Literary Tourism: Maine Archives

The Next Great Jane

by K.L. Going

Jane Brannen dreams of becoming a famous author someday, just like her idol Jane Austen. When bestselling author J. E. Fairfax comes to Whickett Harbor, Jane thinks it's the perfect opportunity to ask her about the secret to literary success. When a hurricane rolls through, Jane misses her chance and gets thrown together with the author's snobby, science-geek son instead. In addition to an exceptionally annoying boy, the storm blows in bad news for Jane's future: her mother has filed for custody and intends to bring Jane back to California with her. Jane doesn't want to leave her beloved small town, so she sets her sights on finding the perfect match for her father and proving to her mother that Whickett Harbor is where she's meant to be. Full of Austen-isms and a lot of heart, this middle grade novel is sure to delight adult Austen fans, too.

Haven Point

by Virginia Hume

A sweeping family saga about three generations of women and the summer home that divides and unites them. In the book’s opening pages a hurricane barrels towards the coast of Maine, but that’s not so unusual to the denizens of Haven Point, the snug community tucked into the rocky shoreline where three generations of Demarest women have found joy and suffered tragedy. Grandmother Maren has come to love the tight-knit community she married into, while her daughter and granddaughter found it to be snobbish and suffocating. The story unfolds in three timelines, set in 1944, 1970, and 2008, each closely following one generation of women, and illuminating the devastating secret that must be revealed before the hurricane makes landfall. Taking readers from the wartime corridors of Walter Reed hospital to the contemporary summer singalongs in the rec hall, this wistful debut is perfect for those who want to follow characters through their lifetimes, examine complex family relationships, or enjoy a good redemption story.

Landslide

by Susan Conley

When her husband is confined to a Nova Scotia hospital after a terrible fishing accident, a mother not much older than me is left to parent her teenage boys—"the wolves"—alone. But things have been hard for a while now: in this insular Maine fishing community, the fish aren't biting like they once did. Money is perpetually tight. Not long before, the family was dealt a terrible blow, and one son is still wracked by grief. And even absent an immediate crisis, parenting teenage boys is grueling. I did not want to put this down, although I paused many times along the way to text my fellow parents of teenage boys. I loved the bracing portrayal of a family on the brink, the gripping tone that says with every line I'm not sure how I'll get through this. My whole heart was wrapped up in this short family story.

Fellowship Point

by Alice Elliott Dark

This sprawling saga featuring two octogenarian protagonists reads like a 19th century novel. Agnes Lee and Polly Wister have been friends their whole lives, growing up alongside each other in Philadelphia Quaker families and summering together in Maine. Agnes is beloved by the world as a bestselling children’s author, but not a living soul—including Polly—knows she also pens the popular and critically praised Franklin Square series. Polly knows Agnes sees her as a pushover, especially when it comes to her family, but Polly never lets on she’s wiser than her friend gives her credit for. When an enterprising (and nosy) young editor begins pestering Agnes to write a memoir, she sets in motion a chain of events that tests the women’s lifelong friendship, and threatens to expose the long-buried secrets each has so carefully kept from the other. If you want a big, rich, and immersive novel to sink into this summer, this 592-pager is just the ticket. For fans of Virginia Hume’s Haven Point and Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale.

Chirp

Flying Solo

by Linda Holmes

Holmes's warm-hearted sophomore novel is set, like her first, in the made-up harbor town of Calcasset, Maine. You could say this book was written with a vicarious visit in mind: Holmes says she wrote it in 2020 and 2021 when she was at home and "couldn’t go to any of the beautiful places I love in real life, Maine included." If you like the sound of a woman reevaluating what she really wants on the cusp of turning 40 (with plenty of When Harry Met Sally references), a second-chance romance with a sexy librarian, an older role model who lived an amazing life on her own terms, and a love story involving a beautiful and mysterious duck decoy, this smart second-chance romance is the book for you.

