bittersweet book by miranda beverly whittemore

Family secrets that prove that their facade masks corruption and debauchery of an unbelievable level. Some more devastating than she could have imagined. Through her search, Mabel comes to realize that even the rich have faults. Dying of cancer, Indo leads Mabel to believe that she can inherit Indo’s cottage if she can find proof of these secrets. Mabel befriends Ev’s eccentric spinster Aunt Indo who alludes to mysterious documents and dark family secrets. Why did Ev’s cousin Jackson commit suicide? Why are there so many locks on the doors of this remote and happy family place? Why does the painting in the dining hall evoke such mystery? However, her happiness is laced with uneasiness. She has been bewitched by the eccentric family, and she falls in love with their customs – and with ‘Ev’s’ brother – and feels for the first time in her life that she could be happy. “Be careful what you wish for….”Īs the summer unfolds, Mabel feels a sense of belonging that she is afraid to lose. A dream come true for Mabel, who covets everything the Winslow family represents.īut as the old adage correctly advises…. The girls are not really friends, but circumstance leads Mabel to be invited to share Genevra’s summer at “Bittersweet”, a cottage on her wealthy family’s compound of vast acreage in rural Vermont, on the shores of Lake Champlain. As fate (or design?) would have it Mabel and Genevra are assigned to be roommates at their prestigious East Coast college. Ordinary Mabel Dagmar, a scholarship student with a blue-collar background, and blue-blooded Genevra Winslow, the beautiful, blonde daughter of one of America’s richest families. “Bittersweet” is essentially the story of two college students. When on the rare occasion that we actually get what we have coveted, we find that the result is bittersweet.

We tend to think that others’ lives are happier, more fulfilling, more successful, etc., etc. Our human nature always leads us to assume that the ‘grass is always greener’.

Bittersweet book by miranda beverly whittemore