THE GOODBYE SUMMER

Jan Maxwell gives a pleasant reading as Gaffney's novel explores intergenerational relationships and life lessons shared by young and old. Maxwell gives an appropriately sweet tone to protagonist Caddie Winger, a young music teacher who cares for her eccentric grandmother, whom Maxwell characterizes with a gravelly smoker's voice. When "Nana" moves into an assisted living center, Caddie encounters residents who change her life. Through her relationships with a young engineer, an angel-voiced second mother, and a sharp-toned, cynical elderly man, Caddie experiences the deepest emotions, loves, and losses of her life. Maxwell approaches Caddie's highs and lows with vocalizations that ring true. J.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/ SEP 04]