ONCE IN A LIFETIME, YOU CAN HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE
The
small town of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin is an unlikely location for a
Playboy Resort, and nineteen-year old Sherri Taylor is an unlikely
bunny. Growing up in neighboring East Troy, Sherri plays the organ at
the local church and has never felt comfortable in her own skin. But
when her parents die in quick succession, she leaves the only home she’s
ever known for the chance to be part of a glamorous slice of history.
In the winter of 1981, in a costume two sizes too small, her toes
pinched by stilettos, Sherri joins the daughters of dairy farmers and
factory workers for the defining experience of her life.
Living
in the “bunny hutch”―Playboy’s version of a college dorm―Sherri gets her
education in the joys of sisterhood, the thrill of financial
independence, the magic of first love, and the heady effects of sex,
drugs, and rock and roll. But as spring gives way to summer, Sherri
finds herself caught in a romantic triangle―and the tragedy that ensues
will haunt her for the next forty years.
From the Midwestern
prairie to the California desert, from Wisconsin lakes to the Pacific
Ocean, this is a story of what happens when small town life is sprinkled
with stardust, and what we lose―and gain―when we leave home. With a
heroine to root for and a narrative to get lost in, Christina Clancy's Shoulder Season
is a sexy, evocative tale, drenched in longing and desire, that
captures a fleeting moment in American history with nostalgia and heart.
Praise for Shoulder Season:
“Don’t head for the beach, pool or lake without this glamorous new read tucked in your tote bag.”―CNN
"An unusual but mesmerizing coming of age tale"––PopSugar
"A perfect beach read."––Buzzfeed
"A burst of heady independence and excitement [that] develops into a love triangle with tragic results."––New York Post
"A striking portrayal of a glamorous piece of history."––SheKnows.com
“A story filled with tension, excitement, love, indulgence, tragedy, and redemption...Clancy doesn’t disappoint.”––Provincetown Banner
"A rare glimpse into an unexamined world." ––Madison Magazine
“Shoulder Season
is a triumph of heart, of courage, and of resilience, and a message
that the tragedies that spark our journeys don’t decide their endings. I
loved it.”––J. Ryan Stradal, bestselling author of The Lager Queen of Minnesota
“Shoulder Season
shines a bright light on a neglected moment in history and tells a
coming-of-age story I've truly never read before. In Sherri, Clancy
rescues the Playboy Bunny from ridicule and illuminates her inner life
with all of the richness and complexity she deserves."––Lauren Fox, New York Times bestselling author of Send For Me
"I
adored the story of Sherri, an unlikely Playboy Bunny, and her wild and
poignant adventures inside the Lake Geneva Playboy Resort. Both a
tender coming of age novel and a sun-drenched ride, Shoulder Season is an absolute pleasure." ––Amanda Eyre Ward, New York Times bestselling author of The Jetsetters
"Shoulder Season
is a delight. Briskly plotted, the book moves like a river through
time, sweeping the reader along for an unexpected, humorous, and
surprising journey of friendship, exploration, and discovery." ––Nickolas Butler, bestselling author of Shotgun Lovesongs
"With
literary flair and great empathy, Clancy chronicles the exhilaration
and disillusionment of a small-town girl who takes a job as a Bunny
during the waning days of Wisconsin’s Playboy Resort. Seamlessly
researched and beautifully written, Shoulder Season vividly
evokes a uniquely 1980s kind of glamour that’s almost inconceivable
today. Clancy’s story of a young woman’s difficult road to independence
hums with contemporary resonance. Clancy is a gifted storyteller, and Shoulder Season is a riveting tale of ambition, romance, friendship, heartbreak and hope." ––Karen Dukess, author of The Last Book Party
"Shoulder Season
is a beautifully-written, thrilling, heartbreaking story of a bumpy
coming of age. A page-turner full of twists and surprises, Bunnies and
bad boyfriends, and lasting sisterhood found in unexpected places. I
loved it." ––Julia Claiborne Johnson, bestselling author of Be Frank With Me
“I
tore through this vibrant coming-of-age tale of small-town girls
seduced by a new life of sex and glitter just miles from their quiet
Wisconsin towns. Clancy’s vulnerable characters come roaring to life in
full eighties glamour, before spiraling toward a central tragedy that
will define their adult lives and the very definition of home.”––Steven Rowley, bestselling author of Lily and the Octopus
"Expertly researched and flawlessly executed, Shoulder Season
has a bit of everything: adventure and excess; love and heartbreak;
shocking tragedy. You’ll start reading for the wild ride of the Playboy
Resort but stay for Sherri, the complex protagonist at the heart of this
exquisite novel. Clancy is a master of place, rendering Wisconsin so
vividly that I’m homesick for somewhere I’ve never been. I’ll be
thinking about this novel for a long time."––Amy Meyerson, author of The Bookshop of Yesterdays
ALSO BY CHRISTINA CLANCY
Some places never leave you...
