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bookward's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
joeygirl1030's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
unhinged_female_protagonist's review
2.0
This is not the sort of book I'd typically pick up, but I read it for a book club. It was nice to get out of my usual and try something new. This book was ok. I didn't dislike it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend it. The constant jumping from one POV to another within each chapter confused me a bit, especially with the two sisters. I kept forgetting which sister was which. I think what made it a fun read was the setting. Locals from Monmouth and Ocean counties will get a thrill out of the namedrops of our hometowns.
jonwood's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
While I found this book to be middle of the road (for my taste), this book does deal with and explore a tough topic of what it's like for teens and a wife to deal with losing their dad progressively to a brain tumor. I'm sure this book will be important to people who have gone, are going, or know someone going through this and allow them to feel seen while legitimizing how they feel. On top of this, this is a coming-of-age novel with the daughters going through their first loves and growing from them. For a serious subject matter, this is over all a light read with many character moments. I think with time and more novels, the author will become more eloquent with her prose, some of her descriptions felt a bit too much like telling the reader what to feel instead of showing how the character feel (which she does both quite a lot and does have beautiful passages within). I appreciate how the book explores three stages of their life with their father/husband, when his mind is going, when he is bed-ridden, and the aftermath of his death instead of focusing on just one situation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual content, Death of parent, Cancer, and Death
Minor: Rape
pocketfulofprinting's review
3.0
Told over the course of one heartbreaking summer, THE SHORE by Katie Runde, is a poignant story of love, loss, grief, and a dose of hope. This was a much, much heavier read than I was expecting from a book set on the Jersey Shore. I was expecting more of a beach read and although I enjoyed it, August was likely not the right time of year for me to dive into this one blind.
Teen sisters Evy and Liz live in the small town of Seaside, NJ...the quainter version of its wild MTV neighbor Seaside Heights. Evy and Liz have typical summer jobs, typical friends, and typical teenage angst, but all is not as it seems. Their father, Brian, was diagnosed with a brain tumor the year before and as his condition deteriorates, he uncontrollably morphs into a completely different person. Their mother, Margot, suffers along with them as they helplessly watch Brian drift away from them.
Family dramas are almost always my jam, but stories about life-changing illnesses are going to be a heavy lift for me. Ultimately I'm glad I picked this one up because despite the grief, the story did resonate with me.
Teen sisters Evy and Liz live in the small town of Seaside, NJ...the quainter version of its wild MTV neighbor Seaside Heights. Evy and Liz have typical summer jobs, typical friends, and typical teenage angst, but all is not as it seems. Their father, Brian, was diagnosed with a brain tumor the year before and as his condition deteriorates, he uncontrollably morphs into a completely different person. Their mother, Margot, suffers along with them as they helplessly watch Brian drift away from them.
Family dramas are almost always my jam, but stories about life-changing illnesses are going to be a heavy lift for me. Ultimately I'm glad I picked this one up because despite the grief, the story did resonate with me.
jessehersh's review
3.0
This book is good but so, so sad. The sadness is so overwhelming and maybe that’s the point but no matter how hard the author tries, the sadness never feels redemptive.
kati626's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
rmarcin's review
4.0
Thank you to Book Club Favorites at Simon & Schuster for the free copy for review.
The cover of this book led me to think that this would be a book about summers at the beach, but it is so much more than that. The Dunne family lives in Seaside, NJ, a town that had been devastated by Superstorm Sandy. Margot and Brian own E&E Real Estate, renting bungalows to the summer crowd. The company is named for their daughters Elizabeth (Liz) and Evelyn (Evy). This company was their dream together, but now, Brian is dying from a brain tumor, and their world turns upside down.
Liz and Evy are two teens, just wanting a normal summer at the beach - finding love and experiencing life anew. Their mom is trying to make ends meet, while struggling with too many debts and too many memories.
This is a poignant look at loving, losing, and growing up -- and finding out where your home truly is.
The cover of this book led me to think that this would be a book about summers at the beach, but it is so much more than that. The Dunne family lives in Seaside, NJ, a town that had been devastated by Superstorm Sandy. Margot and Brian own E&E Real Estate, renting bungalows to the summer crowd. The company is named for their daughters Elizabeth (Liz) and Evelyn (Evy). This company was their dream together, but now, Brian is dying from a brain tumor, and their world turns upside down.
Liz and Evy are two teens, just wanting a normal summer at the beach - finding love and experiencing life anew. Their mom is trying to make ends meet, while struggling with too many debts and too many memories.
This is a poignant look at loving, losing, and growing up -- and finding out where your home truly is.
smalltownbookmom's review
4.0
There was sooo much to love about this family drama set over the course of one summer as a mother and her two daughters grapple with new love and life-changing illness. When Bryan gets diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor his wife and daughters' lives are turned upside down, especially as the tumor suddenly affects his personality causing the man they all loved to quickly disappear.
This book does such a great job showing the difficulties of caring for a loved one suffering from a chronic and debilitating disease. Brain tumors come in all shapes and forms (not all fatal) but unfortunately for wife Margot and daughters Evy and Liz, this tumor turns out to be fatal for Bryan.
Told in alternating POVs between mother and daughters, we learn how the diagnosis affects each person differently. Margot sees it as the opportunity to escape from the couple's vacation rental business that has kept her tied to their seaside town. Whereas the two teenage daughters choose to distract themselves with romantic relationships and uncovering lost letters between their parents.
Written with heart, humor and incredible insights about chronic illness and the often invisible burdens placed on family caretakers. As a survivor of a brain tumor myself, I related to this story deeply and found it completely different from the usual women's fiction summer fare. Highly recommended and great on audio with a full cast of narrators. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!
This book does such a great job showing the difficulties of caring for a loved one suffering from a chronic and debilitating disease. Brain tumors come in all shapes and forms (not all fatal) but unfortunately for wife Margot and daughters Evy and Liz, this tumor turns out to be fatal for Bryan.
Told in alternating POVs between mother and daughters, we learn how the diagnosis affects each person differently. Margot sees it as the opportunity to escape from the couple's vacation rental business that has kept her tied to their seaside town. Whereas the two teenage daughters choose to distract themselves with romantic relationships and uncovering lost letters between their parents.
Written with heart, humor and incredible insights about chronic illness and the often invisible burdens placed on family caretakers. As a survivor of a brain tumor myself, I related to this story deeply and found it completely different from the usual women's fiction summer fare. Highly recommended and great on audio with a full cast of narrators. Much thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy!