Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club

For most of the book I thought I was going to love this - 4-5 stars. Then, SPLAT! The ending just fell flat. I think it was supposed to feel more “literary”, but it turned into a long, winding, trip to nowhere. I was annoyed that Ned tells Julia that her mom wanted the restaurant for her, which a lot of the book did agree with, Florence (a character who just liked to ruin everything) said she didn't, Julia dumps the restaurant (what Florence always wanted to do), and then the ghost of Julia is “cool beans, you did the right thing even though the plot was pointing the other way the whole time.” It was not a surprise that neither Florence or Ned were able to actually give Julia a sense of her mother, but it was not clear why walking in the woods with no real plan or motivation for her life did. I would understand if she found a path for herself that aligned with her passion, but she was just walking in the woods with no idea of what she wanted to do with her life, while her friends, family and community all did have goals. It felt unfinished.