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We Run the Tides

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A strange coming of age story. Eulabee is 13, almost 14, and she runs with particular clique of girls. Maria Fabiola is the leader, the one everyone looks up to. A rift happens with the group when Eulabee won’t go along w/ a strange story that Maria Fabiola & the other girls make up for attention. Then Maria Fabiola “disappears”. But did she really?
I tried to enjoy this story, but felt that the way Eulabee was ostracized was too cruel. Even knowing how teenage girls are, it just seemed like overkill. And I did not expect the story to jump ahead 30-some years after a particularly interesting development.

*Special thanks to NetGalley for the digital Arc.*

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We meet four teenage girls in San Francisco, CA in the mid-1980’s, living in the wealthy neighborhood of Sea Cliff. The houses are unique and built high up on the cliffs, with perfect views of the Golden Gate Bridge, with steep paths down to China beach. The people here now are before the big Tech companies that will take over Silicon Valley; so, they are wealthy but not billionaires.

The girls are all thirteen years old and attend the nearby private, girls’ school. They have all known each other since kindergarten and walk to school as a group every morning, as young girls do. It’s a ritual that must not be broken, as it’s part of the unwritten rules teen girls endlessly develop and would take a major insurrection to alter.

Eulabee is our main character and narrator. She is intelligent and articulate, and her family is financially comfortable but not as wealthy as some of the others. Her parents work outside the home but are involved in their children’s lives. Maria Fabiola, who’s first and last name are also stated aloud, is Eulabee’s best friend, but comes from a very wealthy family, who’s parents give her quite a bit of independence and don’t seem to be that involved with her life or her younger twin brothers. We know Maria Fabiola is pretty and popular and loves attention. Julia and Faith are also members of the group.

One morning as the group walks to school an incident will occur that will change the dynamics of the group for ever more. A man sitting in a car calls the girls over and asks, if they have the time. They answer him and walk away. Maria then says, “Did you see that?” Without hesitation, Julia and Faith say, “Yes!” Eulabee says, “What?” Maria describes what she thought she saw, and Julia and Faith concur. Eulabee disagrees. Not another word is spoken as they complete their walk to school.

After they arrive at school, they are each called to the Office and are questioned about the incident. Eulabee is the only outlier and thus shunned from the group making her young life miserable. A few days later, Maria is missing from school and home. Everyone is frantic except Eulabee because she knows her best friend’s penchant for attention. What happens in this part of the book is smart, and witty, with a bit of dark humor that just seems to fit the circumstances perfectly. I love how Vendela Vida handles the drama of thirteen-year old’s here. Her writing is fabulous. We know as adults, to the girls, this is the end of the world, but really, it’s not. We can trust Eulabee’s instincts here because she’s shown us how mature and intelligent, she is, so if she says Maria is hiding and not really kidnapped, we can believe her. (Don’t want to reveal spoilers!)

Eventually Eulabee will confront Maria about her disappearance, privately, but Maria will not engage.

In 2019 Eulabee is in Europe, she’s married and has children. She runs into Maria Fabiola and her husband, and the separate conversations are the icing on the cake of this book. Meaning, you have to read all the way to the end to get the reward!

In my opinion, the location of San Francisco is lovely, but this “happening” could have taken place in any wealthy suburb in the country. (ex. Connecticut, Ohio, New York, Georgia, etc.) I will bet some of you have seen some Middle School, ‘mean girls’ yourselves. (It’s unfortunate, but it’s not new.)

Highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley, ECCO, and Harper Collins, and Vendela Vida

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Eulabee and Maria Fabiola live in the coveted neighborhood of Sea Cliff in San Francisco. Since they were little girls, Eulabee and Maria Fabiola have roamed the neighborhood and the beaches below. They know everything and everyone in the neighborhood. They are the best of friends until Maria Fabiola embellishes on an encounter with a man in a white car and Eulabee refuses to go along with Maria Fabiola's largely fale narratve. this created a rift between Eulabee and all her firends, who now shun her. Eulabee misses Maria Fabiola and their past friendship and when Maria Fabiola goes missing, Eulabee sets out to find her, an adventure that creates more problems, in spite of its noble endeavor. Vida tells the story from Eulabee's point of view, with all her adolescent insights. I laughed out loud several times but WE RUN THE TIDES is a beautiful exploration of childhood friendship and how it shapes and changes us as we grow older. I absolutely loved it.

