Rachel Beanland absolutely smashed her debut! This is easily a contender for my top spot so far in 2020. I will be telling all my friends, family, and readers to grab this book on July 7th because it is a must read for those who love historical fiction.

Thank you so much to Simon and Schuster for my copy of this book. I really like this book but it was not what I was expecting- it was so much more. I thought the book was about Florence Adler. I was very wrong. This book takes place in the United States just before WWII. Every summer the Adler’s rent out their house in Atlantic City. Florence returns from college so she can spend the summer practicing to swim the English Channel. When Florence dies in a tragic accident, the family decides that they cannot tell Florence’s sister who is in the hospital on bed rest after losing a child a year before. I loved the writing, the story and the desire to keep family together at all costs.

To prove how important the cover of a book can be, when Netgalley asks potential reviewers why they're requested a particular book, one of the reasons is the cover. To be honest, between the title and the cover, I was going to request this book - doesn't it, after all, look like a perfect summer read? While the cover and title and absolutely perfect, they are also very misleading. This book is not a simple summer beach read.

If I'd paid at least as much attention to the description as I did to the cover, I would have known that. I would also have noticed that the Jewish faith was going to play a role in this book. But I didn't notice that. So early on Beanland not only stunned me with something incredibly she also surprised me with how much of a role faith was playing in the book. And, I'll be honest, I wasn't sure that was going to be a book I was interested in reading. I'd recently read two books in which the Jewish faith played a big role and I wasn't necessarily interested in reading another one so soon. But you all know how hard it is for me to put down a book, so I kept reading.

While faith continued to be a part of the story, it began to feel less intrusive and more cohesive to the story. And I began to care about these characters and to understand the family dynamic. By the end, I was really enjoying the book and happy about how things played out.

I did have a couple issues with the book as I was reading but some of those have faded away as I've thought about the book more. Isaac is always the guy you're going to dislike, even when you find out why he is the way he is; but in real life, not everyone grows and changes so his lack of growth is not only to be expected but more believable.

If you choose to read this book, I'd definitely recommend you read the afterward. Much of the story is based on Beanland's family history. I think she's written a lovely homage to her great-aunt Florence!

Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland is the reason I love books. If I could give it 10 stars I would with pure joy. It is in its most basic definition a book about a family and the love, sacrifice, drama, sadness, hope, loyalty, and secrets that all that means.

This is historical fiction but really the era it takes place in doesn't change how it will pierce your heart and leave you exhausted in the best of book hangovers.

In the summer of 1934 Atlantic City is just becoming the eastern vacation spot for its beautiful sandy beaches and boardwalk. Florence is an ambitious 19 year old with dreams of summer Olympic swim meets and swimming the English Channel. Her family has made her goals their own and she is the pride and joy of her parents, sister and niece.

Before the story barely begins there is tragedy and from that moment on we watch as family and friends cope with unspeakable sadness and loss and how it changed all their futures.

The beauty of the writing in this story is there is no wild surprise twist, well maybe the first chapter is a shock but a necessary one to tell the Adler family story. The story flows as perfect as any stream and the characters are believable in their humanity and their flaws.

This book has my heart. As a Jew I cried as the need to hold on to traditions in a changing world is so sensitively depicted and by the fears that all Jews felt with Hitler coming to power and its effects on the prejudices towards them coming to light. A sad commentary that we all are still fighting these injustices.

This book is based on a true story from the author's own family and I can't thank her enough for cultivating it into a loving family story for all of us to experience. It was cathartic and made me miss my grandma and her talks in Yiddish to me.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

Florence Adler Swims Forever by Rachel Beanland
Florence Adler Swims Forever
by Rachel Beanland (Goodreads Author)
30708334
Kaye Winona's reviewJul 06, 2020 · edit
it was amazing

Just yesterday, I had chats (in-person and digital) about the failure of most books to live up to their publishers' blurbs --and the longer the blurbs, the greater the disappointment.

