The Bookstore On the Beach

The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak is a multifaceted novel. Autumn's husband disappeared eighteen months ago, and she has exhausted every avenue trying to locate him. Autumn along with her two teenage children are heading to her mother's beachside town for the summer. It will give them a chance to relax, be together, and heal. Autumn's oldest child, Taylor is having a tough time. Taylor feels emotionally unconnected plus she has a secret she is keeping from her family. Mary, Autumn's mother, has kept something from Autumn her whole life. Mary is afraid her daughter will learn the truth, but she does not feel it is the right time to share. Autumn reconnects with her high school crush and old feelings resurface. What should happen, though, if her husband returns? The novel contained good writing with realistic characters. The author packed a lot into the book with a missing husband, a teen questioning her sexuality, a woman with cancer, a woman with a hidden past, a second chance romance, a teen pregnancy, a criminal ex-wife, and expansion of the bookstore. It was easy to follow the various storylines once I got into the book. I did feel the ending was abrupt and needed an epilogue to make it feel complete. I enjoyed the descriptions of the bookstore, the beach, and Mary's cottage. This story allows us to follow one family and the issues they are encountering over the course of a summer. This is a dramatic tale about one family's drama. The Bookstore on the Beach is a good book to read while sitting beside a pool.