This was a page turner for me right from the tragic start. The story is told from each characters point of you as to what they are thinking and how they are dealing with the family tragedy. Beautifully written. Thank you for the ARC NetGalley and Simon & Schuster.

Set in Atlantic City, Florence Adler Swims Forever follows the Adler family through the events of the summer of 1934.
The first chapter packs a punch and makes you want to continue reading. As you get into the web of characters and their choices you become entangled and are curious to see how the remainder will unfold.
At its center this is a story about the fierce loyalty that comes with the genuine love of family, even if that family doesn’t quite look like the dream you had always envisioned.

This debut novel had a lot of promise, but just fell short for me. It could have just been an issue of reading the wrong book at the wrong time, but I felt it was really depressing, had a questionably unethical premise and tidied up at the end way too neatly.

This was very well done - a great way of combining true, important family history with interesting fictional characters and plot lines. Bearland's writing style is lovely, and I was pulled in to the opening beach setting straightaway. This book leans slightly more towards literary writing than commercial, as things happen a bit more slowly than in a commercial book, but I can't see how anyone wouldn't enjoy the read.

Beautifully written story set against the backdrop of Atlantic City in 1934. I was shocked by the early tragedy and struggled for a few pages, but the characters Gussie (Augusta), Anna & Stuart held my interest. The story is poignant and unusual. The characters are flawed, human and real as they deal with their reality, their grief and their hope. Knowing this was based on the true story of a swimmer in the author’s family made the book even more interesting to me.
Advanced reader copy courtesy of the publishers at NetGalley for review.

Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

1930’s Atlantic City: Florence Adler is home for the summer, staying with her family in an apartment over the their bakery. Florence is a talented swimmer and is training to swim the English Channel later that summer. When Florence drowns during a training swim, her death sends ripples of pain through the Adler family. The Adlers decide to keep Florence’s death from her sister Fannie, who is on bedrest at the hospital with a high-risk pregnancy. As the summer progresses, tensions rise as the Adler’s family secret becomes harder and harder to keep. Questions arise: what is going on with Fannie’s husband, who acts increasingly sketchy as the summer goes on? Why exactly is Mr. Adler sponsoring Anna, the young German girl who needed to escape the rising Nazi power in Germany? These questions come to a head in this historical fiction novel.

As someone who grew up in New Jersey, I was really excited to receive this historical fiction novel with a Jersey Shore setting! I really enjoyed this novel. Florence drowns in the first few pages, setting the tone for the rest of the novel. It is a bit slow at times, but that didn’t keep me from finishing it quickly! This story is told from multiple POVs that alternate chapter to chapter. I enjoy multiple POVs, but I did feel as though there were too many. I found Anna’s storyline to be the most compelling. I seldom read historical fiction set in the 30’s, and while the rise of Nazi Germany isn’t a main focus of the novel I thought it was an interesting undercurrent. I also realized that I don’t read much historical fiction outside of WWII-centric novels where the main characters are Jewish, and this novel incorporates so much of the Jewish religion and culture. If you’re looking for a solid historical fiction read then I recommend checking this one out! Thank you @simonandschuster for my advanced reader’s copy! Florence Adler Swims Forever is out on 7/7 🏊‍♀️

Set in the summer of 1934, the Adler family and select other characters are put through horrible times as tragedy strikes for Florence Adler, who was set to swim the English Channel later that summer. This story tells of family, friends, and others who will do anything to protect the ones they love to prevent further heartbreak. There also comes lots of family drama within this story as well.
I liked this book a lot and the concept of secrets that families hold to protect one another from heartbreaking truths. While this is historical fiction, I liked that it was based mostly off of a true story that was near and dear to the author. While the perspective changes with each chapter, I still felt a connection to most characters and felt like I was really getting inside their head and heart to understand them.
I would recommend this book if you like historical fiction and know that it doesn't have to do with wars, violence, or anything like that that might be a trigger warning normally with historical fiction. This is such a warm-hearted read.

I had this ARC for quite some time before I read it. I was not sure what to expect from Florence Adler Swims Forever described as a book about a college girl who want to swim the English Channel just like her heroine, Gertrude Ederle. It is less about crossing the English Channel and more of a wonderful multi-generational family drama set in 1934 along the shore town of Atlantic City. Based loosely on a true story, this is a marvelous debut novel written By Rachel Beanland. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

A young woman named Florence dies from a tragic accident while her sister Fannie is in the hospital due to pregnancy complications. The mother, along with family members, decide to keep Florence's death a secret from Fannie to prevent added stress to the pregnancy. Little did they know the secret death could lead to past secrets revealed.

I gave this 4 stars because the ending missed something I really wanted to know. However, I cannot give that out as it is a spoiler. The writing was good along with the storyline. I recommend reading the Author's note at the end as it gives an explanation of events to understand the story.