This Is What Happy Looks Like

by Jennifer E. Smith

This is such a fun read for anyone who has a soft spot in their heart for a solid YA novel, and it's a must-read if you loved the movie Notting Hill. When a teenage Hollywood star mistypes an email address, his message ends up in the inbox of a small-town teenage girl in Maine. The two strike up a witty correspondence, even though (or really, because) she doesn't know who he is. When his latest film is shot on location in her town, the relationship moves from online to real life. But the paparazzi make his life miserable, and the girl has secrets of her own.

The Midcoast

by Adam White

This slow-burning debut set in the tiny coastal town of Damariscotta is thick with atmosphere and midcoast fog. Our narrator is a Nick Carraway type, a writer and English teacher named Andrew who is not considered a true Mainer by the locals because he moved there—at the age of 3. You're only a true Mainer, he explains, if your parents are born here. This book is the ostensible manuscript Andrew wrote about the Thatch family, particularly father Ed Thatch, to document the family's rise and fall after it all came crashing down. Ed is a true local, having grown up in Damariscotta, an accomplished lobsterman before he graduated high school. He's revered locally as the small town boy made good, one who achieved financial success by working harder than anyone else. But Andrew is just one of many residents who's begun to wonder how Ed could make so much money from lobster alone, and if something suspicious might actually be going on right under their noses. Part small town portrait, part crime story, with a nonlinear structure that artfully carries the plot.

Maine

by J. Courtney Sullivan

From the publisher: "For the Kellehers, Maine is a place where children run in packs, showers are taken outdoors, and old Irish songs are sung around a piano. Their beachfront property, won on a barroom bet after the war, sits on three acres of sand and pine nestled between stretches of rocky coast, with one tree bearing the initials 'A.H.' At the cottage, built by Kelleher hands, cocktail hour follows morning mass, nosy grandchildren snoop in drawers, and decades-old grudges simmer beneath the surface."

The Stars Are Fire

by Anita Shreve

After a scorching summer and months of no rain, the largest fires in Maine's history swept over its coast, from Bar Harbor to Kittery. In Shreve's claustrophobic domestic suspense we experience this real event through the eyes of Grace Holland, whose marriage is its own sort of natural disaster. Her husband came back from the war a little broken. So did her friend's husbands, yet they don't seem as cruel. When wildfires break out, her husband leaves to help dig a fire break, and Grace and her children flee to the ocean to escape the flames. When her husband doesn't return, Grace thinks she's lost him forever—and she's far from devastated. But then he returns, and the real trouble begins. Dark and a little melodramatic, but oh-so-discussable.

Empire Falls

by Richard Russo

Despite this being a 2002 Pulitzer Prize winner, I didn't consider reading this for myself until it was held up as an example in this writing book. I finally picked it up after a conversation with a What Should I Read Next guest pushed me over the edge. This story about a blue-collar town whose best days are behind it wasn't at all what I expected—especially the ending. I would love to talk this one over with a good book club.

Olive Kitteridge

by Elizabeth Strout

Retired schoolteacher Olive is not keen about the way her small town of Crosby, Maine is changing. (Crosby is fictional; the town was so named as a tribute to Strout's college roommate., though literary sleuths suspect the town is based on Brunswick.) Through a series of interconnected short stories, we get to know Olive’s family and some of the town's residents as they grapple with their respective problems, including infidelity, suicide, eating disorders, domestic violence, and more. This may sound like a dismal collection but each story glimmers with care and compassion, even offering hope as prickly Olive comes to develop a better, more honest understanding of herself and those around her. This is one worthy of rereading.

The Last House Guest

by Megan Miranda

Avery is inseparable from her friend Sadie every summer in Littleport, Maine; a feat in a village where locals and visitors rarely go beyond acquaintance. But then Sadie is found dead and ruled a suicide and Avery can’t help but feel the community blames her for the loss. The truth will out and Avery must do all she can to clear her name. Come for the story, stay for the unexpected twist. This psychological thriller is the very definition of a beach read!

Literary Tourism: Maine

Buckle Up!

summer reading starts May 16th