One of the marks of a great story is the author's ability to craft multi-dimensional characters - characters that speak to you, that you care about, that you wish and dream about... so much so, in fact, that you can't put the book down because you are addicted to their stories. Barefoot is precisely one of these works - a book that is so well-crafted, so full of character and story that it's impossible to put down.

The tale is of two sisters, Vicki and Brenda, and Vicki's friend Melanie as the three women attempt to overcome some dramatic events in their lives by spending a summer at Vicki and Brenda's inherited beach house. Vicki, the wife and mother, is battling lung cancer; Brenda is trying to overcome a failed relationship and doomed career; and pregnant Melanie, for her part, is trying to emotionally and physically overcome the newly discovered knowledge that her husband may be in love with someone else. Yet while these women's stories may seem overly dramatic or even over the top with clichés, the truth is that the story that Hilderbrand has crafted for these characters is tender, intelligent, and gripping.

Barefoot is a tale of togetherness and sisterhood - and also of independence and discovering one's own life path and self-worth. It is poignant and heartbreaking; amusing and warm. It is a book that once you pick up, you won't want to put down - until you finally savor the final words. Even then, I challenge you not to think of these characters who will, undoubtedly, steal your heart with their strength and emotion - flaws and all.

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand
Hardcover, Little, Brown and Company, 419 pages. Available online at Amazon.com.

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