As a history buff, I love a good Historical Fiction book, I really liked the idea of Florence Adler Swims Forever being based on a real story of a family member of the author. The book takes place in Atlantic City in the years before WWII around the time when Hitler was rising to power in Germany, and while Hitler isn't the main point in the book it does, however, play an important part in one of the character's story.

The tragedy that befalls Florence happens surprisingly at the beginning of the book, and the rest of the book is the family trying to deal with processing what happened and their mourning. The Adlers are a very Jewish family and there are a lot of references of Jewish life in it, so if you are not familiar with some of them, you might have to look a few things up as a reference, for me, my family is Jewish so it was a very easy read. I actually finished the book in a day and a half because I was so interested in the lives of the main characters.

The story is told from several points of view. To me the main character was Joseph Adler, I am not sure why he stood out so heavily to me, but honestly, all the characters pretty much had equal billing. Frannie, the sister is pregnant, she is in the hospital throughout the book trying desperately to not go into premature labor. Her husband Issac is a bit of a dud, he fails at business and basically life. He works in the family business if you can call what he does working. The mother Esther, I found rather cold, however, she may just have had a hard time with the death of Florence, and the secret that she discovered Joseph had been keeping from her. Joseph the head of the family and the family's bakery business is understanding and kind and tries to keep the family together in so many ways, he also is the reason Anna is in the US, having left Germany to escape the unrest over there. Anna is the charge, her mother and Joseph knew each other as children, she is thoughtful, and will go to great lengths to try and get her parent to the US and out of Germany, even sacrificing her future. Stuart is the WASPy son of a wealthy hotelier, one which doesn't allow Jews inside. He loved Florence in his own way but knew she did not love him. He defies his father, not wanting his money, wanting to make it on his own, but things in his life change and he has to make a decision on to go into the family business or not. Then there is Gussie, she is Frannie and Issac's seven-year-old daughter. Gussie is wise and kind-hearted and loves Stuart. She was one of my favorite characters in the book.

Florence Adler Swims Forever is an epic family saga, and will draw on all the emotions you can imagine, from sadness to anger. It will make you question some of the choices the family made, and you will often ask yourself if you would have done something different. I had to tell myself this was a different time and maybe I didn't understand the ways of the world back then. The writing is beautiful and descriptive, the story is courageous and tender, and while the ending seemed a bit neatly tied up and predictable I really enjoyed the book.

Florence Adler wanted to swim the English channel, and to that end she swam and trained with her lifeguard coach and friend. The Adlers live in Atlantic City NJ and own a bakery. There are 2 daughters. The oldest daughter is married and expecting her 3rd child, and is hospitalized because she lost her 2nd child in an early forced delivery. Florence is the younger daughter, just home from college. Then, a terrible thing happens and the family is drawn into sorrow and secrets...

Based on a true story, this novel was a very interesting read. Two daughters with very different backgrounds have struggles that all of us can relate to. Florence had a goal to swim the English Channel. When practicing her long distance endurance, she disappears. Her red bathing cap just sinks in the ocean. Her sister Fanny is struggling with a difficult pregnancy after losing her first child. Her doctor decides to admit her to the hospital for complete bed rest. Her family decides not to tell her of her sister's death. Now it becomes a story of deception and how far a family will go to protect a loved one. Good book.

In FLORENCE ADLER SWIMS FOREVER, debut novelist Rachel Beanland achieves that most rare, most wonderful delights: a historical fiction novel based on real life that draws you in from the first page and keeps you going throughout a lush, complex, marvelously well-crafted story. From a family story, Beanland has conjured a long-gone world of the New Jersey shore in Atlantic City when it was new, unformed and the world was recovering from war and the Depression while bracing itself for more trouble in Europe. Framed against agonizing dilemmas and tangled priorities, the story unfurls a web of deceit woven with love and the best intentions when matriarch Esther Adler insists that her pregnant daughter not be informed of the death of her sister in the interest of a successful birth. Told from multiple points of view ranging from innocent child to refugee to privileged son of immense wealth, the story is entrancing while prodding the reader to question what they would do and how far they would go to protect their loved ones and their own dreams.

For fans of heartfelt, touching historical fiction, Florence Adler Swims Forever hits the mark in all the right ways. After Florence unexpectedly drowns in the first chapter (not a spoiler, it's literally in the first few pages), Florence's family must embark on a difficult journey to protect her sister, who is expecting, from the truth. This is a story of love, loss, family ties, and the lengths we go to for the ones we love the most. It has a fantastic Goodbye Lenin-esque feel, which is a movie you should definitely watch. It's a beautifully written book that leaves you feeling a wide range of emotions once you can finally put it down. This would be a great book club pick or a book you read and recommend to friends, which I will undoubtedly do. Overall, a beautiful debut from Rachel Beanland!

