The Summer We Read Gatsby - Danielle Ganek

     Yes, I was lured by the title.  How could I resist The Summer We Read Gatsby?  However, the novel has very little to do with Gatsby.   
      In the novel by Danielle Ganek, two half-sisters, raised on separate continents, must come to a decision about Fool's House, the cottage in the Hamptons named for the Jasper Johns painting and left jointly to them by their aunt.  One wants to keep it but the other is aware that they can't afford to do so.  They come together for the first time in seven years to decide what to do with the property and to "seek the thing of utmost value" their aunt's will indicates that they will find in the house.
     The summer begins with an invitation to a Gatsby themed party given by one of the sisters former boyfriends.  The book has a special significance in their relationship.  Both girls had read the novel the last summer they spent with their aunt.
     When a painting over the mantle disappears, they believe that it might be the item that they seek.  Another possibility is a copy of The Great Gatsby that might be a first edition.  In the end, their adventures lead them to accept each others differences and truly become sisters - the thing of value their aunt had hoped they would find.
    The jacket blurb claims, "The Summer We Read Gatsby is filled with fabulous parties, romantic, entanglements, and a cast of eccentric characters."  The novel fulfills this promise, but I found the characters flat and the dialog contrived.
     Did it really have much to do with Gatsby?  No.  Was I disappointed?  Yes.  But if you are looking for a
quick summer read this might be for you.

~ Frances