Tomorrow There Will Be Sun: A Novel
Jenna has been planning their vacation to celebrate her husband's 50th birthday in Mexico for ages. It promises to be a much-needed trip filled with family, friends, and total luxury. But things go wrong when her husband starts taking secret phone calls, she's annoyed with their friends, and her daughter is spending time with a boy who's been kicked out of school for some unknown trouble.
I had hoped this would be a light, beach read with elements of family and friend stories that I tend to like, but it disappointed on that front. The escapist element of a vacation story was also missing here--maybe because the families who were vacationing together also worked together, so the daily suburban struggles just happened to be playing out on a beach in Mexico.
It was light enough, and a quick read, but I found myself irritated by Jenna throughout. Not every protagonist has to be likable, of course, but I wanted to sympathize with her struggles and she seemed to bring so many of them upon herself. Others have recommended Siracusa as a similar book that may work better.
Release date: March 12, 2019
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A private Mexican villa is the backdrop to this smart, absorbing story of a milestone vacation in a tropical paradise gone wrong, wrong, wrong
Two families arrive in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. Jenna has organized the trip to celebrate her husband’s fiftieth birthday–she’s been looking forward to it for months. She’s sure everything is going to be just perfect–and the margarita refills delivered by the house staff certainly don’t hurt, either. What could go wrong?
Yet as the families settle into their vacation routines, their best friends suddenly seem like annoying strangers, and even Jenna’s reliable husband, Peter, is sharing clandestine phone calls with someone–but who? Jenna’s teenage daughter, Clem, is spending an awful lot of time with Malcolm, whose questionable rep got him expelled from school. Jenna’s dream of the ultimate celebration begins to crack and eventually crumbles completely, leaving her wondering whom she can trust, and whether her privileged life is about to be changed forever.
Readers of Emma Straub, Meg Wolitzer and Delia Ephron will love this sharply funny novel. Whether you’re putting it in your carry-on to read on the beach or looking to escape the dead-of-winter blues, Tomorrow There Will Be Sun is the perfect companion.