Reviews

The Shore by Katie Runde

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khgp's review against another edition

4.0

Definitely a gripping read from the first page. I love that each chapter flowed from a different characters point of view with ease without taking away from the story, or becoming too redundant as this style of writing often does. There was not a passage I read where I felt it was not meaningful to the storyline of this book. There is a heavy focus on Brain (father and husband) and his illness in the beginning of the story. The author goes into detail about how it has shifted the family dynamic beautifully, however, I did feel like it was missing something when he passed away. I felt that there was such a buildup to his death and when it was time I was expecting more. It was one line, short and sweet and then went into the funeral preparations. Although morbid, I would have at least liked to know who found him, was it his caretaker, wife, one of his daughters? I feel that would have made more of an impact on the reader. Overall a quick easy read with an interesting and heart touching storyline with characters that are easy to love.

kdtoverbooked's review against another edition

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emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

This is a mix of a coming of age tale and a story of grief and the ways we process it differently. It’s a lot of pack into a shorter book. I’m not sure I would have wanted it to be longer though. If you are looking for a book that has the loss of a spouse as a theme, this might be the one for you.

craftylisa's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

3.5

barbistull's review against another edition

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4.0

The Dunne family live in Seaside, New Jersey. Brian and Margot are happily married and have two daughters, Liz and Evy. This story details their lives from Margot, Liz and Evy's perspectives as they deal with Brian's cancer diagnosis. There is a lot to take in and the plot isn't overly clear, but you will feel all kinds of emotions as Liz and Evy try to convince Margot to remain in Seaside after Brian's death.

4 out of 5 stars. Thank you Scribner and NetGalley for an e-arc for honest review.

beachy47's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

cowilks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

bookward's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

joeygirl1030's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.0

jonwood's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

While I found this book to be middle of the road (for my taste), this book does deal with and explore a tough topic of what it's like for teens and a wife to deal with losing their dad progressively to a brain tumor. I'm sure this book will be important to people who have gone, are going, or know someone going through this and allow them to feel seen while legitimizing how they feel. On top of this, this is a coming-of-age novel with the daughters going through their first loves and growing from them. For a serious subject matter, this is over all a light read with many character moments. I think with time and more novels, the author will become more eloquent with her prose, some of her descriptions felt a bit too much like telling the reader what to feel instead of showing how the character feel (which she does both quite a lot and does have beautiful passages within). I appreciate how the book explores three stages of their life with their father/husband, when his mind is going, when he is bed-ridden, and the aftermath of his death instead of focusing on just one situation.

Content Warnings

pocketfulofprinting's review against another edition

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3.0

Told over the course of one heartbreaking summer, THE SHORE by Katie Runde, is a poignant story of love, loss, grief, and a dose of hope. This was a much, much heavier read than I was expecting from a book set on the Jersey Shore. I was expecting more of a beach read and although I enjoyed it, August was likely not the right time of year for me to dive into this one blind.

Teen sisters Evy and Liz live in the small town of Seaside, NJ...the quainter version of its wild MTV neighbor Seaside Heights. Evy and Liz have typical summer jobs, typical friends, and typical teenage angst, but all is not as it seems. Their father, Brian, was diagnosed with a brain tumor the year before and as his condition deteriorates, he uncontrollably morphs into a completely different person. Their mother, Margot, suffers along with them as they helplessly watch Brian drift away from them.

Family dramas are almost always my jam, but stories about life-changing illnesses are going to be a heavy lift for me. Ultimately I'm glad I picked this one up because despite the grief, the story did resonate with me.

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