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Summary: Sullivan's Island
Review: I couldn't put the book down once I started it. I've always been interested about the Charleston, SC area, which is why I chose it to read. I'm so glad I did. If this is the author's first novel, I can't wait till her next. I loved it!!
Rating: 
Summary: Was not as enjoyable as I expected it to be
Review: SULLIVAN'S ISLAND by Dorothea Benton FrankDorothea Benton Frank tells a tale of a middle aged woman's longing for the truth about her family past in SULLIVAN'S ISLAND. The story opens with Susan Hayes finding her husband in bed with a young girl who is so young she could be her own daughter. This is a great scene in which Susan kicks him out of the house after helping him pack up some of his clothes and toiletries (what she does with his bottle of cologne I thought was ingenious!). It sets the tone of the book -- although the themes in the book are sometimes dark, the narrator tells the story with a sense of humor. To help rebuild her life, Susan and her daughter Beth go back to Sullivan's Island where Susan's sister Maggie still lives in the house where they grew up in, but now with her own husband and children. As Susan spends time with her sister, they reminisce about their childhood, and the crazy days they had with their father who was abusive and had a hot temper that scared all the Hamilton children. They remember their mother who was so depressed she often did not get out of bed. And how could they forget their crazy brothers who always helped them get into mischief. Childhood tales abound in this novel, along with parallel stories taking place in the present. SULLIVAN'S ISLAND is told in flashbacks, allowing the reader to find out slowly what really happened all those years ago when Susan and Maggie's father died. Ku Klux Klan and other fixtures of the Deep South are interwoven with their family history, and Susan obsesses on whether or not her father died of natural causes or foul play. Set in the beautiful area of South Carolina known as the Low Country, Dorothea Benton Frank's debut novel captures the essence of what life on Sullivan's Island and the rest of the Low Country is like. It also depicts life of an era gone by, where innocence was more common than corruption, and when the focus was more on family and friends than monetary gain or careers. Despite what looks to be a glowing review, I had a difficult time with this book. There was something about the way the book was written that made it difficult to finish. I felt it was dragging in some parts and could not wait for the book to end. On the other hand, I enjoyed the snippets of life in the Low Country, and the mystery behind Susan Hayes' father's death. I just did not find myself caring whether I finished this book or not. I also found I didn't care too much about what happened to the characters. I also felt that the author wrapped up the story too fast. Things turned around for Susan much too fast for me, and I found it hard to believe she landed herself such a great job at the end of the book. It seemed way too easy for me. Also, the characterizations of the children did not seem real to me. For these reasons I am giving this book a 3 star rating, but I have heard many good things about her next book PLANTATION, her follow up to SULLIVAN'S ISLAND. I plan on reading that book soon.
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Summary: Strong Women, Strange Men
Review: The book opens with a shocker. Our heroine's hubby is having an affair. She handles the discovery with more grace than I could...and her new life helps her rediscover her inner self. I loved this book, hated putting it down, and some sections I even read aloud to my husband - they were so hilarious!
I'm from South Carolina, so I have a soft spot for Frank's work anyway, but this read is the best of the bunch for me (so far).
Rating: 
Summary: Great Southern Story Telling
Review: Sullivan's Island turned out to be everything I hoped it'd be and more. This book delivers it's readers straight to the South Carolina shore, both present day, and in the early 60's. An intricately woven tale between Susan, the protagonist's present life and her upbringing on Sullivan's Island, this book not only delivers a beautifully wrought story, but it also delivers history. Susan grew up during a complicated time laced with prejudice and hate. Her father, despite his abusive and violent nature, died a victim of the civil rights movement. The relationships in this book, each and every one of them, are so complex and beautiful that you truly get to know each character. From Susan and her siblings growing up, to her parents and her house keeper, to her present day relationships with her sister, daughter and soon-to-be ex-husband, readers will be drawn into a complex cast of characters that are not soon to be forgotten. Susan turns up her past in order to determine what has led her relationship to its end. She learns a lot about herself as she mentally revisits her childhood role models and experiences. This enables her to accept her situation, and to figure out how to go on. In doing so she becomes stronger than ever. I cannot wait to read more books by Dorothea Benton Frank. She delivers Southern storytelling at it's absolute best. Read this book and you will feel like you've lived another life as a Southern Geechee!
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable but didn't knock my socks off
Review: Having read Frank's Plantation, I thought I would read Sullivan island to see if I enjoyed it as much. Unfortunately, I did not. Reading about Charleston and Sullivan Island is very enjoyable. The characters are very likeable and interesting. What I did not care for was all of the loose ends at the end. I don't need a book to answer all questions but I felt as if just one day Frank stopped writing in the middle of the story. It left me feeling a bit empty and unsatisfied. I would recomend the book but not emphatically. I look forward to more of Frank's work. She is clearly a wonderful writer I hope that her next work is even better than her previous two.
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Summary: Island Girl loves a great tale!
Review: I lived at Sullivans Island in my youth and reading this wonderful book was a dreamy trip back to the happy days of my youth! Mrs. Frank captured life exactly as it was in those days, yet told a story you just couldn't put down, but hated to finish, with unusual skill. I also read "Plantation", her second book, and am anxiously awaiting her third, to be named "Isle of Palms", which I understand will be published in the Spring of 2003. --- PS: Where are the movies???? These books have stories we gals love to watch in local theaters!!!!!!
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Summary: A fun, life teaching, southern tale
Review: I am an east coast girl all the way, so at first it took me a minute to shift gears for this Southern style book. It is a fun, easy read that also will teach you about the southern hospitality. A friend and I had a discussion about how well Frank did portraying this, and laughed at all the Gullah and geechee references. If you also grew up with this, (plus a little bit of racial conflict that the south knows so well) you will really enjoy this book. It wasn't my style as far as pace and humor goes, so I am holding back a little on the star rating, but my mom read this book and she found it just hilarious. There are many funny situations and shockingly real moments as our herione finds out about her husbands affair, throws him out, and builds her new life. She is also raising a teenage girl, and much of the book is her memories of being raised by a stern but loving African American woman as her mom melts away in depression. There are many interesting situations in this book, divorce, dating, family life, losing weight, finding jobs, racial cruelty, and more. If these sound interesting, with a twist if wacky humor to keep the book from being to heavy, then you will absolutely love this book.
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Summary: Hilarious!
Review: As a native of the lowcountry of SC, I found this book charming and hilarious. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to others.
Rating: 
Summary: Sullivan's Island
Review: This book was not well developed. Many characters were introduced, but were so sketchy that they remained simply names. Even the main character is someone that we learn little about. While the changes in story plot from 1963 to 1999 is interesting, we never have a chance to examine what happened to Susan in the interim. And then, what happened to her to change her from an overweight, stupid [but possessing two master's degrees -in what we never knew], easily manipulated slob into a slim, organized, wise, rich beauty. At the end, I simply wondered what happened? Too many of the characters, events and ultimately the book itself seemed to be unfinished.
Rating:
Summary: Boring and fluffy
Review: Only one person in my 10 person book club liked this book. The characters were not likable, there were too many cliches, the transitions between past and present were silly, the whole "geechee girl" thing was annoying rather than funny, there was not enough explanation of the Gullah language or culture, some characters were mentioned but not developed at all, etc. We had a fun book club meeting laughing at how bad the book was and wondering how it made it to a bestsellers list. Someone said "Plantation" was even worse.
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