Tips for Tuesday - Books: Florence Adler Swims Forever & The Day She Came Back

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Books: Florence Adler Swims Forever and The Days She Came Back

Mom - Today I am recommending two books.

The first book I am recommending today is Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland. This touching family tale is loosely based on the author's own family. Its freshness and originality stand out right from the beginning when the author boldly kills of the title character in the first chapter. Florence Adler is in training to swim the English channel when she inexplicably drowns in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Her mother decides to try to keep her death a secret because she doesn't want Florence's pregnant hospitalized older sister to find out and suffer a miscarriage. Meanwhile, the family has taken in a mysterious young woman whom Florence's father has helped emigrate from Nazi Germany. This is only a small portion of what this family is dealing with in a summer full of secrets and revelations. At times this book will break your heart, at times it will make you smile at times it may even make you angry. Ultimately, however, the book is a tribute to the resilience of family even in the face of almost unbearable tragedy.

The second book I am recommending today, The Day She Came Back by Amanda Prowse, also revolves around family secrets. When the grandmother who raised her dies, Victoria discovers that the mother whom she thought was dead is very much alive. Victoria is a strong young woman descended from a line of strong women. Each of them, Victoria, her mother and her grandmother is both admirable and flawed. Ultimately, Victoria must come to understand and accept both the strengths and weakness of her predecessors to understand their choices and reconcile her past and her future.  This book is a  moving saga of love, forgiveness and family.

And that's Mom's view. Tune in tomorrow for Where-To-Go Wednesday.