I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book really covers a range of an emotion. I like that there are three characters share their own point of view about the husband/father's illness but also share about other things happening to them at the same time. If you've ever lost someone to Cancer, this book will resonate with you.

3.5 rounded up

Set in a small east coast beach town of Seaside, The Shore weaves the story of a mother and her two daughters navigating the changing family dynamics of their lives due to the diagnosis and subsequent decline of their father/husband to a brain tumor. Heartbreaking and humorous, a great novel about coming of age and dealing with the curves the road of life throws us.

I did not end up reading this novel. The rating is not a reflection of the story itself, but rather an indication that other books/stories dominated my interest and reading time. Which I think is an important factor when selecting your next read.

I picked this up, off my Netgalley shelf, looking for something fun and light. Don’t judge a book by its cover apparently because this is not a summer by the shore, coming of age, fun book…yes it takes place by the shore, on the East Coast, and yes in summer. Two of the narrators are teenage girls, so there is that angst, coming of age element. But at the heart of the story is their father, dying from an awful brain tumor. The girls and their mom go through their last summer with him.

I certainly didn’t feel like reading about a dying parent, but this was different enough from my own experience that I could relate a little, mostly just feeling empathetic for the characters and root for them. It was a surprising story in its depth but I would’ve enjoyed even more of the characters. Jumping between the two daughters and mom as narrators was a good storytelling device but it also left things a little flatter as the story went on. By the end I was rushing through it just to finish but the very last couple pages I cherished and loved so, so much. It bumped up my rating. This one will give your heart a good squeeze.

I didn’t enjoy this as much a I anticipated. I’ve heard good things of the author but it didn’t grab me as I hoped.

I don’t know if I would call this a “beach read” but it’s about a summer on the jersey shore. It’s kind of sad a sad story overall but it’s heartfelt and real. I liked it!

Couldn't get into this one, though I found the synopsis and setting very interesting! Maybe will pick this one up again in the future!

DNF. Unfortunately, this was a book I started multiple times but could just not get into. I appreciate having the opportunity to read this book, it was just not a good fit for me as a reader. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for my gifted review copy.

THE SHORE has been getting so much love lately from my book friends, and after reading it myself, I can see why its the perfect beach read,

This family saga follow the story of a mother and her two daughters who spend a summer grappling with heartbreak, young love, and the weight of secrets. Brian and Margot Dunne live year-round in Seaside, with their daughters Liz and Evy, and run a real estate company that turns over rental houses for tourists to the area.

The characters were s0 well developed and have stayed with me long after finishing!

*many thanks to Scribner for the gifted copy for review

While not an easy read, The Shore by Katie Runde provides a poignant portrayal on the role of the caregiver and the cost of coping with illness.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me. All thoughts are my own.

In 2022, my stepdad got sick and was in & out of the hospital. Unfortunately I did not finish this book because of some similarities to real life. In the future, I will pay more attention to content warnings. Thanks to NetGalley and Scribner for the ARC.

Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers for providing a review copy.

As a Jersey Shore native I really enjoyed reading this book about my hometown. Katie Runde's writing is silky and wonderful. I totally recommend you have tissues near by!

That old adage, never judge a book by its cover, couldn’t have been more true for me with The Shore. But also, the cover is perfect. Based on my own bias, I assumed The Shore was going to be a light and fun beachy read, but it was so much deeper and heavier. As the family comes to terms with Brian’s failing health, his wife Margot and their teenage daughter’s Liz and Evy deal with it in very different ways. Margot wants to escape it all, but her daughters want everything to remain the same. I was not prepared for the love story that this truly is, and I was not prepared to silently yell at Margot so many times. Upon finishing the book, I realized that the cover is actually perfect. The shore is their life and livelihood and despite whatever trauma they are dealing with back home, the bright lights and action of the boardwalk go on.

Thank you, NetGalley, for an e-ARC of The Shore by Katie Runde.
The Shore is a story about a family dealing with the chaos of a brain tumor. Set at the beach, this story is much more than a light beach read. The cover doesn't reflect the depth of emotion that this book creates.

I’m from the Jersey Shore and this book brought so much nostalgia. This was a coming of age book. I enjoyed the descriptions of places I’ve been growing up. It made it very relatable. The book made me go through a variety of emotions and I enjoyed it very much.

A family drama that will have you laughing and crying. Katie Runde pulled me into this family and had me invested in their ending. I was entertained with her writing style and would be honored to read more from this author.

Genre: family drama, coming of age
In one sentence: When Brian develops glioblastoma, his wife Margo and daughters Evy and Liz will find their beach town lives forever changed.

The cover of this book makes it seem like a light summer beach read - but there's a lot more emotional heft to this story than meets the eye. I loved getting the chance to know Evy and Liz and see how they supported each other through Brian's illness. Each daughter has a nice coming of age storyline with some self-discovery and romance. Margot and Brian's relationship is told partially through e-mails from their early days in college, as well as flashbacks, and I enjoyed seeing the complexities in their relationship. I also loved the setting of beach town Seaside as a permanent home for the Dunnes - what does a tourist town look like when you're not a tourist?

If you love family dramas, this is a good one to pick up. In addition to my ARC, I picked up an audiobook copy from my library, and the four narrators did a great job portraying the family. 4+ stars.

Thank you to Scribner for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Set over the course of one summer, this book follows Brian Dunne’s family as his brain tumor changes his personality into somebody unrecognizable to his family. His wife and teenage daughters each navigate their grief and loss in different ways and one of the daughters makes some decisions I found very off putting. Overall, I didn't really like any of the characters and I do feel like that caused me to not enjoy the story.

The Shore by Katie Runde

This perfect beach read follows a mother and her two daughters s they grapple with heartbreak, young love, and the weight of family secrets.

I thought this book was very emotional. Shows how people deal with their families, diseases, and the drama that occurs. Well-written.

This novel was a little too heavy for me. The family struggles to deal with their dad’s brain tumor. It lacked much plot and felt a bit repetitive.