. You would read a page or two and then be like, what? And realize that it was from a different characters perspective. Very confusing. Would not recommend if you had something better to read, but not horrible.