No Lifeguard on Duty

This debut was a great coming of age story set in 1970's Asbury Park, New Jersey. I grew up going to the beach every summer, but in Wildwood, NJ, and have spent full summers "down the shore" in my own teen years. It's a very specific lifestyle and I could relate to the characters a lot. I am not very familiar with Asbury Park and have only been a handful of times but this novel was so well researched that I feel that I could find my way around there. I also learned a lot about the history of the town. When we think back the 1970's, we put our rose glasses on and only remember the good things that came from it such as fashion, music, etc. This book touched on a lot of important topics that serve as reminders to us that these things are just as important now as they were back then.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this ARC!

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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It’s July of 1970. The decaying beach town of Asbury Park, New Jersey erupts with racial unrest that propels three unlikely teenage friends into turmoil. Adam, Mollie and Howard struggle with family conflicts and their racial, cultural and class identities in the midst of the chaos. Town and teens will never be the same.
When the smoke clears, secrets are revealed that brought the trio to this fateful time and place and will intertwine their lives in the years to come. The boardwalk and beaches become the setting for personal revelations, encounters with the dark side of human nature, and brushes with the supernatural.
No Lifeguard on Duty will stir a range of emotions and its nuanced treatment of race and class is as relevant today as it was in 1970.

When I think of the 1970s I think of horrible music, even more horrible movies, tacky, gaudy clothing, civic unrest and really, really, really bad hairstyles (and mustaches) on the men – and the women’s styles were not much better. I know Ashbury Park as the birthplace of Bruce Springsteen and Danny DeVito but to me this book could have easily been set in any beach town on the Jersey Shore. But then again, that is from a Canadian who had only visited the beaches a few times (and loved them) but then #COVIDhappened.

So, I looked up the incident and here it is, per Wikipedia:
The 1970 Asbury Park race riots were a significant civil disturbance that occurred in Asbury Park, New Jersey between July 4 and July 10, 1970. The seven days of rioting, looting, and destruction left more than 180 people injured, including 15 New Jersey state troopers, and resulted in an estimated $5,600,000 in damages.

So, like the riots and protests of today … what has changed?? NOTHING. Well, nowadays it would be on TikTok and people would try to make themselves famous due to their actions. (Influencer? Content Creator? UGGGGH!) Keeping that in mind, this is a wonderful debut novel from someone who lived through it, and it is delightfully social-media-free. The characters were great to spend time with and it made me hear the waves calling me to visit again. Given its relevancy to today’s civil unrest, looting, and racial-related riots/murders this is a book that I will recommend to patrons and book clubs alike. #shortbutsweetreviews

I enjoyed this one. I use to go to asbury park a lot growing up so I felt a connection with this one. I loved the coming of age and learning more about the history of the town. issues back then are very much issues still today.

This book is loosely based on the race riots in Asbury Park during the 1970s. We follow three kids who are friends but of different races, social, and economic backgrounds. Following their journeys, their experiences, and their lives opened my eyes to what happened and how life was. I was shocked along the way and thoroughly enjoyed this book.

A coming of age novel , with historical history tied heavily into it, No Lifeguard on Duty by Paul C. Bomba, is a long read, but worthwhile, if you stick with it. I loved the evolution of the characters over the course of the novel and I enjoyed learning details about history I had never been exposed to in the past, If you are looking for a light , cheery read- this isn’t it, but if you love a historical novel that will give you hope and break you all at the same time, this is the book for you.