A beautifully written book about a family living in a seaside community over the course of one particularly difficult summer. Told from multiple points of view, this novel evocatively portrays the struggle of a family dealing with a loved ones illness as they navigate first love, familial relationships, changing friendships, and life on the shore. A perfect read for anyone looking to bring a deeply poignant book to the beach this summer.

Whew! This is the kind that stays with you after you’ve finished the book. Despite it being a heavy loaded read, it is a beautiful book. Showing the reality of what illness/cancer can do to a family. The journey the family went through, each individually had their own experiences. Sad, heartbreaking but also touching, emotional. Another reason why I was drawn to the book was the cover, the fact that it took place on the Jersey shore. I felt the nostalgia of the shore, the author wrote everything about NJ beautifully that it stirred up many personal memories. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the advanced copy.

"The Shore" by Katie Runde
Scribner
May 24, 2022
10-198218017X
Contemporary Fiction



Dealing with a terminal illness is grueling, not just for the one who is ill but also for their loved ones. When Brian Dunne's persona changes, Margot, his wife, is gravely concerned, especially after being diagnosed with brain cancer. Margot and their two teenage daughters, Liz and Evy, are trapped in this maelstrom causing frayed nerves and grief.

Brian and Margot own several properties in the coastal town of Seaside, NJ, which they rent weekly to visitors. They have spent years building their business. Though the girls and another employee pick up the slack, Brian's prior involvement is missed, for he is not to be trusted doing turnarounds due to his erratic behavior. Margot is stressed and worries about how she can single-handedly take care of things—for now, it seems watching Brian is a full-time job.

Liz, the oldest daughter at 17, spends most of her time at a place that rents beach umbrellas and hangs around with an older guy of whom her parents would not approve. Sixteen-year-old Evy makes her escape from the turmoil by working at the local ice cream and candy shop. She feels staying away from home as much as possible will keep her from thinking of her dad's ultimate demise. The sisters are close and can confide in and console each other, yet they still grapple with their own demons.

They learn Brian's fate in October, and now it's late spring, and the whole family travels to Philadelphia to meet with Brian's physician, Dr. Zimorodi.

"Margot followed the end of Dr. Zimorodi's pen across the screen, staring as it traced the gray-on-gray between healthy tissue and the creeping decay. The tenor of his voice was a soft, legato, his eyes steady and watery brown, but his language was direct: the treatments had stopped working, the tumor would take over now. He said it again, his phrasing free of metaphor to avoid any chance of misunderstanding. There's nothing else we can do.

"Dr. Zimorodi left the screen open to the images. He filled the beats of silence with more professional, relevant follow-up details she didn't hear. Evy interrupted him to ask, 'How long, exactly?' He said some never knows, and every case is differents, a few anything can happens, but then he said: by the end of summer."

Margot, who has always loved her little community, now considers selling everything and moving away after Brian's death. She joins an online chat group for those with family members going through brain cancer. Evy chances to stumble on this site and reads her mother's comments about leaving town. This is her home, and causing her to panic, she devises a false name as though she has a husband with this disease. This way, she hopes to find out Margot's intentions. Margot does not mention anything to her daughters, so Evy decides to do all she can to dissuade her from leaving.

Soon, Evy confides in Liz, and the two plot to learn Margot's plans, especially as Brian's illness progresses and they realize the end is near. The sisters are distressed that she had not confided in them, yet they are angry that she has no problem discussing it with strangers. How can they deter her from going so they can stay in the town and the home they love?

For the last few weeks of Brian's life, a hospice nurse comes to help him and the family. Their rental business declines, and fear, anguish, and depression sink in mostly with Margot. What does she have to look forward to when her beloved husband is gone?

Katie Runde's debut novel touches on a disheartening topic, which she pens with grace and sympathy. This tale is not only about someone's passing with a horrendous disease, but it depicts how family members deal with the agony of it all. Does it pull them apart, or does it bring them together? While the daughters try to hide their anguish in their jobs, spending time on the beach, or with their friends, it's understood they are all hurting. All this brings to light the reality of our own demise or of a loved one and how we would handle it. All the very relatable family members are not without quirks, making this a tender read about dealing with the pain of loss.

