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This book read like an overly self-indulgent ode to "the good ol' days" of the American South mixed with a mourning of how everything has changed. To be clear, I don't mean to say that this book is racist, or overtly problematic; just that it likes to linger in romanticized images of lowcountry South Carolina, and tries not to miss an opportunity to dunk on younger generations and perspectives that differ from the stereotypical ideal of southern living.

I'll check my ego for long enough to say, I am most certainly biased against some of the perspectives Ms. Frank presents here. I have been personally hurt throughout my life by people who passionately tout the same ideals championed in this book.

As for the plot and characters, it was okay. The plot was a paint by the numbers beach read that felt as meandering as it was cliché. The characters felt less like people and more like vehicles for bringing up talking points and set pieces. The language choice and dialogue pieces were passable, and even enjoyable sometimes, but never anything really powerful to my ears.

The best this book had to offer for me was its conversations about living one's final years (assuming that those are expected to be one's final years). There was some decent thought put into this and it seems like the author did some homework on the subject which I almost always appreciate. It might have gotten three stars from me if the author's homework had been slipped in more subtly than the main character's frequent info dumps.