This book, though it centered around young teens, offered an interesting point of view. The story drew me in and did not feel like YA, despite the teen drama.

"We Run the Tides" by Vendela Vida is a captivating exploration of adolescent friendship and the complexities of perception. Set against the backdrop of 1980s San Francisco, the novel follows Eulabee and her group of friends as they navigate the tumultuous waters of adolescence. Vida skillfully weaves a narrative that blurs the lines between truth and fiction, leaving readers questioning the reliability of memory and perception. The plot unfolds with a subtle yet gripping suspense, as Eulabee finds herself drawn into a web of secrets and lies that threaten to unravel the tight-knit community she thought she knew.

The character development in "We Run the Tides" is both rich and nuanced, as Vida delves deep into the psyche of her protagonist and the supporting cast. Eulabee's journey of self-discovery is compelling, as she grapples with the shifting dynamics of friendship and the loss of innocence. The intrigue builds steadily throughout the novel, keeping readers on the edge of their seats until the final page. With its evocative prose and thought-provoking themes, "We Run the Tides" is a must-read for anyone seeking a captivating coming-of-age tale filled with mystery and intrigue.

One does not have to be a teenager of a certain age to enjoy this book, but it helps. There was a time that kids could run their neighborhood doing all kinds of silly stupid thing and not caring if they got caught or not. That is the joy of Eulabee and Maria Fabiola...until it didn't. One of the book's questions is how far does one go to support their friend and Eulabee has to make that decision on her own. As the reader consumes the book another question niggles--why does Maria Fabiola WANT to tell her weird stories and spread her lies. Not until the last few pages does the whole book make sense and Maria Fabiola becomes clear to the reader and Eulabee.IThis book is a slice of life of a time gone by and how maybe it wasn't always so perfect.

A gripping YA/coming of age story mixed with a gothic mystery, We Run the Tides enthralled me with its look at the powerful memories we carry from when we are younger.

Vendela Vida's novels are a bit of a dreamy, otherworldly experience—just a little off-kilter in a way that makes me feel like she understands the world and the people in it better than anyone. I adored this latest and look forward to re-reading it!

Very entertaining and interesting read, albeit very sad at points. The main character was well developed and (maybe contrary to popular opinion), I enjoyed her. All in all, it's a character study focusing on the hardships of girlhood. It almost reminds me of the movie Thirteen - so if you're familiar, know that the book is on the darker side.

This is a beautiful coming of age story. I liked parts of it, although I did not connect very much with the lead character. Thank you to the publisher and netgalley for the arc.

Most of this novel takes place in the 1980s in the seaside town of Sea Cliff, near San Francisco. It is a moody and atmospheric coming-of-age tale that explores female relationships and memory. The writing conveys a sense of retrospection and wonder as the reader tries to understand what happened so many years ago. The reader experiences the story primarily through the lens of Eulabee and must come to their own conclusions about what may or may not have happened to her charismatic friend, Maria Fabiola. The writing is lush and transports the reader to the 1980s, leaving them slightly unsettled by the troubling events, which includes a possible kidnapping, that may or may not have occurred. The author trusts the reader to read between the lines to decide how to interpret those events.

Many thanks to Ecco for a chance to read this NetGalley copy!

I wasn’t the right reader for this book. I struggled to stick with it. For me, it felt more like an autobiography or a journal, and the 13 year old characters felt precocious and off-putting. There was no one I connected with. I would have found it more believable if they’d been 15 or older.

There are many glowing reviews, so I hope my experience with this story is not the same as yours, potential reader.

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This book puts a twist on the coming-of-age novel. Set in the 80s, it features a group of girls in their early teen years -- a transformative age for anyone, but especially a young woman. It's quirky and sweet with an air of mystery. I enjoyed it!

A fantastic and refreshing coming of age story that sets you right back into middle school. It brings about the turmoil of being a teenage girl from finding yourself, peer pressure and realizing that adults have faults unlike what we believed in childhood.

