Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand

Beautiful Day by Elin Hilderbrand reminded me a little of The Arrivals. Nantucket Island was a perfect place for a wedding at the Carmichael summer home. At the center of the novel is a Notebook that the bride's mother had written before her death. She gives her daughter instructions on how to plan a perfect wedding, but of course there is no such thing. Each member of the family is dealing with a crisis in his or her life and the novel moves from one character to another showing their perception of events.

From the Cover:
Jenna has planned her wedding according to the wishes of her late mother, who left behind the Notebook: specific instructions for every detail of her youngest daughter's future nuptials. . . "Please make sure your father has a clean white handkerchief. He will need it."
But things are falling apart. If only Jenna's mother had left directions for what to do about divorce, affairs, and other matters of the heart.

My thoughts:
I enjoyed the way the book was written from the point of view of several characters. From the descriptions I had a good feel for Nantucket Island. The women were all dealing with past affairs, a remarriage after the death of a beloved wife, and the eldest daughter trying desperately to take the place of her mother to organize the wedding of her sister while her own daughter collected "things" some of which could disrupt the wedding. I think we can all see ourselves a little in the characters. This one is going on my favorites for 2013.