Florence Adler Swims Forever is a welcome exception. Simon and Schuster's detailed summary (above) can suggest to you the mechanics of the book, but not its spirit, which is tender and resolute and abiding.

Debut author Rachel Beanland skillfully handles seven different points of view, and while the story is compressed into one summer nearly 100 years ago, its scope is long and wide.

I loved that the story seemed to revolve around 7-year-old Gussie. Other things I especially loved: that almost all the characters reflexively put the family's needs above their own; and that aside from the big, central secret at the heart of the tale, there were other secrets kept by family members (most of them to protect their loved ones from pain).

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for an advance readers copy.

Thanks to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed Florence Alder Swims Forever, it was a little different than I was expecting and a little slow in the middle but an interesting story based on family and withholding the truth.

I was first drawn to this since I grew up in NJ and while I never went to Atlantic City, my family did go to Wildwood Crest every summer and I've always loved the old photos and history of the beach towns in NJ. I loved reading about Atlantic City in the 1930s, the English Channel swim and seeing the Jewish community angle. The fact that is novel is loosely based on her own family is even more fascinating!

It's the early 1930s and the Adler family has moved to their summer apartment. The small apartment shelters Joseph and Esther, the mother and father, who built a thriving bakery business, Florence, the. youngest daughter who is home from college and focused on her planned swim across the English Channel, Gussie, the granddaughter who stays with them since her mother is on bedrest and hospitalized until her impending due date, and Anna, the immigrant daughter of one of Joseph's childhood friends. The story dives into each character's perspective and thoughts to unveil the full impact of what is happening when a shocking tragedy upends everyone's lives.

This story revolves around a huge spoiler that happens at the beginning of the book. How the event was written and the fact that I didn't have an inclination of what the shocking tragedy was going to be and how soon it would happen in the book was what grabbed me and made me have a hard time putting this book down, so I don't want to give very many specifics so as not to ruin the book for other readers.

I appreciated the perspective of American Jews during this time period, as they watched Hitler and the Nazi's take over Germany and their counterparts and relatives in Europe began having their freedoms taken away, I also loved how this story was based on a true story from the author's ancestors. She did a fantastic job of creating such a deep, meaningful story of a personal family story she was told.

I can't say much about the story and the other parts I loved, but I can say this is a great book - good historical fiction, good take on the how one event and the choices made in dealing with this event can rip open secrets and desires and show who people really are.

(3.5 stars rounded down to 3).

Florence Adler Swims Forever is based on a true story, and follows the Adler family for several months after a sudden and devastating tragedy. As secrets are kept, and ultimately revealed, tensions rise and the family starts to dissolve.

This is a heart wrenching story that begins with heartbreak. More than anything, it's a book about relationships and family dynamics/roles, particularly in the mid 1930s and within Jewish families. While it was well written and interesting, it had its slow moments and, in my opinion, ended much too abruptly.

@rachelbeanland ‘s writing will have you transported to Atlantic City, NJ in the summer of 1934. (Spoiler Alert) Florence Adler, who is training to swim the English Channel, tragically drowns in the Atlantic ocean in the first chapter of the book. The rest of the novel covers how her family decides to cope with her loss and the decision to keep her death a secret from her pregnant sister, Fannie, who is on bed rest at the hospital to avoid losing her baby as she lost her son the year prior. 
 
This story is told from the points of view of her sister, niece Gussie, brother-in-law Isaac, parents Joseph and Ester, friend Stuart, and family friend Anna. At first I thought it was a lot of characters to keep up with, but it’s so beautifully done that by the end you feel like you truly know each well-developed character. Y’all know I struggle with a character driven book, but this one was so easy to get lost in. 
 
P.S. The afterword will have you in tears. Big, ugly, crocodile tears. Enjoy!

Florence Adler Swims Forever is not the book I expected based on its description. I won't spoil why but know that it isn't a bad thing - the surprising twist that comes early in the book sets the stage for a compelling and rich family saga.