A coming-of-age tale set in San Francisco, CA in the 1980s follows a group of friends who live and attend school in the swanky Sea Cliff area. After a falling out with her friends, Eulabee navigates school, a first date, and the angst of teenage life alone. However, after her former friend, Maria Fabiola, disappears (and then conveniently reappears), the secrets kept in the neighborhood are revealed as Eulabees childhood lens begins to wan.
As a San Francisco native, I enjoyed reading this book set in my hometown from the mentions of Haight Street to a Robin Williams cameo. I felt deep nostalgia for San Francisco and roaming around the city as a teen--especially now living out of CA, I had a meander along memory lane at some of the places mentioned. There were beautifully written, poignant moments, but because the book is written from Eulabee's POV, there were instances where her narrative voice and perspective were mature beyond her 12/13 years. I did not find some of the situations too far-fetched in terms of her sexualization by some of the male characters, drinking at a party, or shopping on Haight St. alone. The end was too abrupt in regards to the mysteries around Maria and Gentle and I could have read another 100 or so pages just to get clarification on both. Overall, this was a funny and quick read - 3.5 rounded to 4.

WE RUN THE TIDES
BY VENDELA VIDA

I can't rave enough about how much I enjoyed this novel. I LOVED it. Loved, Loved, Loved it. It is a phenomenally well written novel, about coming of age in the San Francisco area during 1985 and 1986. Eulabee and Maria Fabiola have been best friend's since they met at their private all-girls school in kindergarten. They live in the part of the city called Sea Cliff where the fronts of all the houses face the Pacific Ocean and the Golden Gate Bridge. They own the streets and can tell you which house belongs to who. One famous house belongs/belonged to Paul Kanter of Jefferson Starship or Jefferson Airplane. It has a swing that belongs to the daughter he fathered with Grace Slick and the daughter's name is China and she is the same age as them. It is 1985 and 1986 and I found myself googling which band created the song "Don't you (forget about me)", which I kept humming and hearing the song in my head as I devoured this excellently executed novel. The name of the band is "Simple Minds," and it was written to run with the beginning, and ending credits of the movie, "The Breakfast Club," directed by John Hughes, in 1985. I was having a senior moment, because I knew the band well enough not to forget it so easily.

The girls are a clique of four, which includes our main character who is narrating this story, and is our heroine, Eulabee, and her three friends: Maria Fabiola, Julia and Faith. Julia's father is remarried to his second wife, who is Julia's mother. She has an older step-sister named Gentile, who is older in High school, and gets into trouble doing drugs. She goes to the Public High School named, Washington. Eulabee and her three friends are in the Eighth grade, and are still in Middle School. One day when the four girls are walking to school like they always do, they pass a White vintage car with a man parked inside it. He asks them what time it is, and Eulabee checks her swatch, and tells him it is, 8:05 A.M.

Maria Fabiola asks Eulabee if she saw the man flash his genitals, and Eulabee says no, that isn't what happened. Maria Fabiola convinces Julia and Faith that they saw him do it, and they believe an optical illusion. The man did not do what Maria Fabiola is saying that he did, and Eulabee gets ostracized. Her three friends don't hang around her at recess or lunch, and stop coming to pick up Eulabee and include her on their walks to and from school.

One day Maria Fabiola goes missing. The TV reporter's are saying that she was kidnapped and that she is a sugar heiress. Eulabee didn't know that about Maria Fabiola. Eulabee is the sweetest, most precocious young girl for her age out of the clique. She remembers that the ballet and dance instructor, Miss Sonya, told them that if they ever needed to hide out, that her shed in her backyard is a safe haven. Eulabee rides her bike there looking for Maria Fabiola thinking that she wasn't kidnapped, and she thinks that she is hiding out in the shed. From that point on all the parents start driving their kid's to school. There is a line of Volvo's at the Spragg Middle School from now on.

Eulabee gets called to the Head master's office one day, whose name is Mr. Makepeace. Inside Mr. Makepeace's office are three detectives. One woman and two men. The woman detective starts asking Eulabee about the incident with the man in the White Vintage car, that the four of them passed on the way to school that day. Eulabee maintains her original recollection, and she again tells the detectives that the man only asked what time it was. The woman detective along with the two men detectives, seem to think that Eulabee doesn't care that her best friend is missing, because they have heard the fabricated story started by Maria Fabiola, and perpetuated by both Julia and Faith.

