ON FIRE ISLAND

After a 37-year-old woman dies, she spends one last summer watching those she left behind work through their grief.

Julia Morse is at the height of her happiness—successful in her career as an editor, married for 10 years to the love of her life, pregnant with their first baby—when it all comes crashing down and she's fighting for her life after a cancer diagnosis that was, quite simply, discovered too late. Ben, her husband, a sportswriter-turned-novelist on deadline for his latest book, is shattered by her death. Rather than sitting shiva at their Manhattan apartment for seven days, as had been the plan, he leaves for their beach house on Fire Island. He spends the summer processing his grief with their group of close-knit neighbors and friends: Shep, the octogenarian who also lost his wife; Renee, Julia’s best friend, who has barely survived an acrimonious divorce; Matty, Renee’s 16-year-old son, who's grown up spending summers on the island; Pam and Andie, whose baby, Oliver, was conceived around the same time as Julia and Ben’s never-to-be-born child; and many others. Julia watches the summer unfold, sharing her thoughts and opinions about it all. Author Rosen has created a neat and tidy story about grief in which everything is wrapped up by the end. Some readers will find the emotional aspects of the novel tough to process, and having Julia as narrator can prove confusing, as sometimes she seems to have knowledge of the interior thoughts and emotions of the people she’s watching while at other times she's just an observer. Themes of heartbreak, death, divorce, infidelity, and family strife are all addressed, as are finding love after heartbreak and happiness after grief.

A sometimes tough read that will appeal to readers wondering if those who die can stick around for just a little longer.