After a disastrous summer spent at her family’s home on Cape
Cod when she is seventeen, Ann Gordon is very happy to never visit
Wellfleet again. If only she’d stayed in Wisconsin, she might never have
met Anthony Shaw, and she would have held onto the future she’d so
carefully planned for herself. Instead, Ann ends up harboring a
devastating secret that strains her relationship with her parents, sends
her sister Poppy to every corner of the world chasing waves (and her
next fling), and leaves her adopted brother Michael estranged from the
family.
Now, fifteen years later, her parents have died, and Ann
and Poppy are left to decide the fate of the beach house that’s been in
the Gordon family for generations. For Ann, the once-beloved house is
forever tainted with bad memories. And while Poppy loves the old saltbox
on Drummer Cove, owning a house means settling, and she’s not sure
she’s ready to stay in one place.
Just when the sisters decide to
sell, Michael re-enters their lives with a legitimate claim to a third
of the estate. He wants the house. But more than that, he wants to set
the record straight about what happened that long-ago summer that
changed all of their lives forever. As the siblings reunite after years
apart, their old secrets and lies, longings and losses, are pulled to
the surface. Is the house the one thing that can still bring them
together––or will it tear them apart, once and for all?
Told
through the shifting perspectives of Ann, Poppy, and Michael, this
assured and affecting debut captures the ache of nostalgia for summers
past and the powerful draw of the places we return to again and again.
It is about second homes, second families, and second chances. Tender
and compassionate, incisive and heartbreaking, Christina Clancy's The Second Home is the story of a family you'll quickly fall in love with, and won't soon forget.
Praise for The Second Home:
"Christina Clancy writes with warmth, wit, and wisdom about fantastically human characters. A novel of family and place and belonging for fans of Ann Packer and J. Courtney Sullivan." ―Rebecca Makkai, Pulitzer Prize finalist for The Great Believers
"I gobbled The Second Home in a matter of days, fully invested in the history, hurt, and hopes of this very human family. Christina Clancy writes with empathy and rich detail:
to read about the Gordons is to smell the pine and oak of Wellfleet, to
tread the well-worn rooms of their eccentric summer home, and to learn
all sides of the explosive rift that sent them hurtling in different
directions. Tender and suspenseful, Clancy's debut explores the nature of home as well as the nature of family itself―given and chosen." ―Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists
"A sure-footed ode to the strength of family, the depth of loss, and the power of forgiveness." ―J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times best-selling author, Kitchens of the Great Midwest
“The Second Home
shows us how families are knit together and how they unravel; how a
place―a geography, a house―can act as the repository for our best and
most important memories. And that even the most damaged past can be
reclaimed, a hard-won wisdom that shines through on every page.” ―Jean Thompson, New York Times bestselling author of The Year We Left Home
"Clancy
imagines her complicated characters with such empathy and precision
that every questionable choice, every mistake, feels like the only
option. The Second Home is a big, sprawling, smart, beautiful story about love and betrayal, home and family, and the foundations of forgiveness." ―Lauren Fox, author of Days of Awe, Friends Like Us, and Still Life With Husband
"Christina Clancy writes with an arresting vividness and a nuanced understanding of her characters, who are buffeted by a storm of conflicting desires. A poignant but also very entertaining novel―full of startling detail, humor, and above all, an abiding sympathy for its beautifully drawn characters." ―Christine Sneed, author of Little Known Facts
"This deeply moving and heartfelt book explores what makes a home - and how homes make us. It's deftly plotted, sensuously told, and incredibly smart about the secrets that pull families apart and the love that knits them back together." ―Liam Callanan, author of Paris by the Book.
“Every Wellfleet sand dune, every breeze and beach and pond, came alive for me in this beautiful, heartbreaking debut about a Milwaukee family’s complicated history with their summer home. Christina Clancy’s characters are so real and flawed, so caught between the darkness and the light, that they step right off the page, and you won’t rest until you know what becomes of them.” ―Meg Mitchell Moore, author of The Admissions and The Islanders
“From the first pages of The Second Home, it’s abundantly clear that Christina Clancy has an abiding love for outer Cape Cod, which she conjures in all its bluster and beauty.
But as this compelling novel progresses, it also becomes obvious that
Clancy has a keen awareness of how secrets can tear apart even the
closest of families. Drawn in by the exquisitely-rendered setting, I was riveted by this stirring, family drama."―Karen Dukess, author of The Last Book Party
"Warm, absorbing and thought-provoking..." ― Shelf Awareness
"A riveting family saga that fans of J. Courtney Sullivan, Cristina Alger, and Maria de los Santos will devour, Clancy's debut novel is a delight. With nostalgia as thick as the scent of coconut-scented sunscreen, The Second Home explores the consequences of emotional decisions and the strength needed to set things right."―Booklist (starred review)
"Transporting...Clancy's beach-ready debut is sure to be a favorite with book clubs." ― Publisher's Weekly
“Witty and compassionate, this is the page-turning saga,
unfolding in several voices, of two sisters, their estranged adopted
brother and the dispute that arises 15 years after their parents'
death.” ― Naples Daily News
“With its fond descriptions of Cape Cod’s land and seascapes and an evocation of a historic house layered with love and secrets, Clancy’s debut clearly has its eye firmly set on the summer-read market.” ― Kirkus
No comments:
Post a Comment