Based on the true story of the author's family, the novel is set during the summer of 1934 in Atlantic City and told from alternating POVs of various members of the Adler family, the young German woman they've taken in and a family friend. Their lives are all affected by a tragedy that befalls the family, whether they know it or not, and as the description notes, the book "explores how far we will go in order to protect our love ones." It also addresses many social issues of the time, from the role of women to the prejudice Jews experienced in the U.S. as well as the persecution they were under in Europe. There are aspects of the plot that felt implausible, but when you read the author's note at the end and realize they really happened, you can't help but be amazed at the strength it took for her family to persevere.

Despite being a different story than I was anticipating, I truly enjoyed this book and the characters in it. It's a quiet, character-driven novel with a lot of heart and a work of historical fiction that feels fresh. Each of the Adlers stole a piece of my heart and Beanland's love for her family comes through in the wonderful world, story and characters she created.

Thanks to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster and the author for an advanced copy of this book.

This is a beautiful novel based on the authors family history. We meet the members of the Adler family, a Jewish refugee escaping the horrors of Hitler’s 1934 Germany, and a swim coach who are dealing with the tragic death of Florence Adler. Told from multiple points of view, we learn how each character is struggling with grief and trying to keep a secret in an effort to protect a vulnerable loved one. This is a great story above love, loss and the lengths a mother will go to in order to protect her child. It also shines a light on anti-semitism that existed here in the US during Hitlers reign of terror.
I would have liked to know how things turned out for each character, especially Fannie, Issac and Anna. I feel the ending was too abrupt and it left me wanting more.


Thank you Simon & Schuster and Netgalley for the ARC.

An easy book to read. But very mundane and unnecessary . I could say soap operaish but that would be an insult to soap operas. Don't bother

Set in 1930s Atlantic City, Florence Adler Swims Forever follows the Adler family through a personal tragedy in the greater context of growing fear for Jews in Europe and throughout the world.

I gave this book 3.5 stars, partly because it was really not what I was expecting. I pictured a beachy romp in Atlantic City with a foreboding tone of the anti-Semitism tone of the era. In reality, it is more of a complex family drama concerning grief and evolving relationships. The setting does not play as big a role as I would have liked. My favorite characters were Anna, the young Jewish woman the family sponsored to move from Nazi Germany, and Stuart, a local lifeguard who becomes embroiled in the family drama. I can’t reveal much about the plot without spoilers, but I did not really enjoy the direction it took. I could not connect to many of the characters, or truly empathize with their decisions. I will say that I had a greater respect for the characters and plot upon learning that it is based closely on the author’s own family history. If you like historical fiction and family drama, then you may really enjoy this one, but it didn't do it for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a free review copy in exchange for an honest review.

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW: Florence Adler Swims Forever is a historical fiction novel set to be published by Simon & Schuster and released on Tuesday, July 7th, 2020. This novel is author Rachel Beanland’s debut. The tagline reads, “Over the course of one summer that begins with a shocking tragedy, three generations of the Adler family grapple with heartbreak, romance, and the weight of family secrets.”

PLOT RUNDOWN/BASICS: It’s the summer of 1934 in Atlantic City, and Florence Adler is home from college for the summer to practice for her upcoming swim across the English Channel. Her “home” is a cramped apartment near the beach, where her parents Esther & Joseph reside each summer so they can rent out their actual beach home for seasonal visitors. Joseph owns his own booming bakery business, which has allowed him to bring a young lady from Germany named Anna - the daughter of an old friend - to stay with them when it’s a particularly dangerous time for Jewish people in Europe. Florence’s niece Gussie is also sharing the apartment for the summer while her mom, Florence’s sister Fannie, is on bedrest in a local hospital for the last few months of her pregnancy.

