TLC Book Tour Stop and Give@way: Night Swim by Jessica Keener

Title: Night Swim
Author: Jessica Keener
Publisher: The Fiction Studio
Publish Date: January 10, 2012
Source: TLC Book Tours

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're into fiction.
• You're a fan of coming of age stories.
• You like family stories.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Sixteen-year-old Sarah Kunitz lives in a posh, suburban world of 1970 Boston. From the outside, her parents’ lifestyle appears enviable – a world defined by cocktail parties, expensive cars, and live-in maids to care for their children – but inside their five-bedroom house, all is not well for the Kunitz family. Coming home from school, Sarah finds her well-dressed, pill-popping mother lying disheveled on their living room couch. At night, to escape their parents’ arguments, Sarah and her oldest brother, Peter, find solace in music, while her two younger brothers retreat to their rooms and imaginary lives. Any vestige of decorum and stability drains away when their mother dies in a car crash one terrible winter day. Soon after, their father, a self-absorbed, bombastic professor begins an affair with a younger colleague. Sarah, aggrieved, dives into two summer romances that lead to unforeseen consequences. In a story that will make you laugh and cry, Night Swim shows how a family, bound by heartache, learns to love again."


My Two Cents: 


The Kunitz family is falling apart. From the outside, the family looks sort of perfect. They have parties. Both of the parents are social. The children are fantastic but the whole family is sort of falling apart at the seams. When Sarah's mother dies, the whole family's life changes and Sarah seems to be wondering if anything will ever be steady again.

This is both a coming of age story and a family story. Sarah, who is at the center of the story, is the one that really comes of age. She's very naive at first and gets in way over her head. She learns that there's consequences for everything and you can't really just stick your head in the sand.

The real star of this book is Keener's writing. She writes in such a way that you really feel for the characters even though some of them are not the most upstanding or make the best decisions but you still feel for them as fellow humans.

Keener also does a great job with building the world of that the Kunitz's live in: 1970s Boston area. It's still a time of change and turmoil as you can see from some of Sarah's dealings at school. The Kunitz family is Jewish and that group is still not fully accepted. Sarah doesn't understand why it has to be that way and in some small way tries to fight it by hanging out with her Italian friend.

Bottom line: This is a solid read with a story that will hook you. 

Don't Forget to Follow the Rest of the Tour:

Wednesday, January 11th: Elle Lit.
Thursday, January 12th: Reviews by Lola
Friday, January 13th: A Bookish Way of Life
Tuesday, January 17th: Coffee and a Book Chick
Wednesday, January 18th: Good Girl Gone Redneck
Thursday, January 19th: A Bookish Affair
Tuesday, January 24th: A Soul Unsung
Wednesday, January 25th: Boarding in My Forties
Thursday, January 26th: Sarah Reads Too Much
Monday, January 30th: Stephany Writes
Wednesday, February 1st: The Lost Entwife
Monday, February 6th: sidewalk shoes
Tuesday, February 7th: The Betty and Boo Chronicles
Wednesday, February 8th: Reflections of a Bookaholic
Tuesday, February 14th: The House of the Seven Tails
Thursday, February 16th: Tina’s Book Reviews
Monday, February 20th: Peeking Between the Pages
Thursday, February 23rd: Jenn’s Bookshelves



Giveaway:

Thanks to the author and TLC Book Tours, I'm happy to be able to give you all a chance to get your hands on this book!

The Fine Print:
- You must be 13 and over
-  Open to US only!
- You must be a follower of A Bookish Affair
- Book will not be shipped until after the final tour stop.

- Giveaway ends January 30!

Just fill out the form below!