Vacationland Book Review

Meg Mitchell Moore's Vacationland is a delightful summer read. A look at womanhood, privilege, motherhood, and what family means to any one person at different points in their life, this read is more of a  thoughtful beach read than dramatic page-turner, but is compelling and entertaining, and will keep you intrigued until the end. 

Meg Mitchell Moore worked for several years as a journalist for a variety of publications before turning to fiction. She lives in the beautiful coastal town of Newburyport, Massachusetts, with her husband and their three daughters. Vacationland is her seventh novel. 

Louisa has come to her parents' house in Maine this summer with her three kids, a barely written book that has a looming deadline, and a trunkful of resentment. Louisa is hoping the crisp breeze will blow away her irritation for her life choices and replace it with enthusiasm for both her family and her writing. But all isn't well in Maine. Louisa's father, aa retired judge and pillar of the community, is suffering from Alzheimer's. Louisa's mother is alternately pretending everything is fine and not pretending at all. And one of Louisa's children happens upon a very confusing and heartfelt letter referring to something Louisa doesn't think her father could possibly have done. Louisa's not the only one searching for something in Maine this summer. Kristie took the Greyhound bus from Pennsylvania with the $761 left in her bank account and a whole lot of emotional baggage. She has a past she's trying to outrun, a secret she's trying to unpack, and a new boyfriend who's so impossibly kind she can't figure out what she did to deserve him. As June turns to July turns to August, secrets will be unearthed, betrayals will come to light, and both Louisa and Kristie will ask themselves what they are owed and what they owe others. Both a delicious summer read and a compelling portrayal of family, responsibility, ambition, and loss, Vacationland is Meg Mitchell Moore at her best. 

I read another book recently about found family (literally), and specifically a found blood relation who is a sister, so I was sort of expecting Kristie's reveal. However, I enjoyed the completely different take Moore had here, with Kristie being unwelcome, and Louisa's family having different reactions to the news. While the other book I read was more positive about bringing a new member into the family, Moore's story had a darker edge, allowing her to comment on privilege (especially New England privilege), ambition, and loss. The majority of the story was told from Kristie's and Louisa's points of view, and it was interesting to see how they were both at odds with one another and also very much thinking the same things. This novel took a different approach to found family, and I found that I quite enjoyed the twist and the commentary that came with it. 

The novel itself is well set-up to maintain high readability. The chapters are relatively short, and the book is divided into three sections—one for each month of the summer. I enjoyed the reliability of Kristie's and Louisa's narration, but enjoyed the infrequent contributions of the children, Matty, Martin, Pauline, and other characters. It made for a well-rounded cast of characters, and the ability to see all sides of the story. Moore's writing style is accessible and I felt like each character had a voice without alienating one over any of the others. I was engaged in the novel the entire time, and felt like this was definitely something I could have read very quickly on a beach. 

Only one thing made Vacationland difficult to read, and that was Louisa's procrastination as a result of her marriage with Steven being constantly on the rocks. It was difficult to read Louisa's procrastination, mostly because I could not relate to her inability to discipline herself to get writing done. However, it was more difficult to read Louisa's and Steven's marriage, as I think it was meant to be. The marital problems are especially difficult to read when from one of the children's points of view, and I felt that readers didn't get a good sense of where Steven and Louisa ended things by the end of the novel because of that. I would have liked to see their final conversation about the money played out on the page, as well as to get a more concrete idea of their plans once they left Maine. 

I enjoyed Vacationland and it was absolutely the right book to kick off my summer reading. It makes me more excited for all the books to come, all the secrets to be revealed in the pages of other books, and if you're looking for something that will give you a kick-start, too, Vacationland is what I would recommend! 

*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*