Review: Labor Day

After reading the synopsis, I couldn’t wait to read this book and was blessed to win a copy from a book drawing last fall.

From authors website: Joyce Maynard first came to national attention with the publication of The New York Times cover story, “An Eighteen Year Old Looks Back on Life”, in 1973, when she was a freshman at Yale. Since then, she has been a reporter and columnist for The New York Times, a contributor to the CBS program “Spectrum”, a syndicated newspaper columnist whose “Domestic Affairs” column appeared in over fifty papers nationwide, a regular contributor to NPR.

Synopsis: With the end of summer closing in and a steamy Labor Day weekend looming in the town of Holton Mills, New Hampshire, thirteen-year-old Henry—lonely, friendless, not too good at sports—spends most of his time watching television, reading, and daydreaming about the soft skin and budding bodies of his female classmates. For company Henry has his long-divorced mother, Adele—a onetime dancer whose summer project was to teach him how to foxtrot; his hamster, Joe; and awkward Saturday-night outings to Friendly's with his estranged father and new stepfamily. As much as he tries, Henry knows that even with his jokes and his "Husband for a Day" coupon, he still can't make his emotionally fragile mother happy. Adele has a secret that makes it hard for her to leave their house, and seems to possess an irreparably broken heart.

But all that changes on the Thursday before Labor Day, when a mysterious bleeding man named Frank approaches Henry and asks for a hand. Over the next five days, Henry will learn some of life's most valuable lessons: how to throw a baseball, the secret to perfect piecrust, the breathless pain of jealousy, the power of betrayal, and the importance of putting others—especially those we love—above ourselves. And the knowledge that real love is worth waiting for.

Type: Fiction, 256 pages, Hardcover

Quick Take: If the description for this novel mentioned a weak mother who let a convict (on the run) stay with her and her son… I probably wouldn’t have signed up for this book giveaway, I think this an important fact to share – it’s not the type of book I would purchase on my own (it creeped me out a bit). The reviews are very good on BN.COM (4.5 of 5 stars) so I wouldn’t shy away from it but I will tell you that I wasn’t able to connect with the characters solely on the 'creep out' factor.

I enjoyed the authors writing style and would read another book of hers. I just wasn’t able to get past a few things in the book (maybe that makes it a great book, it stirred up emotions).  The end is good, the story wraps up nicely but leaving you thinking about the characters and what will happen next.

Just this week I listened to an old show on That's how I Blog, Labor Day was the book selection.  I appreciate this book a bit more after listening to the discussion.

Source: Book Giveaway from Book Club Girl