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We Run the Tides was a really well written, atmospheric, and unique story. It has a relatively simple plot, but there’s a lot of tension and suspense as the story builds. It has a female driven narrative, particularly as seen from the point of view of the main character Eulabee. I really liked her honesty, intelligence, and dark sense of humor. The story follows her and her close friends who all live in a wealthy part of San Francisco during the 1980s. There’s a bit of a mystery, but it goes more in the direction of a coming of age story about adolescence and teenage friendships. Overall, I really enjoyed the story. It was a quick read (I finished it in one sitting) but it’s not one I’ll quickly forget.👌🏼

Many thanks to NetGalley, Ecco, & Vendela Vida for providing me with the digital ARC of this book. #NetGalley

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Vendela Vida never, ever disappoints - I was thrilled to find this book every bit as extraordinary as I expected it to be. Beautiful prose, thought-provoking twists and turns....truly a treat to escape into this read during a strange time.

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Great coming of age tale that really highlights how complicated and messy the inner lives of teenage girls can be.

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A lovely, beautifully-written novel set in San Francisco about teenage girls and friendships and growing up - taking chances and figuring things out. Vendela Vida can write about teenage girls with such an authentic voice - so much so I was relating to the characters remembering feeling so many of those feelings . I love that the settling was almost another character filled with emotions. San Francisco was as vibrant as the characters in the book. Wealth and privilege is a strong theme that I appreciated as it dictates the opportunities we are presented which shapes so much of our identity. Lots to.discuss - this is a great book club choice. I read it in a day and will recommend to everyone.

Thanks to Netgalley, Ecco, HarperCollins, and the marvelous Vandela Vida for an advanced copy of this wonderful book. Loved it!

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I was given this arc by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This was a fascinating book about teenage girls coming of age and the lengths they will go to be accepted. The story was truly gripping and grabbed me completely from the first page!

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We Run the Tides
A Novel
by Vendela Vida
Ecco
You Are Auto-Approved
General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction | Women's Fiction
Pub Date 09 Feb 2021 | Archive Date 06 Apr 2021

I keep hearing about this novel which drew me to read it. This book was not a good fit for me. I finished it but will not be able to recommend it. Thanks to ECCO and NetGalley for the ARC.


3 star

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On the quiet streets of the San Francisco neighborhood of Sea Cliff lives four teen girls - Eulabee, Maria Fabiola, Julia, and Faith. Eulabee is our narrator, introducing us to her best friends and their privileged lives in the mid-1980s pre-tech boom of the Bay area.

While they each play by the rules separately, they are fearless as a group. An event on the way to school one morning leaves them divided — the group turns their backs on Eulabee for disloyalty.
Eulabee, now an outcast, isn’t alarmed when Maria Fabiola soon disappears. The potential kidnapping leaves their community shaken but Eulabee knows her former best friend can be desperate for attention.

Years later, Eulabee unexpectedly crosses paths with Maria Fabiola for the first time since the truth was revealed about her disappearance and Eulabee finds herself just as mystified by the woman as she was with the child.

A YA/coming of age story mixed with a gothic mystery, We Run the Tides fascinated me with its look at the powerful memories we carry from youth.

Thanks to Ecco and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review. We Run the Tides is scheduled for release on February 9, 2021.

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I found the book We Run the Tides a strange, bizarre read. At first it began fine, four 13 year old girls who attend a private school in San Francisco. But then the story line just took a nose dive. I could relate to the ostracizing of one of the girls by the others. But I couldn't make sense of some of,the actions by the main character. I finished reading it, but I didn't really care for it or any of the characters.

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We Run the Tides is a fantastic novel that you won’t want to put down. The author paints pictures with her words allowing you to feel you are part of the story. It awakened memories, it brings to life ordinary lives and portrays how the bonds of true friendship help three young girls weather the storms and undercurrent of their lives. Get ready to meet characters both strange and endearing.

It was great being taken back to the '80s, I am about four years older than the young ladies in the book but I could SO relate to the time they were teenagers in. (The Psychedelic Furs "Pretty in Pink" reference.) The author does a masterful job of creating the environment they live in, and characters with real depth, who were completely relatable, if not always likable. I was eager to finish, so that I could figure out the "big" mystery, but I certainly wasn't ready to let go of these beautifully flawed friends. I found this book enlightening, thought-provoking and so very enjoyable.

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Vida's prose style is lucid, and the structure of this novel is masterfully-crafted. And I can see that this is a rumination on teenage female friendship, but the subject matter and plotting seemed more young adult to me, because the narrator describes her 13-year-old self without the overlay of adult experience. But I really enjoyed revisiting San Francisco in the early 1980s, and Vida perfectly recaptures the atmosphere of the city's posher neighborhoods.

