School started this week. If you are a teacher you know what that sentence *really* means. It means that I was in an epic state of bliss the entire week and by Friday, I crashed. People say there is no tired like “first week of school” tired. I say, there is no tired like “first week of school that starts with an eclipse” tired.
Instead of resting, I filled my weekend to the brim with wieners and wine, tubing and wine, shopping, coloring parties, and other bonding activities with my cousin who was visiting me from Michigan. It was essentially the best possible weekend, especially when we added silent reading parties to the mix!
When you are reading a book that catches hold of you and won’t let go, silent reading parties are a must- with or without company! The book? Manhattan Beach, out October 3rd. Thank you, Scribner for allowing me to read it 37 days early! This is going to be one of the BIG books this fall!
Manhattan Beach, by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jennifer Egan, begins with the great depression and then drops readers into World War II. Anna is twelve at the start and lives a split life- at times accompanying her father on mysterious business deals and staying at home with her mother and severely multiply impaired sister at others. She is in absolute control of her emotions and the time spent with her father seems like an act, a show she is putting on to help her father’s image, to aid in his shady business deals.
Suddenly, we are in World War II. Anna’s father has disappeared and she fights back by working in a factory, taking care of her sister, and trying to become the first female diver. Ghosts from her past reemerge as she tries to connect the dots and determine what actually happened to her father. She is the truest example of grit!
This is a book you must read this fall so pre-order it now from your local indie bookstore!