The next book that I chose to read was One Summer by David Baldacci. And you are wrong if you think that I read this book because the title so happens to be connected to the summer. Actually, I chose to read this book because it was on the New York Times best seller list, and I intend to read at least the top 10 books on that list.
When you see the cover of the book, you automatically get the sense that the story line is going to be similar to that of Nicholas Sparks novels such as The Last Song or Dear John. I would say that Baldacci’s story correlates more towards The Last Song because the story’s focus is mainly about the father-daughter relationship that they never had, which is similar in One Summer.
Let me give you my abridged version of this book: terminally ill Jack is preparing to say his last goodbyes to his wife Lizzie and kids Mikki, the rebellious teenager, Cory, the background kid, and Jackie, the youngest. With a miraculous turn of events, Lizzie is killed in a car accident, while Jack’s illness suddenly disappears. To get back his family, he and his children move back to the place where their mother grew up. There, they replace one of the worst years of their lives with one of the best summers they ever had by rebuilding their family again.
From the page 1 to page 320, Baldacci pulls at the heartstrings of anyone who reads this book. It’s almost like watching a soap opera, dealing with reuniting families, budding romantic relationships, second chances. Going even more specific, this novel deals with child custody battles, near death drowning experiences, police arrests, accidental deaths, and the overwhelming power of love.
Mikki was Jack’s only child that was most affected by his illness. During the hardest time, the time when Jack was holding on by a bare thread, Mikki was pulling away. It got worse when her mother died. Was she resentful of her dad? If Jack didn’t need his medications the next morning, Lizzie would have been alive. So now that their mother died, and Jack was still ill, the children were forced to live with Lizzie’s parents out in Arizona. It’s hard enough that they just lost their mother, but to be uprooted from everything they know, is just wrong. This is where Jack’s nickname, “miracle man” comes into play. Because of his miraculous recovery, he got his kids back.
Now one thing that I think sets this book apart from Dear John and The Last Song is that Jack always thanks Lizzie when something out of the blue happens to their family. He knows that Lizzie is still there, helping them move on every step of the way. When Jack made his quick recovery, he knew Lizzie made that happen. When Jack got the kids back, he could feel Lizzie’s presence around them. One reason why Jack took the kids to Lizzie’s beach house was to rekindle what the family could have been if Lizzie was alive. Before she died, Lizzie was going to take the kids there anyways, so this is just a way for Jack to finish what Lizzie started. This is one way to have their family feel whole again, even without Lizzie. The smells, sounds, and atmosphere in the beach house restore what their family used to be like. “In his mind’s eye, there was Lizzie seated next to him on the bed, on what would turn out to be her last day of life. You never know Jack, you might enjoy it too. You could really fix the place up. Even make the lighthouse work again” (Baldacci 93). Here, Baldacci brings in Lizzie’s voice. She motivates Jack to move into the Palace (Lizzie’s old beach house), she encourages him to spend more time with the kids since he is the only parent they have left.
Now that Jack is a single man/dad, he is dealing with so many different emotions that cause him to isolate the people around him. For example, Jack’s new neighbors, Jenna and Liam, play a significant role in their family during the second half of the book. Like Jack, Jenna is a struggling single mom, working as hard as she can to make her son’s life and hers survivable. Through the comfort of each other, Jack and Jenna make their lives somewhat easier. While reading the parts that describe Jack and Jenna’s relationship, it seems that Jenna is making it okay for Jack to build a relationship with another woman. I thought that Jack would push every woman in his life away because he was attached to Lizzie in every way humanly possible. Maybe Jenna was a gift sent from Lizzie. Lizzie never wanted Jack to be as miserable and lonely as he was, so in a way, Jenna is Lizzie’s approval for Jack to move on. That’s all Lizzie ever wanted for Jack, was to be happy, and the same goes for Jack to Lizzie. Fate had a different path for Jack which led him to Jenna. We can choose the people that we want in our lives, but we never can choose the people that we fall in love with. Unfortunately, Lizzie wasn’t the only woman that Jack would fall in love with. We can never choose the people that make us happy. It’s a miracle that Jack was able to open his heart to new people and new opportunities. If only the rest of us could have that power... to cope with death and open our hearts to love.
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