This is Jenn Delperdang with the Sioux City Public Library and you’re listening to Check It Out.
Today, I am recommending Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid—a book that checks all the boxes for a fun vacation read. Malibu Rising is a page-turning story about the Riva family—the triumphs and struggles of siblings Nina, Jay, Hud and Kit, the bad decisions of their rock star father Mick Riva, and his tragic love affair with their mother, June.
The Riva end-of-summer party is an iconic tradition among the ‘it’ crowd of the 1980s. If you know the coveted address of the party, you are invited to attend. Over the course of 24 hours, as this party unfolds, we learn the complex history of the Riva family from multiple perspectives—how Mick and June fell in love and how their relationship falls apart. We are with Nina when she becomes a caretaker for her siblings, when she gains fame as the poster girl for “California Cool”, and then when she becomes a tabloid scandal. We discover how the Riva siblings forged their unbreakable bonds, and the secrets they are keeping from each other. Malibu Rising is an indulgent and addictive read about the legacies of our families, passing on what we inherit, and choosing our own paths in life. The dynamics of this famous, ficticious family are believable and compelling. The writing is evocative of this time and place—you can almost hear the ocean waves and feel the sand between your toes.
Check out Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid and other buzz-worthy beach reads at the Sioux City Public Library.
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