I received a galley copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Wellesley student Florence Adler plans to swim the English Channel over the summer, but during training in her hometown of Atlantic City, tragedy strikes.

Her parents, Esther and Joseph, decide to keep her death secret from their older daughter, Fannie, who is trying to save her third pregnancy. Adding Fannie’s daughter, Gussie, and refugee, Anna, to their cramped apartment, while Fannie’s husband is AWOL much of the time, adds up to a lot of family drama. The Adlers and Anna work through their problems and manage to come to terms with their past mistakes.

An enjoyable slice of life of 1934 on the Jersey shore. #FlorenceAdlerSwimsForever #NetGalley

This book was precisely the character-driven family drama I was in the mood for and, for me, Ms. Beanland delivered! While the premise may seem a bit dark, as the story unfolds, we see how Fannie impacted each character's life and how they, in turn, are handling her death (or in her sister's case, disappearance from her hospital bedside ). I'm not one to review a book based on whether I would have handled the character's situations in the same way. Indeed, more often than not, I wouldn't. (Hindsight is a luxury not all can afford). That said, I felt that Beanland's writing encourages the reader to understand the rationale for their decisions and through that, understand more globally how each of the family members can impact the others--much like dominos or more abstractly, by the energy the individuals project onto the family unit.

The novel is a swirl of the past, present and future of this family and as Beanland takes us back to decisions made by the elders (i.e., Anna and Joseph, etc.) and weaves in the present decisions being made in the wake of Fannie's death--we see where the trajectory of this family may go. And that, to me, feels like good writing.

Whenever I think of character-driven family dramas, I instinctively think of Joyce Carol Oates' "We Were the Mulvaneys"--- a book I loved and still love to this day. While not necessarily as meaty (and thankfully without the dark underbelly of a violent sexual assault), this book serves up the kind of emotional, thoughtful and roller coaster-like ride of traveling along with one family for a few hundred pages. You should feel like you are still wondering what happened to this character or that character. You should recall a character you totally related to and an antagonist you had to despise. Quite simply put: You. Should. Feel. And this is where Beanland delivers wholly and without reservation.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for an ARC of this novel and bravo Ms. Beanland! I look forward to seeing what else you produce.

3.5 stars

This book begins with a tragedy that changes the entire family. As they decide how they want to go about Florence's death, you see how the guilt and loss of Florence affect everyone. I really enjoyed the multiple perspectives because it gave you a closer look into their struggle and the guilt they each struggle with. Based on the author's true family story, I really liked this historical fiction, and its setting of 1934 Atlantic City was conveyed beautifully making you feel as if you were there on the beach with the Adlers. Where I can't rate it a 5 is the ending of the book seemed too quickly wrapped up.

This was a really rich and interesting story. I loved how the timeline takes place over 3 months, but so much is packed in there. I especially loved reading Gussie's chapters. Time and time again, I'm reminded of just how observant children really are and how much / how they learn from their environments. I thought it was really smart to start off that way.

Rachel's characters felt layered and complex, no one felt rote, and she gave each of them very authentic and human elements. While I didn't connect with every character, I think that makes sense. There's always some people you jive with and some you don't. However, I did feel that Anna was a bit of a missed opportunity. I really struggled with her and her motivations, and I thought there could have been more insight into her, especially towards the end where it feels like everything wraps up quickly.

In addition, while I understand the beginning was meant to set up the story, I would have loved more time with the characters before Florence's accident. It was hard to get a sense for how dramatically things shifted from before Florence's death, which I think would have driven the plot a bit more. However, Esther as a character was a knock out. I found myself deeply empathetic with her actions and motivations and unsure that I wouldn't also make the same choices.

What a lovely book. So beautifully written.

I read this book in a day. I was transported to a summer in Atlantic City in the 1930s and dropped right into the Adlers' life. There are the big themes of dealing with the tragedy of Florence's death while worrying about Fannie and her high-risk pregnancy and trying to get a family out of Germany. There are also many lovely little moments throughout the book. The author does a wonderful job of including world events to really put you in that place in history.

To learn in the acknowledgements that the author's great-aunt was the inspiration for Florence made the story even more memorable to me.

*I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher and I am required to disclose that in my review in compliance with federal law.*

If I could I would give this book 3.5 stars. I love the era it's set in and the characters in the book. I liked how the chapters are laid out and cover a character and how they are viewing what is happening. I think it's super interesting that this book is based on a true story that really happened in the author's family.

The book starts with a tragedy and then shows how everyone involved handled the tragedy along with how they helped cover it up. This was not the most uplifting read. There were things to love about this book but it's not the beach read I thought it was going to be.

I liked the book. I'm not raving about it, but I would suggest it for fans of historical fiction.