Book Review: Taylor Jenkins Re

‘Malibu Rising’: Latest novel by award-winning author Taylor Jenkins Reid. Image via Facebook @Doubleday Canada

Book Review: Taylor Jenkins Reid has done it again with ‘Malibu Rising’

Best-selling author of ‘Daisy Jones and The Six’, has once again taken the book world by storm with her latest novel, ‘Malibu Rising’.

Book Review: Taylor Jenkins Re

‘Malibu Rising’: Latest novel by award-winning author Taylor Jenkins Reid. Image via Facebook @Doubleday Canada

New York Times bestselling author Taylor Jenkins Reid has provided the world with a gem of a story once again.

Reid has established herself in the literary world as a master of writing up characters who seem as real as your closest friends. With simple words on a page, Reid creates complex characters who stay with you long after you have turned the last page.

‘Malibu Rising’: A true reflection of life in words

My favourite thing about Reid’s stories is how she captures the emotions we have all felt in a way that is realistic, relatable and even poetic. She speaks to the true nature of what it means to love, to hurt, and everything in between.

More than just a storyteller of note, Reid has the rare ability to truly pin down in words the human experience. Easily crossing over decades, timelines and the inner lives of a host of characters, this story, the characters and the writing is a pristine example of the magic that can be created through words.

‘Malibu Rising’: Synopsis

Malibu: August, 1983.

It’s the day of Nina Riva’s annual end-of-summer party, and anticipation is at a fever pitch. Everyone wants to be around the famous Rivas: Nina, the talented surfer and supermodel; brothers Jay and Hud, one a championship surfer, the other a renowned photographer; and their adored baby sister, Kit. Together, the siblings are a source of fascination in Malibu and the world over—especially as the offspring of the legendary singer, Mick Riva.

The only person not looking forward to the party of the year is Nina herself, who never wanted to be the center of attention, and who has also just been very publicly abandoned by her pro tennis player husband. Oh, and maybe Hud—because it is long past time to confess something to the brother from whom he’s been inseparable since birth.

Jay, on the other hand, is counting the minutes until nightfall, when the girl he can’t stop thinking about promised she’ll be there.

And Kit has a couple secrets of her own—including a guest she invited without consulting anyone.

By midnight the party will be completely out of control. By morning, the Riva mansion will have gone up in flames. But before that first spark in the early hours before dawn, the alcohol will flow, the music will play, and the loves and secrets that shaped this family’s generations will all come bubbling to the surface.

Malibu Rising is a story about one unforgettable night in the life of one family: the night they each have to choose what they will keep from the people who made them… and what they will leave behind.

Memorable quotes

Malibu catches fire. It is simply what Malibu does from time to time. Tornadoes take the flatlands of the Midwest. Floods rise in the American South. Hurricanes rage against the Gulf of Mexico. And California burns…

It was not yet hot that morning; the breeze that stalks all seaside towns was running offshore. Nina could feel the wind across her shoulders as she walked onto the perfectly cut grass, feeling the stiff edges of the blades between her toes. She walked until she got to the edge of the cliff. She looked out onto the horizon. The ocean was blue as ink. The sun had settled into the sky an hour or so ago. Seagulls chirped sharply as they dove and rose over the sea.

June braced herself for a moment, unsure of how her mother would react. But Christina softened once more. “I know you like all this flash, honey”, she said. “But a good life is knowing people care about you, knowing you can take care of the people who count on you, knowing you’re doing a little something in your community. […] I truly can’t think much bigger than that. But that’s just me”.

I will be more than just this, June thought to herself. I am more than just a woman he left

Praise for ‘Malibu Rising’

“The perfect beach read, with the emotional depth of the ocean”.

Holly Bourne – author of chart-topping bestsellers such as ‘Am i Normal Yet’ and ‘The Places I’ve Cried in Public’.

“Heart-wrenching and utterly compelling…Its characters felt completely real to me – each one is flawed and messy and impossible not to love”.

Beth O’Leary – bestselling author of ‘The Flatshare’ and ‘The Switch’.

“If summer could somehow fit into a book, then you’d find it in Malibu Rising“.

Oprah Daily

“This summer’s must-read novel”

Sarra Manning – critically-acclaimed author of ‘You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me’.

More about the author

American author Taylor Jenkins Reid. Image via Twitter @tjenkinsreid

Taylor Jenkins Reid is a New York Times bestselling author of novels such as Malibu Rising, Daisy Jones & The Six, and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, as well as four other novels.

Her books have been chosen by Reese’s Book Club, Read with Jenna, Indie Next, Best of Amazon, and Book of the Month. Her novel, Daisy Jones and the Six, is currently being adapted by Hello Sunshine into a limited series for Amazon.

She lives in sunny Los Angeles with her husband and their dog.

Malibu Rising is published by Penguin Random House and is available at Exclusive Books for R328.