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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to netgalley for the arc of this book for an honest review. This was a hard book to put down, Florence dies in the water as she is training to swim the English Channel. Her family tries to keep it a secret from her sister who is in the hospital on bed-rest with a high risk pregnancy. Set in 1934 in Atlantic City, there are secrets, grief, romance, and news coming from Europe. This was a wonderful read.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
"'Our club name,' said Gussie. 'All secret clubs have names.' 'By Jove, you're right,' said Stuart...His mind flashed through images: Florence tucking her hair under her red bathing cap, Florence plunging into the waves from the side of the rescue boat, Florence taking notes in the notebook with the pale blue cover. Quickly it came to him. 'We' ll call ourselves the Florence Adler Swims Forever Society.'"
It's the summer of 1934, in Atlantic City, USA. 19 year old Florence Adler is practicing to swim the English Channel, but on a routine swim in the sea off the Atlantic City coastline, she tragically drowns, leaving her family and friends bereft. Mother, Esther and father Joseph, decide to withhold Florence's death from her elder sister, Fannie, residing in hospital whilst heavily pregnant following a miscarriage. Fannie's seven year old daughter, Augusta (Gussie) struggles with this, but is helped by Anna (a refugee from Nazi Germany, who Joseph is sponsoring) and Stuart, Florence's friend and swimming coach. We spend three months over one summer with them, as they come to terms with the loss of Florence.
Based on the true story of the author's great, great aunt, the focus is on the (fictional) Jewish, Adler family, who run a bakery. Each of the characters has chapters from their perspectives, so we understand their feelings and desires: hopeful Anna's desire to bring her parents over; gentile Stuart's desire to escape his overbearing father; errant Isaac's (Fannie's husband) desire for a different, independent life; Joseph's desire to mourn Florence and help Anna and her parents; Esther's desire to protect her eldest daughter; and perceptive Gussie's desire to understand the world and her place in it. Love, loss, life and family combine in this beyond beautiful, emotional book.
It's the summer of 1934, in Atlantic City, USA. 19 year old Florence Adler is practicing to swim the English Channel, but on a routine swim in the sea off the Atlantic City coastline, she tragically drowns, leaving her family and friends bereft. Mother, Esther and father Joseph, decide to withhold Florence's death from her elder sister, Fannie, residing in hospital whilst heavily pregnant following a miscarriage. Fannie's seven year old daughter, Augusta (Gussie) struggles with this, but is helped by Anna (a refugee from Nazi Germany, who Joseph is sponsoring) and Stuart, Florence's friend and swimming coach. We spend three months over one summer with them, as they come to terms with the loss of Florence.
Based on the true story of the author's great, great aunt, the focus is on the (fictional) Jewish, Adler family, who run a bakery. Each of the characters has chapters from their perspectives, so we understand their feelings and desires: hopeful Anna's desire to bring her parents over; gentile Stuart's desire to escape his overbearing father; errant Isaac's (Fannie's husband) desire for a different, independent life; Joseph's desire to mourn Florence and help Anna and her parents; Esther's desire to protect her eldest daughter; and perceptive Gussie's desire to understand the world and her place in it. Love, loss, life and family combine in this beyond beautiful, emotional book.
I liked this book and I thought the story was incredibly touching. I think maybe a book about such a sad subject (even though there was some joy) just couldn't round up to a 4.
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
slow-paced
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
This book is a very moving and perfect easy summer read. I give it a solid 3.5 stars. It opens up with a heartbreaking tragedy within the first few pages. This book then follows the Adler’s family and how they try to cope with the tragedy. I did have trouble connecting with the characters right away and the ending was a bit predictable. Overall, I thought that it was a great debut novel for Rachel Beanland.
Make sure you read the author notes at the end of the book!
Thanks to Goodreads Giveaways and Simon and Schuster for an advance copy for a honest review.
Make sure you read the author notes at the end of the book!
Thanks to Goodreads Giveaways and Simon and Schuster for an advance copy for a honest review.