Golden Girl

Golden Girl (2021) is a novel by American writer Elin Hilderbrand. After novelist Vivian “Vivi” Howe dies in an accidental hit-and-run, she ascends to the “Beyond” and witnesses the events that unfold down below over the next 75 days. The story follows the aftermath of Vivi’s death over the summer and examines themes of Growing Up After Parental Loss in Adulthood, Introspection on Life’s Achievements and Regrets, and The Power of Fate and Destiny Versus Choice and Agency.

Hilderbrand serves up yet another “beach read,” with Golden Girl being one among 30 books and short stories set in Nantucket. The Perfect Couple (2018) and Summer of ‘69 (2019) both reached the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list (“About Elin Hilderbrand.” Elin Hilderbrand, 2024), with the former being adapted into a Netflix series (“Home.” Elin Hilderbrand, 2024). Swan Song, published in 2024, is the last of Hilderbrand’s Nantucket novels.

This guide is based on the 2021 Hodder & Stoughton Kindle Edition.

Content Warning: The source text and this guide discuss miscarriage, substance use, addiction, and suicide.

Plot Summary

A motorist hits and kills long-time Nantucket resident and novelist Vivian “Vivi” Howe when she is out jogging one morning. She goes to the “Beyond,” where Martha, the person assigned to help her transition to the afterlife, permits her a 75-day viewing window and three nudges: She can witness the events taking place on earth during this time and has three opportunities to intervene.

Vivi follows her three children—24-year-old Willa, 21-year-old Carson, and 18-year-old Leo—over the next couple of months. An investigation into Vivi’s death simultaneously unfolds, overseen by Ed Kapenash, the chief of the Nantucket police department, but it is met with constant roadblocks when key evidence like Vivi’s clothes and running shoes go missing.

Leo, Vivi’s youngest, is bereft and alone following her death, especially since he has also fallen out with his best friend, Cruz DeSantis, and broken up with his girlfriend, Marissa Lopresti. A grieving Leo gets back together with Marissa, but things are complicated with Cruz as the latter is the one who found Vivi’s body; with no other witnesses, he is the prime suspect in the hit-and-run. There is also some tension between the boys due to a photograph one of their classmates sent to them. At the height of his despair, Leo collects a handful of drugs from Carson’s room and prepares to swallow them; Vivi uses one of her nudges to stop him.

Carson works as a bartender at a local establishment, the Oystercatcher. Having always been a “troubled” child ever since Vivi’s divorce from her children’s father, Edward William “JP” Quinboro, Carson turns increasingly to drugs and alcohol to cope with her mother’s death. Vivi also discovers that Carson is having an affair with the much older Zach Bridgeman. Zach is married to Pamela, who is the sister of Willa’s husband, Rip. Pamela eventually confides in Willa that she believes Zach is having an affair. After Pamela spots Carson’s car outside their house, Zach tries to break things off, but Carson continues pursuing him. She gets fired from her job one night after her boss discovers her using drugs on the job. Carson heads over to Zach’s for comfort, and Pamela almost catches them; Vivi uses her second nudge to stall Pamela, and Carson gets away. She decides to turn her life around and stops seeing Zach, along with quitting alcohol and drugs cold turkey.

Willa is newly pregnant after having had three miscarriages previously, and she is desperate to see this pregnancy through as it is the last one Vivi knew about. As Willa grieves and adjusts to life after her mother’s death, she comes across a man named Brett Caspian, who was Vivi’s high school boyfriend. Having recently heard of Vivi’s death, Brett came across her upcoming novel, Golden Girl, and believes it is about their relationship. Without telling the rest of her family, Willa arranges for Brett to visit Nantucket.

Brett tells Willa about how he and Vivi dated during their senior year of high school, with Vivi growing closer to Brett after her father’s death by suicide that same year. Brett even wrote a song titled “Golden Girl” for Vivi. Following their high school graduation, Brett and his band got noticed by a music producer and were invited to Los Angeles to put together an album. However, while in LA, Vivi called him with news that she was pregnant. Brett returned immediately with plans to marry Vivi, but Vivi told him she miscarried a few weeks later. Brett returned to LA, but the band lost momentum by then; Vivi went to college and broke up with Brett, and the two never saw each other again. While events transpire almost exactly like this in Vivi’s book, there is one difference: Vivi’s protagonist in the book lies about her pregnancy because she is afraid to lose her boyfriend to the music industry.

Willa video records Brett singing “Golden Girl” and sends it to Vivi’s agent, hoping this will serve as amends. Vivi’s agent responds that Good Morning America has invited Brett to talk about his relationship with Vivi after Golden Girl’s release. Brett promises Willa he will not mention Vivi’s lie about the pregnancy. He performs “Golden Girl” instead and talks about their high school romance; as a result, Vivi’s book climbs to the top spot on the New York Times bestseller list. Simultaneously, following high demand that Brett release “Golden Girl” as a single, it climbed to the top of the iTunes list.

Pamela finds Carson’s underwear at her house and shows it to Willa. Although Pamela doesn’t know who it belongs to, Willa recognizes it and confronts Carson. The sisters get into an altercation, and Carson accidentally pushes Willa. Vivi uses her final nudge to soften Willa’s fall and protect her unborn child. A panicked Willa confides in Carson that she is pregnant, and the sisters tearfully reconcile; Carson comes clean about the affair and reveals how she is trying to turn her life around after she lost her job and ended things with Zach.

Leo finally confronts Cruz about his alleged role in Vivi’s death. Cruz asserts his innocence as he has all along and points out that Leo is the one who needs to face his truth. Leo finally confesses to Marissa that he is not in love with her, and she reveals she already knows: She received the same photograph as Leo and Cruz, which is of the two boys kissing. Leo has been in love with Cruz ever since they were children; he kissed Cruz while drunk at a party, but when he realized they were being photographed, he pushed Cruz off and pretended that Cruz was the one who made a move on him.

Leo breaks up with Marissa just as the Chief uncovers that Marissa is the one who hit Vivi: She was driving to Leo’s when she received the photograph from a classmate, and she hit Vivi in her distraction. When she learned from Alexis, her sister who works in the police department, that Vivi was dead and Cruz was a suspect, Marissa totaled her Jeep to hide the evidence. The Chief eventually realizes that Alexis and Marissa are related and that Alexis helped get rid of Vivi’s clothes and shoes to cover up for her sister.

As the investigation ends, Vivi’s body is returned to Nantucket, and she is buried by her family over Labor Day, just as her viewing window in the “Beyond” comes to an end. Leo reconciles with Cruz, Carson begins dating a bartender at a local club and prepares to leave for Portland with him after the summer, and Willa’s pregnancy proceeds without complications. As the children move on with their lives, Vivi moves on, too.