Love books, but can’t be tied down to a formal book discussion meeting? Join us for our Book of the Month selection. To join the party, read the book and add your thoughts in the comments. Don’t feel like reading that book? Need more than a month to finish? No worries, we’re not going anywhere… just use the Book of the Month link in the sidebar.
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
After her relationship sours, Rose Nowak heads to the small town of Nauset on Cape Cod in this enjoyable debut novel. She quickly finds her place in the community and lands a job as a reporter for the local independent weekly. Among the new people Rose meets is Noel, a 22-year-old autistic savant whose talent for painting inspires Rose to write a story that gets picked up by USA Today. When boozy Simon Beadle reads about his nephew in a Florida hospital while recovering from a maritime accident, he becomes determined to get sober, return to Nauset and build a relationship with Noel. As the town prepares for its tricentennial, Rose and Simon grow close and the truth about several town secrets are exposed. Bonasia’s portrait of a waterfront community’s triumphs and squabbles is as endearing as it is convincing. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
When Rose Nowak, 39, leaves behind city life, an unfaithful boyfriend, and a job as a writer of instruction manuals, she stumbles across not only her dream of becoming a journalist but also the small New England seaside town of Nauset and its host of quirky inhabitants. There’s the gregarious but psychologically unstable Val; the cynical, gun-wielding Cooper; the well-meaning yet disaster-prone Simon; the severely autistic but brilliant Noel; and the upstanding yet flirtatious Mike, a police officer whose civic duty collides with his troubled past. As the overcurious Rose alternately searches for love and uncovers town secrets, she sets into motion a heartwarming yet not conveniently resolved tale of healing, self-discovery, and second chances. Although Rose’s reflections on life and love feel familiar and don’t often go deep, first-time novelist Bonasia delivers a sweet and idiosyncratic portrait of small-town life with a wit and levity that suggest good things to come. –Heather Dewar