This was a heavy read! A father is diagnosed with a brain tumor. Because of the placement in his brain, it affects his personality.
“Everything he does from now on goes into these four categories: Toddler, Zombie, Jerk, Rain Man. He’s these people now.” The story starts out with this cruel diagnosis that turns even more cruel as it progresses. We hear from the two daughters and the wife and it is very apparent the insurmountable heaviness each one is dealing with. So much so that while talking to others, they are ‘wondering whether it was too late to trade in their husband’s brain tumor for some malady that made him sh*t himself or weakened his heart instead.” It truly was devastating to read. Each struggled on their own and watched their family buckle under the strain. The daughters watched their mom begin to shut down under the weight of his care. His disease hung over each of their friendships and interactions with others.

“…you said he was gonna die six months ago so that is the exact amount of crazy time my heart budgeted for…” When the end became near, it felt abrupt. Going from hearing about his crazy antics to instantaneously in bed, immobile and with hospice felt out of place. What happened to him refusing to put pants on or running outside and getting lost? I wanted a better transition.

While this was a very heavy read, I still found I wanted the illness details. I wanted to know how home life was and how their mental health was but instead I got a lot about their personal lives and their friends. That wasn’t interesting enough for me so I lost interest. The grief and pain was real and raw and well done.

Thank you to Scribner and Shelf Awareness for the gifted copy!

The book releases May 24, 2022.

“She would remember this as a summer of unnameable sadness, but also as a summer she was proud to have moved through with an uncertain wisdom she felt swelling inside her.”

I know there are a lot of great books coming out this month, but do NOT sleep on this one. Told from the perspective of a mother and her two daughters during one trying summer on the Jersey Shore, this is a fantastic story about family, grief, coming-of-age, parenting and alll the things!

You’ll find yourself reminiscing about those summer moments in adolescence when you seemed to find yourself, when you NOTICED yourself growing as a person, when you decided who you were going to be, what kind of person you wanted to love, which of your friends were genuine.

There are certainly moments of joy in this one, but I was wiping away tears as I finished the last few pages. Katie Runde wrote all of these characters beautifully— and I felt myself growing attached to each of them.

Even though this is a bit of a heavier read, it would still totally work as a vacation or beach read this summer. It’s got all the sand and sea and boardwalk descriptions to transport you to the Jersey Shore. I 100% recommend.

Set over the course of one summer, THE SHORE follows Brian Dunne’s family as his brain tumor changes his personality into somebody unrecognizable to his family. His wife and teenage daughters navigate their evolving grief in different ways. The picturesque seaside setting lies in stark juxtaposition to the deep loss this family is experiencing, which made for a compelling read.

The author explores how a family can grieve the loss of a loved one even while they are still living but aren’t themselves. I appreciated how the writing highlights the complexity of emotions in a raw way.

Readers looking for a summer read with nuanced characters and depth of emotion will appreciate this heartfelt debut by @katierunde.

RATING: 4/5
PUB DATE: May 24, 2022

A big thank you to Scribner and NetGalley for an electronic ARC in exchange for an honest review. Review will be posted to www.instagram.com/kellyhook.readsbooks in advance of publication date.

Any woman will find something to relate to in this book. This book would be perfect for any beach bag this summer. It's light but with depth and I couldn't stop turning the pages.

I really liked the characters in this book, but the writing style grated on me after a little while - all the characters (even Brian) had the same style of writing/internal monologue and it bothered me a little! Not for me but I think a lot of readers will love this.

Brian and Margot Dunne own a multitude of vacation rental properties in Seaside, New Jersey, where they are also raising their teenaged daughters, Liz and Evy. The lives of each of them are challenged when David is diagnosed with a Glioblastoma Multiforme Tumor and fades into someone unrecognizable. The book unfolds during one summer with flashbacks to the early days of Margot and Brian’s relationship and is told from rotating points of view in alternating chapters.

Liz and Evy struggle to uncover and process secrets kept by their parents, while they each try to maintain some part of a normal summer with summer jobs and blossoming love interests. At the same time, Margot gains comfort from a group of internet strangers while she also plots a life forward without Brian.

This book feels like summer with its vibrant descriptions of the beach, the boardwalk, shore food and colorful characters. At the same time, the book hits serious issues of loss, grief, and miscommunication among family members.

Thank you Net Galley and Scribner for the free copy of this book in exchange for a honest review. The review will posted on Goodreads, Amazon and the Friends and Fiction Facebook group shortly before or shortly after the release date.

