When I was growing up, I spent a lot of time at my grandma’s place at the beach during the summer, and I always loved bringing books down to the ocean with me. Since Memorial Day weekend is coming up, I wanted to tap into those memories and recommend a great beach read from those days. My grandma had a collection of Maeve Binchy novels at her beach condo, but the one I remember most vividly reading by the water was Minding Frankie.

Noel is a Dublin alcoholic who doesn’t quite have his life together. One day, he receives word that a former flame of his is terminally ill in the hospital – and apparently, is pregnant with his child. He agrees to take custody of the baby once she’s born, and that’s how little Frankie enters his life.

With no idea what he’s doing, Noel ends up relying on the people around him to help raise his daughter. From his parents, to his American cousin, to an unlucky-in-love classmate who moves in with him, there’s a whole cast of lovable characters who step in to help care for Frankie, proving that it truly does take a village. Meanwhile, a social worker is determined to prove Noel isn’t fit to be a father, but an entire little Dublin community is ready to rally behind him.

It’s a slow, easy, endearing read that I still remember fondly years later (honestly, I was probably in middle school when I first picked this one up). The way Binchy paints a vivid picture of a loving community coming together for the sake of a little girl without a mother creates the perfect cozy, feel-good story set in Dublin. It’s absolutely the kind of novel I could see my mother-in-law loving.

If you’re looking for a good vacation read that will mentally transport you to Ireland, any of Binchy’s books are a great choice, but Minding Frankie is definitely where I’d start.