Rock the Boat
Three 30-somethings reunite in their New Jersey hometown on the beach after years apart. Kate's boyfriend broke up with her and she wants him back, while Miles wants to prove to his mother that he can take over the family business. Ziggy never left, but he is in deep mourning for his father, who recently passed and left a hole in his life and the entire community. He is trying to keep their plumbing business afloat.
I loved this beachy read with complicated, flawed, not-always-likable characters. This is Dorey-Stein's fiction debut--she first made a splash with her memoir of her years as a stenographer in the Obama White House.
Dorey-Stein has a very metaphor-heavy style that slows the pace a bit (though many are GREAT metaphors), but she has a wonderfully irreverent voice and excels at building a sense of place--by the end, I felt like I knew this town inside out. I think she's still finding her footing as a fiction writer, but I'll continue to read what she puts out--I think there are great things to come.
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Publisher’s Description
When Kate Campbell’s life in Manhattan suddenly implodes, she is forced to return to Sea Point, the small town full of quirky locals, quaint bungalows, and beautiful beaches where she grew up. She knows she won’t be home for long; she’s got every intention (and a three-point plan) to win back everything she thinks she’s lost.
Meanwhile, Miles Hoffman–aka “The Prince of Sea Point”–has also returned home to prove to his mother that he’s capable of taking over the family business, and he’s promised to help his childhood best friend, Ziggy Miller, with his own financial struggles at the same time. Kate, Miles, and Ziggy converge in Sea Point as the town faces an identity crisis when a local developer tries to cash in on its potential. The summer swells, and white lies and long-buried secrets prove as corrosive as the salt air, threatening to forever erode not only the bonds between the three friends but also the landscape of the beachside community they call home.
Full of heart and humor–and laced with biting wit–Rock the Boat proves that even when you know all the back roads, there aren’t any shortcuts to growing up.
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