Genre Fiction
![Katie Runde - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_katie_runde.jpg)
The Shore: A Novel
Set over the course of one summer, this perfect beach read follows a mother and her two daughters as they grapple with heartbreak, young love, and the weight of family secrets.
Brian and Margot Dunne live year-round in Seaside, just steps away from the bustling boardwalk, with their daughters Liz and Evy. The Dunnes run a real estate company, making their living by quickly turning over rental houses for tourists. But the family's future becomes even more precarious when Brian develops a brain tumor, transforming into a bizarre, erratic version of himself. Amidst the chaos and new caretaking responsibilities, Liz still seeks out summer adventure and flirting with a guy she should know better than to pursue. Her younger sister Evy works in a candy shop, falls in love with her friend Olivia, and secretly adopts the persona of a middle-aged mom in an online support group, where she discovers her own mother's most vulnerable confessions. Meanwhile, Margot faces an impossible choice driven by grief, impulse, and the ways that small-town life in Seaside has shaped her. Falling apart is not an option, but she can always pack up and leave the beach behind.
The Shore is a powerful, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting novel infused with humor about young women finding sisterhood, friendship, and love in a time of crisis. This big-hearted family saga examines the grit and hustle of running a small business in a tourist town, the ways we connect with strangers when our families can't give us everything we need, and the comfort to be found in embracing the pleasures of youth while coping with unimaginable loss.
Brian and Margot Dunne live year-round in Seaside, just steps away from the bustling boardwalk, with their daughters Liz and Evy. The Dunnes run a real estate company, making their living by quickly turning over rental houses for tourists. But the family's future becomes even more precarious when Brian develops a brain tumor, transforming into a bizarre, erratic version of himself. Amidst the chaos and new caretaking responsibilities, Liz still seeks out summer adventure and flirting with a guy she should know better than to pursue. Her younger sister Evy works in a candy shop, falls in love with her friend Olivia, and secretly adopts the persona of a middle-aged mom in an online support group, where she discovers her own mother's most vulnerable confessions. Meanwhile, Margot faces an impossible choice driven by grief, impulse, and the ways that small-town life in Seaside has shaped her. Falling apart is not an option, but she can always pack up and leave the beach behind.
The Shore is a powerful, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting novel infused with humor about young women finding sisterhood, friendship, and love in a time of crisis. This big-hearted family saga examines the grit and hustle of running a small business in a tourist town, the ways we connect with strangers when our families can't give us everything we need, and the comfort to be found in embracing the pleasures of youth while coping with unimaginable loss.
Editorial Reviews
"Runde is an expert at the fastball to the heart. . . . The Shore is never sentimental; it is absorbing, lucid and true. Anyone who has lost someone by inches will recognize the struggle to push through despair and affirm the dogged endurance of love." -New York Times Book Review
"A novel about how a family contends with hardship and the ways we often flee from the people who know us best, The Shore is an emotional and authentic read." -Shondaland
"An emotional family drama [that's] both devastating and a little bit hilarious, and Runde pulls it off beautifully, with endearing characters and deep insights." -Glamour
"A comforting debut on family and finding resilience in the face of sorrow." -Booklist
"Runde's debut is a heartbreaking family journey; a summer read that is at once sad, hopeful, frustrating, and ultimately uplifting." -Library Journal
"Vivid. . . . Runde's evocative descriptions conjure the salty humidity of the Jersey Shore. . . . this transportive work successfully captures the dissonance and resilience of family." -Publishers Weekly
"A heartfelt family drama saturated with a sense of place and the passage of time." -BookPage
"Runde's sympathetic portrait of a family in crisis is not without humor and insight. . . . this family story is sweet, sad, and surprising." -Kirkus Reviews
"Locals and longtimers are forced to reckon with their families, choices, and secrets." -The Millions
"The Shore is a sharp and affecting novel, a wholly original exploration of what it means to love and lose set against a fabulously vibrant backdrop. Runde's writing is both deeply felt and deeply funny-often in the same breath." -Claire Lombardo, author of The Most Fun We Ever Had
"The Shore was a joy to read. I loved the Dunnes from page...
"A novel about how a family contends with hardship and the ways we often flee from the people who know us best, The Shore is an emotional and authentic read." -Shondaland
"An emotional family drama [that's] both devastating and a little bit hilarious, and Runde pulls it off beautifully, with endearing characters and deep insights." -Glamour
"A comforting debut on family and finding resilience in the face of sorrow." -Booklist
"Runde's debut is a heartbreaking family journey; a summer read that is at once sad, hopeful, frustrating, and ultimately uplifting." -Library Journal
"Vivid. . . . Runde's evocative descriptions conjure the salty humidity of the Jersey Shore. . . . this transportive work successfully captures the dissonance and resilience of family." -Publishers Weekly
"A heartfelt family drama saturated with a sense of place and the passage of time." -BookPage
"Runde's sympathetic portrait of a family in crisis is not without humor and insight. . . . this family story is sweet, sad, and surprising." -Kirkus Reviews
"Locals and longtimers are forced to reckon with their families, choices, and secrets." -The Millions
"The Shore is a sharp and affecting novel, a wholly original exploration of what it means to love and lose set against a fabulously vibrant backdrop. Runde's writing is both deeply felt and deeply funny-often in the same breath." -Claire Lombardo, author of The Most Fun We Ever Had
"The Shore was a joy to read. I loved the Dunnes from page...
Readers Top Reviews
Elaine Carter
A wonderful book that tackles a variety of issues that arise within a family who are trying to keep it together following the father’s brain tumor diagnosis.
kathleen g
What a beautiful book this is! Sisters Evy and Liz, and their mom Margot, tell this story of the summer their father and husband Brian dies of a brain tumor. Set in New Jersey beach town with all the feels (the candy shop where Evy works and the umbrella/chair stand where Liz works, cleaning the rental properties), it's very much a coming of age story as well for these teens. Brian and Margot's relationship started in the same town back in college; they married and created a vibrant business of rental houses and apartments. Now though, Brian's tumor has taken over and he's, to put it mildly, difficult through no fault of his own. Margot finds solace of sorts in an internet chat board which Evy discovers - and creates a persona to join and use as a medium to talk to Margot in a way they can't in real life. Everyone realizes but doesn't acknowledge that they've already lost Brian and Margot is planning a future the girls don't want but then... There are so many small things in this novel that make it sing, even through the sadness. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Runde writes from the heart. Highly recommend.
Kathleen Hughes
Property managers Brian and Margot Dunne have spent their lives buying, renovating and renting beach houses in Seaside, NJ. Their daughters Liz and Eve are 17 and 15. Life is good. Until it isn’t. Brian is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, an ugly disease that has affected his personality. During this summer, which will probably be the last of Brian’s life, the Dunne women are floundering. Margot,is managing, cleaning and restocking summer cottages by herself. She’s drinking wine at night and posting on GBM, a message board for spouses of brain cancer patients. She doesn’t know that Evy, using a fake name, is also on GBM so she can read her mothers thoughts. Margot has remained closed and matter of fact to her daughters. The summer is changing both Liz and Evy. They are exploring their sexuality, experimenting with alcohol and drugs and planning futures very different from what they expected. The Shore is a sad, thoughtful novel. It honestly and heartbreakingly illustrates the effects of terminal disease on a family. It will stay with you long after you read the final page. 5 stars. Thank you to NetGalley, Scribner and Katie Runde for this ARC.