I received an ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

It was okay. Not my favorite. Parts of it felt very monotone and just trudged along dragging its feet.

The Shore by Katie Runde is a tender story about family, marriage, sisterhood, and illness told through the eyes of Margot Dunne and her two teenage daughters, Liz and Evy. The trio are suddenly faced with the caregiver roll to their husband/father, Brian once a brain tumor takes over and transforms him into someone they no longer recognize. The family is having a difficult summer full of confusion, new responsibilities, and so many unknowns. Your heart will absolutely break for this family. If you’re looking for a summer read with a little grit and some substance to bring to the beach in a month or two, The Shore is definitely it. It’s by no means a light and fluffy read at all, but the tourist town it’s set in with the bustling boardwalk, seasonal rental homes, candy shops, and overall laidback vibe just screams summer to me. Yes, there’s loss, grief, chaos, and multiple heartbreaking moments; but also a lot of humorous and uplifting ones to even things out a bit. It’s one of those stories that punches you in the gut, makes you sit back, and take a few moments to sit with for a little while. Overall, this was a very impressive debut. It was just the complex and messy family drama that I needed, and I cannot wait to read more from Katie Runde. She’s a marvelous storyteller. Be sure to pick up a copy on release day - May 24th!

This wondrous, cinematic, deeply moving book is the exact opposite of what I thought it would be. I was expecting Katie Runde’s novel set in Seaside during the summer to be as frothy and ephemeral as cotton candy. Instead, what I discovered was a meditation on family, loss and grieving. This book surprised me and astonished me by its wisdom and humor. A must read.

This is one of those books where there isn’t really a clear plot unfolding for the reader. I suppose I would say The Shore is about teen sisters Liz and Evy trying to convince their mother Margot not to move away from Seaside following their father’s losing battle with cancer by messaging her via fake accounts in an online support group. However, this novel is more of a character study between these three women as they navigate grief.

I’m rating this novel 2.5 Stars. I do enjoy “slice of life” type novels, but there still needs to be something interesting happening. I feel like the characters did the same thing every day. They all did change by the end of the novel, but not in a way that appears obvious. For me, it was all just okay.

Within the narrative, sometimes something in the future would be referenced, like “Liz looks back on this moment with a new perspective” or something along those lines. These moments really took me away from the moment happening and made me think what’s the point of all this if it’s all in the past anyway? Clearly, the characters were all able to move on and do something with their lives, so why am I reading about this and not that? It was just weird for me.

Also, during the funeral scenes, the POV switched from third to second. I feel I can understand what the author was going for here stylistically. She was wanting the reader to feel the pain of the day through the characters. For me, it was a jarring transition and I had to go back and read it through a few times till I caught on to what was happening.

Despite what I didn’t particularly enjoy about this book, I’m still really glad I had the chance to read it. I’m lucky to not have had to experience anything even remotely similar to this family, but gaining this insider perspective better prepares me as an outsider. The family would complain about how the help they were being offered wasn’t really helpful at all and would express what they wished their neighbors would really help with. It was nice to learn about how to better help someone going through a hard time.

To wrap up my thoughts, this wasn’t a bad book. I just wasn’t the right audience for it. If you feel this book may resonate with you in a way, I say it’s worth picking up. It’s a bit heavy for a beach read as the cover deceptively advertises, but the story within is impactful and is bound to offer a new perspective to grief.

Thank you NetGalley and Scribner for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Property managers Brian and Margot Dunne have spent their lives buying, renovating and renting beach houses in Seaside, NJ. Their daughters Liz and Eve are 17 and 15. Life is good. Until it isn’t. Brian is diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, an ugly disease that has affected his personality. During this summer, which will probably be the last of Brian’s life, the Dunne women are floundering. Margot,is managing, cleaning and restocking summer cottages by herself. She’s drinking wine at night and posting on GBM, a message board for spouses of brain cancer patients. She doesn’t know that Evy, using a fake name, is also on GBM so she can read her mothers thoughts. Margot has remained closed and matter of fact to her daughters. The summer is changing both Liz and Evy. They are exploring their sexuality, experimenting with alcohol and drugs and planning futures very different from what they expected.

The Shore is a sad, thoughtful novel. It honestly and heartbreakingly illustrates the effects of terminal disease on a family. It will stay with you long after you read the final page. 5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Scribner and Katie Runde for this ARC.