The novel's other time period is 2019, and Eulabee and Maria Fabiola are fifty years old, and they meet on an Island resort. Eulabee is there as a translator for a much older woman. There is so much more that happens in this bittersweet novel. I will be the first to admit it, that the reason that I read this novel, was because I was curious, of how good of a writer, Vendela Vida was. I was blown away with what a pleasant surprise at how much fun I had reading it, and how much that I ended up loving it so much. I was skeptical because her excellent writing style was a new discovery for me. Vendela Vida is Dave Eggers wife and I have read all of his books. They both live in the Bay area of San Francisco and over fifteen years ago he started a publication called McSweeneys. It is an anthology type publication that was published once per month, and it featured other popular Authors. My favorite book written by Dave Eggers is his first book called, "A Heartbreaking Work of a Staggering Genius." Well, all I can say is that his wife, Vendela Vida is a fantastic writer and this book is going to be bought by me to give to all of my friends and family who enjoy a well told tale, that sucked me in on the first page and I read it in one sitting. I was captivated by the storytelling and this one had me firmly in its grip. The synopsis and my review doesn't do this great new Author that I have just discovered justice. As I said, after reading the synopsis and my review the subject matter sounds simplistic. I promise you that it has a deep substance and was just a joy to read. Highly, Highly Recommended to all of the fans that enjoy good literary fiction for adults.

Publication Date: February 9, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, Vendela Vida (You are so talented) and Ecco-Harper Collins Publishing for providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#WeRuntheTides #VendelaVida #EccoHarperCollinsPublishing #NetGalley

Thank you to the publisher for an early copy of this novel. When I started reading this book, I wasn't sure if it was YA or adult fiction. I can understand why some are saying it's YA but I think it is firmly in the adult fiction category (YA would be ok for some older teens). I'm not a big fan of unreliable narrators but it works for this story -- bored teens in San Francisco in the 80s. I enjoyed this book but I don't think it's for everyone.

I absolutely loved the timeline in this book, the 80s! This was a treasure to read, and took me back to my childhood in the 80's. I had not heard of this author before, but I look forward to reading more by her in the future. I recommend this book for anyone who loves nostalgia and reading about female friendships.

It took me a while to actually get through this book. I feel that there was little to no plot. I enjoyed the main character and her mature manners as a tween.

I love Vendela Vida's writing and strong narrative style, and have read her other books. This novel is no exception--told with vivid language and strong characters. The evocation of landscape is especially lovely.

As young teenagers on the cusp of puberty in San Francisco in the mid-1980s, Eulabee and Maria are the best of friends. Each morning, they walk to school together with Julia and Faith, until the day of the incident. Maria claims to have seen a man—older than them but younger than their fathers—sitting in a car and stoking himself while watching them. Julia quickly adheres to Maria’s story and when they tell Faith, she believes them unquestioningly.

Eulabee, however, saw nothing and won’t lie for Maria when she reports the event. This drives an unalterable schism between the girls. Then, Maria disappears, a possible kidnapping victim. Her return generates great fanfare but does nothing to heal the rift between the girls. Instead, instead of navigating the liminal period of puberty as part of a collective “we,” Eulabee strikes out alone. These girls, however, are removed from the greater dangers of the city as they mediate their manufactured dramas.

I found the writing exquisite, and I loved Eulabee who described herself as a good liar, an excellent student with a “sinister” side. Coming of age in the same period, I also appreciated allusions to 1980s pop culture. The book is also a time capsule of San Francisco before it became colonized by the tech industry. An epilogue set in 2019 revisits Eulabee and Maria, and I thought I would have preferred the book to eliminate that all together.

I enjoyed this book. I love a wise beyond her years protagonist but this one wasn’t obnoxious. More like she was a touch quirky and unusual. The author’s use of language was really lovely too and I liked the conclusion to the story a lot. I did have an issue with one of the late chapters in the story. No spoilers, but it didn’t feel plausible, but other than that it was a lovely book.

As a middle-aged male I don't feel like I was the target audience for this one, but overall I enjoyed this coming of age story