This full house is shocked and upended when an unexpected tragedy occurs, when Florence doesn’t return after going out for a routine morning swim. Suddenly Esther and Joseph find themselves in charge of following centuries-old Jewish traditions and working through the grief of their loss, while also devising an elaborate plan to hide Florence’s sudden death from Fannie (and the community at large). Their remaining daughter already lost one baby the previous summer and is dangerously close to premature childbirth again. The juxtaposition of following strict religious tradition while breaking modern grieving etiquette affects everyone in different ways, both positive and negative...from Florence’s friends, to Fannie’s daughter and husband, to outsider Anna.

While we see the family and friends of Florence work through her loss and the ensuing madness of pointedly “forgetting” it happened, we also learn the history of each character. This includes multiple firsthand accounts of growing up in the Jewish tradition, but in radically different socioeconomic circumstances and geographical regions...and the way these differences have affected the family members and how they interact with each other today. Some relationships strengthen, and a new romance blossoms...but other unions become fraught with the strain of loss, and we as readers must finish the book to see if they’ll survive the circumstances.

MY THOUGHTS: This novel was definitely an enjoyable read for me, even though it’s not my favorite/most comfortable genre (mystery/thriller), and it sucked me in after I got about 33% of the way through. If you enjoy both a summer read AND a historical novel, this would be an excellent choice for summer 2020.

The novel is written from the points-of-view of each of the main characters (minus Florence, unsurprisingly), and the book cycles naturally through these characters as the storyline progresses - with each chapter telling the unfolding events from the viewpoint of the character most affected at that moment in time. We see Esther’s grief and determination, Joseph’s sadness and stoicism, Gussie’s curiosity and childlike bluntness, and Fannie’s confusion and loneliness, to name just a few. We also learn their unique histories, which gives us a good background with which to judge their current actions and decisions.

In Florence’s story, we see how unexpected tragedy and sudden loss can work to both tear apart and strengthen relationships within families. The slight fractures that already exist within relationships - which can go largely ignored during times of happiness or contentment - can seemingly become as wide and irreparable as the Grand Canyon in the face of loss. Similarly, friendships and relationships can spring up when two people rely on each other for comfort, closeness, and a certain consolation that only they can provide as witnesses to this same grief.

Because of the multiple points of view, we can see poignant instances of grief and loss, particularly with Florence’s mother, Esther. There is a passage toward the beginning of the book when Esther is crushed with the realization that she will be telling people she’s lost a daughter for the rest of her life. [Please note: the publisher expressly forbids direct quotes from ARCs (advanced reader copies), which is what I used to read this novel...so I cannot use any direct quotes in my review.] Fannie also struggles with what seems like postpartum depression from her loss of son Hyram the year before, combined with her fears for her current situation...and the spectre of her future knowledge of her sister’s sudden death hangs over our heads as readers as we wait for that shoe to drop.

This novel raises some very interesting questions about what we would do for the people we love, and whether or not the decisions that Fannie’s family made were done in her best interest. Is it better to tell elaborate and months-long lies that involve weaving an incredibly intricate and dangerous web of deception, if you’re trying to protect a family member in a delicate situation? Or is this a betrayal that could never be forgiven?

My only wish for this novel is that it were longer; I would desperately like a more concrete conclusion to this story, where we as readers would know what the future holds for everyone and how the truth affects Fannie and her family’s closeness moving forward.

Florence Adler Swims Forever is a wonderful family drama about what we will do, for better or for worse, to protect those we love. The book is very much character-driven with a slower plot. The point of view rotates through an ensemble of interconnected characters. Each character is beautifully written with unique reactions to the tragedy and how to move forward. They are flawed, relatable, and perfectly human. Without spoiling, my one critique is that the ending is somewhat abrupt without the closure of a character’s story I desperately wanted more of.

Rating: 4 stars

If Rachel Beanland’s debut book, “Florence Adler Swims Forever” is any indication, I predict that Ms. Beanland will have a very successful writing career. She so very quickly pulled me into the world of the Adlers in 1934 era Atlantic City. A breathtakingly dramatic event in the first pages set the stage for the rest of the book. The undertow of the drama threatened to swamp me a few times, but Ms. Beanland was usually able to calm the waters and move the story along.