Brian and Margot live in Seaside. They have rental homes on the boardwalk that they rent to tourists. They live with their teenage daughters, Liz and Evy. Things take a turn when Brian is diagnosed with an incurable brain tumor. The Shore tells a story of a family trying to enjoy the last summer as a full family unit.

The Shore is about family bond, survival, friendship, hope, sisterhood and grief. In this story you get a glimpse of how each family member handles the heartbreaking loss of their husband/father as he deteriorates before their eyes. Each character handles this illness and loss in their own ways which I think allows the reader to connect to the characters in an authentic way. The story is packed full of emotion and at times a tear jerker. A beautiful and fantastic debut novel.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me an advance copy of this book to read in exchange for my honest review and opinion. I absolutely everything about this book from the cover to the last page! Such a great read. You will truly feel every emotion possible when reading this! Make sure you add this to your TBR pile immediately! I can't wait to read more by Katie Runde!

Brian and Margot run a successful business renting out their properties in Seaside NJ. When Brian gets sick however, the work all falls on Margot, not to mention trying to take care of Brian at the same time. His brain tumor has led him to act like a child, a zombie, or a real jerk. Their two daughters work to help out as much as they can, while also holding down summer jobs, and dealing with the everyday issues of being a high school girl.

So I probably should have read the synopsis on this one before starting to read it. Here I was, oh a book about the Jersey shore! Yes please, let’s go! Well, this book is very different than what I went in expecting, but it was still very good! I feel it is my responsibility to let you know that this book is sad. The issues that Evy, Liz, and Margot face with their father/husbands illness are just so heartbreaking. I can’t imagine being at such a formative age in your young life and having to become a caretaker for a father that isn’t always very nice with his words because of his illness. It did frustrate me that while Margot expected the girls to pitch in and help out, she never really talked to them like adults. She expected them to act as adults when helping with their father, but she kept everything else to herself or just lashed out at them. I could understand why, she was going through the trauma herself, but I just wished they would all sit down and have a conversation. Overall, this was a great book, though don’t go in expecting a fun summer beach read at the shore!

One fun tidbit, at one point Pepsi on the boardwalk is mentioned. This made me actually laugh out loud because Seaside is known for being a Coke town. Like restaurant owners were harassed if they switched to Pepsi kind of coke town. I just found that to be funny since I know you won’t ever see Pepsi on the Seaside boardwalk!

Binged this book in less than 24 hours! It helped that the setting was the Jersey shore, where I spend a lot of time :) don’t let the beach setting fool you though, this book is SAD. Losing a family member to a form of glioblastoma, causing extreme personality changes was very sad to read about but also interesting in its own way. I felt like the mom and her daughters dealt with it in their own way while trying to find themselves. I very much enjoyed this!

I received an advanced readers copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I loved this book. Full stop. But seriously, it is beautifully written and a unique story.

Brian has been diagnosed with a rare brain tumor, his wife Margot is trying to keep their beach rental business afloat while being his care-giver and raising their two teenage daughters, Liz (17) and Evy (16). This book shows us primarily their three points of view (Margot, Liz, and Evy), the summer that Brian's health completely robs him. There is a first and last chapter from Brian's point of view that are particularly heart-warming as well.

Runde's writing style is effortless, poetic, and observant. She portrays perfectly the complex feelings of coming of age while dealing with the grief during the "loss before the loss" of a loved one affected by a brain disease. My own father passed away from Alzheimer's years ago, and the way that Runde writes the ugliness, bitter-sweetness, shame, and exhaustion of those last weeks and months is poignant and accurate. Margot, Liz, and Evy are wholly formed and distinct characters with their own clear voices. How Liz navigates a first love in a highly intelligent and introspective way is so different from Evy trying to have fun and navigate summer parties with too much booze. Margot finds solace in an online support group for wives whose husbands have the same brain tumor--and Evy finds a connection to her mother by "catfishing" as another wife on the forum.

This story talks of the themes of love, marriage, support, emotions, mothers and daughters, and sisters. There is definitely heartache and sadness, but also hope. This is beautifully written and is in the running for the best novel I've read in 2022.

This book is raw and emotional. I enjoyed how it brought the real side of having to be a care giver and how it really does effect and play a role in the lives of everyone in the family. This was a fantastic read, highly recommend.