I adored Florence Adler Swims Forever.
I loved everything about it, the characters, the plot, everything.

The story is as emotional as you would expect it to be, with a story about an unexpected death of a loved one and a family trying to grow through their grief while also doing what they feel is right to protect family members.
While there is also the story of Anna and her family in Germany and the danger that hangs over their heads there.

I absolutely recommend others read Florence Adler Swims Forever, it will definitely be one of my top reads for 2021

This book took hold of me from the very beginning and didn't let go. Beanland has written a book of dichotomies; it transported me to Atlantic City in the 1930s but still felt contemporary, it's heart-breaking yet hopeful and happy, the characters are complex yet simple to understand. I wish it could have gone on forever because the characters are alive in my mind and I'm invested in what comes next for them. I was particularly moved by the Author's Note at the end. Just a wonderful book and a wonderful tribute.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the opportunity to read this book. And special thanks to the PR staff at S&S for helping me with my technical difficulties!

It's 1934 and Joseph and Esther Adler have rented out their house in Atlantic City for the summer and moved into the small apartment above their bakery. Their daughter Florence is back from college but spends most of her time at the beach with her coach Stuart, training to swim the English Channel at the end of the summer.

This year they also have two additional guests staying with them which makes the small apartment feel even more crowded. Florence's married sister Fannie is in the seventh month of her pregnancy and due to her high blood pressure has been confined to a hospital bed until she delivers, so her seven year old daughter Gussie is spending the summer with Joseph and Esther leaving Fannie's husband Isaac to look after himself. Joseph has also helped Anna, a girl from a Jewish German family caught up in Hitler's regime, acquire a student visa to study in America. With nowhere else to go, she is also staying with them until college starts, much to Esther's disdain. Joseph was a childhood friend of Anna's mother, but Esther feels there is more to the relationship than that.

The novel opens with the tragic death of a much loved family member. Concerned that Fannie lost a previous baby late in pregnancy, Esther is adamant that she should not be told until the baby is safely delivered. This would prove difficult to do with everyone trying to hide their own grief, especially with Fannie questioning why that person didn't call or visit. Young Gussie, a sharp if somewhat pampered child has always been told the importance of telling the truth, so Esther is concerned she'll let something slip when asked a direct question.

The family dynamics are what holds this novel together. There is the antipathy that Esther and Joseph have for their son-in-law Isaac, who becomes more interested in his quick rich schemes than caring for Gussie or Fannie as Fannie's pregnancy progresses. There is also Anna's uncomfortable position in the household, and her concern that Joseph's efforts to sponsor her parents to emigrate to America keep being knocked back. Through it all the perceptive Gussie sees everything that is going on and knows everyone's secrets.

This is a beautifully written debut book. A little slow to get into (after the dramatic opening chapter), but with a lot of rich historical detail of the period and place. I was also interested to learn in the the afternotes that the story is based on real events that happened to the author's family.

Every summer, Esther and Joseph Adler rent out their house to holiday makers and move into the small apartment above their successful Atlantic City bakery. They had no idea that the summer of 1934 would go from one of excited anticipation and to one of incredible sadness.

Esther and Joseph have two daughters Fannie and Florence. Fannie is married to Isaac Feldman; they have a seven year old daughter Gussie, Fannie’s pregnant and in hospital on strict bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy. Florence has returned from college, she’s going to spend the summer in training and she has plans to swim the English Channel in a couple of month’s time. Staying with the Adler’s is a German student Anna Epstein, Joseph has sponsored her stay in America, so many Jewish Germans are desperately wanting to leave Germany, Esther isn’t happy about the arrangement and she thinks her husband is hiding something?
Florence is training when tragedy strikes, she drowns and Esther makes the decision not to tell Fannie about her sister passing away until she's had her baby. This is the start of an elaborate lie, it’s extremely hard to keep Florence’s death a secret and it causes tension in the family and at a time when they should be grieving and could it tear the entire family apart?

Three generations of the Adler’s family struggle with heartbreaking loss, Florence’s and her little nephew who died the year before Fannie’s high risk pregnancy. The most thought provoking aspect of the book was how Esther a sensible, loving, caring mother made the choice she did, was it the right one not to tell Fannie about Florence dying and did it make her seem cold, unfeeling and distant to other members of her family? Based on real facts, Florence Adler Swims Forever is a book that will make you feel a variety of emotions and it will make you think about life, love, family, choices and loss.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review and five stars from me.