I don't have too much to say about this one other than that it was an alright read. I enjoyed the setting and I liked Ms. Todd as a character.

Hoping to visit SOJ's house in June, so I want to read this before I go.

A very sweet and charming read. The story of one woman’s stay in Maine over the course of a summer. One almost wishes it were longer, but then that might end up spoiling it and making it feel tedious. It is as lovely and brief as summer itself

Reading this start to finish was a mistake; it became cloying and tedious to hear pretty much the same story featuring the same characters. The novella, if that's the right term for an essentially plotless piece of fiction, was an enjoyable sketch of a rustic way of life. This edition is odd, too: it boasts lots of footnotes, but many of them are unnecessary, and a majority are vague enough to be pointless.

A sweet and melancholic meander through a summer's worth of small events and spry characters. For me, it bordered on too-sweet, but it's COVID so cozy and quaint had a chance to shine.

It was interesting to consider how Jewett chose the personalities she would feature and how differently we might interpret them and their stories today--a heartbroken young woman, her engagement broken, retreats to a small island to live in isolation for the rest of her days. Because this is Sarah Orne Jewett circa 1896, the local fisherman respect her isolation and respond by approaching her island from time to time as they go about their lobstering and tossing extra provisions up onto the grass where she will be sure to find them. No predation, just some fresh pears for the poor dear! What would Jewett think of the Law and Order SVU-soaked 21st century brain reading about Miss Joanna Todd alone on her island with boats full of fisherman sailing past twice a day and thinking "uh-oh, this can't end well!"?

Likewise the characters of William and poor benighted Mari' Harris--how differently their character sketches would be skewed today. The book was saved from seeming totally treacle to me by the spareness and relative isolation of the lives portrayed, and the very present characters of the rugged coast and sea.

This was a pure and simple read plus I love Maine!

A really beautifully written book. Makes one want to visit the country of the pointed firs.