At its core, this is a family story. It is also a story of a specific time and place. Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1934 is almost a character in the book. The Adlers are a well-known Jewish family. Joseph and his wife have built a successful bakery business. It is so successful that they now have trucks that deliver their goods to neighboring cities and towns. Their son-in-law, Isaac manages the truck routes, but he is always looking for a new get-rich-quick scheme. He’s on the fringes of the family. He’s not really that connected to his wife, Fannie or their seven-year-old daughter, Gussie.

The other characters include Fannie. Fannie is Florence’s older sister and had a much different upbringing than Florence did. Fannie is currently waiting out the remainder of her current pregnancy bed-ridden in the hospital. She lost a baby last year, and everyone is anxious not to do anything to upset her in fear of triggering early labor. She is restless, and resentful that her sister hasn’t come back to visit her after their last fight. Fannie was not happy that Florence was going to leave to attempt to swim the English Channel while Fannie was still awaiting the birth of her baby.

Esther is Fannie and Florence’s mother. She is the loving wife to Joseph, and grandmother to Gussie. She has also grudgingly taken in a young woman from Germany. Joseph worked hard to bring Anna over from Germany as the Nazi’s begin their rise to power. He received a letter from a childhood friend asking the he help get her daughter to America. Anna’s visa was processed earlier than everyone anticipated. Therefore, she is staying with the Adler’s for the summer until her college classes start.

Gussie is a keen observer of the interplay between all the adults. She doesn’t understand everything, but she knows something is not right. I remember feeling those notes of tension and not knowing within my family as a kid. She stole my heart.

This story revolves around layers of secrets. The secrets are kept, for primarily, the best of intentions. However, secrets do have consequences, usually unforeseen consequences. There is a lot going on in this story. For all the storylines and various sub-plots, the ending was wrapped up a bit too neatly for me. Hence my 4-star rating.

I would recommend this book for readers who enjoy family dramas, and wonderful historical fiction. I loved learning more about the Jewish community in Atlantic City during the 1930’s. It wasn’t easy to read about the segregation and discrimination. However, it is good to better understand those elements of the time. This is a great opening salvo from Ms. Beanland. I look forward to reading more of her thought provoking writing in the future.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Simon & Schuster; and the author, Rachel Beanland, for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really loved this family drama surrounding the accidental drowning of a beloved family member. Each person grieves in their own way and I thought the time period and location really added a lot to this story. I also love swimming and I loved all the references to the sport.

I just finished Florence Adler Swims Forever and throughout the novel, I struggled with is this one of the best books I've read of 2020 or one of the best books I've ever read! It is hard to believe that this is a debut novel for Rachel Beanland and I can't wait to see what she writes next.

Over the course of one summer, three generations of the Adler family from Atlantic City will struggle with loss, heartbreak, friendship, romance, and the weight of family secrets. This historical fiction novel will keep readers on their toes not knowing what comes next. The first shock coming in the first few pages.

Florence has returned from college to Atlantic City. She plans to finish her training to swim the English Channel. This summer is unlike any other summer though. Her older sister Fannie is in the hospital on bed rest after having lost a baby the previous summer. Sharing her bedroom with her this summer is the mysterious Anna who her father has taken into their home to help her and her family emigrate from Nazi Germany. Her brother in law has secrets of his own he's keeping from her parents and her sister. When tragedy hits the family Florences mom must make the difficult decision to hide the tragedy from her sister while ensuring the whole family keeps these secrets. This book had it all.

Make sure to read the author's note at the end of the story!

This was a poignant page turner filled with loss, grief, family drama, hope, choices, and redemption. Based on a true story, it was well written with characters that will stay with you.
Many thanks to Simon & Schuster and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

A definite addition to your summer vacation reading list! You won't be disappointed. The characters come alive within the pages. The writing style draws you in from the start. Absolutely loved this book!