Boardwalk Summer
Books | Fiction / Historical / General
4.1
Meredith Jaeger
In this new novel from the USA Today bestselling author of The Dressmaker’s Dowry, two young women two generations apart discover the joy and heartbreak of following their dreams. Aspiring Hollywood actress Violet makes a shocking choice in 1940, and seventy years later, Mari sets out to discover what happened on that long ago summer.Santa Cruz, Summer 1940: When auburn-haired Violet Harcourt is crowned Miss California on the boardwalk of her hometown, she knows she is one step closer to her cherished dream: a Hollywood screen test. But Violet’s victory comes with a price—discord in her seemingly perfect marriage—and she grapples with how much more she is willing to pay.Summer 2007: Single mother Marisol Cruz lives with her parents in the charming beach cottage that belonged to her grandfather, Ricardo, once a famed performer on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Drawn to the town’s local history and the quaint gazebo where her grandparents danced beneath the stars, Mari sells raffle tickets at the Beach Boardwalk Centennial Celebration, and meets Jason, a California transplant from Chicago.When Mari discovers the obituary of Violet Harcourt, a beauty queen who died too young, she and Jason are sent on a journey together that will uncover her grandfather’s lifelong secret—his connection to Violet—a story of tragedy and courage that will forever transform them.
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More Details:
Author
Meredith Jaeger
Pages
360
Publisher
HarperCollins
Published Date
2018-06-19
ISBN
0062748076 9780062748072
Community ReviewsSee all
"Truthfully the best part of the book for me was the vivid descriptions of the gorgeous Santa Cruz boardwalk! I had the good fortune to visit recently, and this book brought me straight back. After reading the author’s bio, it makes sense that she went to UCSC (shout out to the best mascot, the banana slug!) and her love for the history of the area is evident in her writing.<br/><br/>That being said, this was a bit predictable. I feel like I have read a lot of similar historical fiction before in terms of plot, but I liked the focus on preserving history through the lens of the Centennial celebration, which really did take place in 2007. I probably wouldn’t have liked this as much if I hadn’t seen for myself the area the characters were fighting to save, but I hope others read this and are inspired to visit and preserve history in their own communities!"
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Allie Peduto
