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Summary: Life, Love, and Family with the accent on family.
Review: A wonderful book that comes together like honey on biscuits with a southern flavor that gives you a glimpse at life on the outer banks of the Carolina's. My first book by this author, it is reminiscent of a Pat Conroy novel.Life sends Susan a few curves, her husband has strayed and the bills are piling up faster than she cares to admit. Her teenage daughter is your average teen, a good kid but a bit wayward at times, the easy repartee between Susan and her daughter was a joy to read. I thoroughly enjoyed how this author writes dialogue. Susan is lucky to have the steadfast support of her sister who still lives on the island homestead, as she wades through the mire of her life. The storm her life has become is going to get a whole lot worse before there is a calm, but the sail is an eventful and enjoyable one with characters you will remember and enjoy. The writing style is fluid and comfortable. The chapters switching back and forth from the present day to the 1960's when, as children they enjoyed the care of a black woman who has touched their lives forever. A mystery unravels, along with the answers to many questions, kept silent by the family over the years. A very good book. Kelsana 10/13/01
Rating: 
Summary: Some parts interesting but main character too shallow
Review: I had heard great things about this novel and so was very disappointed to find that its praise was unjustified. The author does a great job of describing the beauties of the Lowcountry and gives a good account of racial issues as they existed in the 60's. While most (not all) of her characters seem real enough, only one character (Livvie, the black maid) really makes you love her. Frankly, if this had only been a story about Livvie, I would have given it five stars. Unfortunately, the story is about Susan whose life is revealed to us in a mixture of the present and flashbacks. Although the author makes us pity her, Susan is too shallow a person to really make us care one way or the other what ultimately happens to her. Her present problems with a cheating husband, weight problem, dating, and her struggle to raise her teenage daughter are cliches and not presented in a way to make them any more interesting than the thousand other novels in existence with this theme. Susan is vulgar, is completely unrefined, and enjoys making rude remarks which she thinks are hilarious, at the expense of others. Moreover, the author sprinkles a bit of Catholicism here and there since this is Susan's religion. I don't know if the author did this intentionally, but she reduces Catholicism to so much mumbo jumbo with no substance - including a Marion apparition at the end - with none of the Catholics in this story living a life even remotely Catholic. If you are interested in reading a fictional account of one family's reaction to the civil rights movement, then read this novel. This is its only merit.
Rating: 
Summary: Absolutely mesmerizing!
Review: This is one of the best fiction books I have ever read. It is written in such a beautiful, poignant way that you wish the story will continue forever. This story is about Susan Hayes who had to deal with an unfaithful husband, rebellious daughter and a persistent but loving sister. She had unresolved issues from her childhood and how that affected her now. My favorite character in the book is Livvie who is their housekeeper/nanny but has the wisest advice in the world.
This book also gives its readers who are not from the South, and inside look of how it feels to be living in the South and how they think and intereact with one another. If you're looking for a touching, mesmerizing story that will stay in your mind for some time, this is the book that will do it. The storyline sort of reminded me of Bret Lott's "Jewel", the setting, etc, BUT, it is a LOT better than Jewel as it's so much more interesting and does not have a lot of slow moments.
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Summary: Curl up with this one
Review: I happened to pick up this book from the picture on the cover. After reading it I was very happy that I did. Sullivans Island tells the story of a woman who after many years of marriage discovers that her husband was having an affair. She must now start a new life with the love and support of her older sister who still lives in the family home on Sullivans Island. While trying to put her life back together she comes to realize that she must find out the truth behind her fathers sudden death and the unhappy childhood that she experienced. Cheers to D. B. Frank. A wonderful first attemp at a novel and I am glad it was not her last since I went right out and bought Plantation.
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Summary: Wonderful read !!
Review: I can hardly wait for more of this author's books....I would love to meet her..lots of heart in this story and laughter--I even laughed out loud reading it..not to mention shed a few tears...a must read !!!!
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Summary: True Southern Grit!
Review: I loved this book! It's rare to read a book that looks so closely into the Southern female mind with such humor and achingly real bittersweetness. I laughed out loud and delighted in the story being told, and even shed a few tears over the sweetness in the ending. To the author I would say, "Keep 'em coming!" What a find.
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Summary: My new FAVE!
Review: It's been a long time since I read a book I truly enjoyed like this. This is the best book I have read all year. I found this book and this author by dumb luck and will now search her out over and over. This book is witty yet wise and truly makes you contemplate the things you may take for granted. I was hooked by the end of the second chapter and found myself laughing out loud. A terrific summer read that I just couldn't put down.
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Summary: This Brought Me Back Home
Review: I found this book on my Aunts end table last month. Sadly I had returned to Charleston for her funeral. I brought it home to Long Island and just got around to reading it. It brought back so many memories of the low country. Growing up in the 50s and early 60s I would spend each summer on Mt. Pleasant at my Aunt Ruth's house. I learned to shag, fell in love, made out on the beach and worked at Hudson's Pavilion on the Isle of Palms where they played half rubber on the beach. Dot Frank brought it all home. Her descriptions of life in that era are exceptional. To top it off she was able to parallel it with the present day dilemma of a woman finding herself in the all too common position of having to become a single parent and deal with the divorce, the money and the love issues. Definitely written from the feminine point of view and having experienced life on the "other side" of the divorce issue I still got a kick out of the book and cracked up when I got to the part about Roger. I'm putting Plantation in my shopping cart.
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Summary: Great book!!
Review: I found this book quite by accident and just loved it. It was so funny, I laughed and alternately cried. Highly recommend it for a vacation read--------a very relaxing book and one I could not put down.
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Summary: I loved this story!!!
Review: This is just one of those great books that you can't put down and don't want to end. I want my daughter to read it. If I could write this well I'd quit my day job.
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