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We Run the Tides is a bubbling cauldron of complex characters and conflicting emotions which has as its basic ingredients the lives of four female eighth graders who are growing up together in San Francisco during the 1980s. The novel depicts the struggles of its main characters with the ebb and flow of life events which inevitably seep into the confines of their all girls private school. This intriguing mix becomes all the more turbulent when one of the four goes missing. Through this unanticipated disappearance, we get an in-depth and fascinating glimpse of adolescence through one of the book's main characters Eulabee and how she is impacted by the consequences of the unpredictable. This expertly crafted tapestry of Eulabee's experiences, wants, needs, and concerns, both before and after her schoolmate vanishes presents an intriguing and thought provoking backdrop for this "coming of age" story. I truly enjoyed this book.

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Yaaaassss! Loved this haunting, nostalgic story of a group of girls who grew up by the sea. It's really a story of a girl, Maria, quite literally spoiled by her privilege as told by her childhood friend, Eulabee. Eulabee loves Maria but risks her relationship with her in order to stay true to herself and her own principles. Frought and glorious.

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Enjoyable, well crafted novel set in the exclusive San Francisco neighborhood of Sea Cliff in the 1980s. Eulabee and her friends all attend an exclusive girls day school, while taking dance lessons and growing into high schoolers with all that entails. When one suddenly goes missing, the focus on her friends, their neighborhood, and her eventual return, rock the neighbors and the girls, all while they are combatting hormones, dating, crushes, and girl-fights. I found the ending a bit of a disconnect, but it did close out the characters well, it just wa a 30 year jump and chance meeting that didn't ring quite true. Worth the read.

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*I was sent a free ARC of this book by Ecco in exchange for an honest review*

For fans of Maria Semple and Joy Williams, Vendela Vida’s latest novel We Run the Tides is a tribute to youth, love, and culture in 1980s San Francisco. We follow eighth grader Eulabee as her seemingly rock-solid friend group dissolves when their enigmatic leader, Maria Fabiola, goes missing. In the aftermath, Eulabee confronts the harsh realities of her burgeoning womanhood and the enduring transformation and loss that comes with time.

I was truly taken by surprise at how much I adored this book. The clarity and poignance with which Vida explores the intricacies of developing femininity and the delicacy of teenage friendships is remarkable. Her reflections on the teenage absurdity that Eulabee endures is clever and very funny but never feels condescending, and even the mysterious Maria Fabiola comes fully into focus in the final chapter.

While I think the marketing of this book as “suspenseful” and “a gripping mystery” are pretty off the mark, We Run the Tides delivers a story even more valuable - one about enduring, belonging, and growth.

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This is a beautiful written novel about adolescent friendship. Thirteen is such a liminal age that describing the throes of it - how quickly feelings, behaviors, and relationships change, how emotions trigger impulsive choices and decisions -that many writers fall back on the easier task of telling rather than showing 'But Vida inhabits the inner as well as outer lives of her two central characters, Eulabee and the aptly named Maria Davila, so fully that the careful unfolding of their story feels like it's happening to the reader in real time.
Neighbors in the affluent Sea Clif community of San Francisco, the quartet of eighth grade BFFs
walk to and from their private, all-girls school together every day. By the time the event that changes the dynamic between them occurs, the outline of their differences is clear enough so that what happens as a result of how or even if the incicident that separates Eulabee from this tight knit group is less a surprise than it might otherwise have been. So too are Maria's later disappearance and Eulabee' s reaction to it. Similarly, the epilogue, which takes place when they meet again in Italy some four decades later, seems predestined. But plot twists and dramatic denouements aren't the point of this brilliant, acutely observed gem of a novel, which resonated in this reader's mind long after the last page was turned..

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A gorgeous book, a window into what it was really like to grow up in San Francisco's Sea Cliff in the 80s. I lived in the Outer Richmond for years, but I dreamed of Sea Cliff. For all of us who walk the cliffs at Land's End, take the concrete stairs down to China Beach, and wonder what goes on inside the fancy homes with the view of the Golden Gate Bridge, this book is a revelation. It's also deeply funny, an un-romanticized look at girlhood, adolescent deception, and the way friendships can turn on a dime. This may be Vendala Vida's best book yet.

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This book is pretty much the perfect book for someone my age, who is a Gen-Xer. I know it is a YA novel and is aimed at people who are young enough to be my kids, but let me explain. It is set in the 80s and auther Vendela Vida must have lived through them to write the 80s so well! It brought back a flood of memories that I didn't know I needed/wanted to revisit. It is also a book full of familiar characters and well-developed antagonists who are falling in love despite the odds. Just beautifully written, and a book I will most definitely be going back to re-read often.

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