When
Sydney becomes a live-in tutor for teenager Julie Edwards, the New
Hampshire beach house is full. Mr. and Mrs. Edwards have company,
and their grown sons --- Jeff and Ben --- visit along with Jeff's
elegant girlfriend, Vicki.

Sydney is just beginning to feel alive again after the death of her
husband, as well as her divorce from her previous husband. At the
Edwards's beach house, she adores friendly Mr. Edwards, but Mrs.
Edwards treats her as distantly and formally as if Sydney were a
servant. Sydney realizes that Julie is destined to disappoint her
mother's unrealistic scholastic ambitions. Julie is intellectually
slow, too slow to ever attend the big-name colleges Mrs. Edwards
pines for. The beautiful blonde teenager worries Sydney in other
ways. Julie attracts the attention of local boys, and then
mysteriously vanishes during a dinner party. Could Julie be meeting
a man?

Sydney's own situation turns electric with the presence of the two
Edwards sons. One of them --- she's sure it's Ben --- gropes her in
the ocean as the three body surf at night. She's hyper-aware of
Jeff's closeness as he helps her wash dishes and then again when
the two of them search for his missing sister.

When Julie returns, drunk and disheveled, Sydney and the brothers
keep the evening's secrets from the parents while trying to pry
answers from Julie, who cannot or will not tell them what happened
to her. Sydney is amazed to learn that Jeff has kept Julie's secret
from Vicki.

The relationships within the house are as ornate and complicated as
a fine tapestry. Sydney's ease with Mr. Edwards makes her yearn for
family, while Mrs. Edwards's coolness pushes her away from theirs.
Yet Mrs. Edwards is revealed as a multi-layered personality when
Sydney realizes that her relationship with her husband is
unexpected and complex. As Sydney begins to feel she has been given
a new chance at life, she must navigate the stormy waters of a
family torn by conflicts, lending suspense and tension until the
startling climax.

Don't be fooled, as I was, halfway through the novel when the
author appears to be summing up the lives of the characters. It
feels as if the story has been told, and the tension driving the
plot has dissipated. That momentary lull, however, is a setup for
unexpected twists and turns that kept me on the edge of my seat ---
and turning pages all night long.

BODY SURFING shares common themes with other Anita Shreve novels:
the main character is tested repeatedly, the Edwards's beach house
is the setting for several of her books (with different characters
and time periods) and the tone is dark. This latest work has
everything a reader could wish for: atmosphere, a sympathetic main
character, suspense, longing, desire and unpredictable plot
twists.