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Content snapshot
Flag an inaccuracy →What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.
Violence
Some
A death — the protagonist's; depicted on the first page
Language
Some
Contemporary language; some mild strong words
Sexual Content
Some
Mild sexual content
Substance Use
Barely any
Social drinking — Nantucket summer culture
Emotional Intensity
A lot
The protagonist's death — she dies on the first page; the novel is her watching from above; Grief — her family's grief from Vivi's perspective; The secrets she kept — revealed gradually; A hit-and-run — the perpetrator is eventually identified
What this book is about
Vivian Howe is a bestselling novelist who dies in a hit-and-run on her morning run in Nantucket. She is given one final summer to watch her family from above—attending her daughter's wedding, protecting her secrets, and seeing how her children and ex-husband carry on. Golden Girl is an unconventional Hilderbrand novel—more magical realism than her usual summers—with Vivi's perspective adding warmth and sadness simultaneously.
Notes for sensitive readers
Reader-flagged moments and themes that may affect your experience.
The protagonist dies on the first page — the novel is her watching from above
Grief — experienced from an unusual vantage point
Secrets revealed after death — Vivi had things her family didn't know
A hit-and-run — the driver is identified eventually
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