A wonderful coming of age story set in New Jersey in the 70s. I grew up spending summers in Jersey so this debut novel really hit home for me. This book gave great history into this part of New Jersey through the eyes of 3 young friends. His writing is very descriptive and really draws you into the story. Fantastic book!

Holy f*ck.

This book is the mark of a great career for Paul Bomba. He came and wrote a heartbreaking, gut-wrenching, frustrating, infuriating, yet so damn entertaining book that I can only expect great things from now on.

The topics, the narrative, the characters.

Everything was how it was supposed to be.

This is the first time I’ve read a book intertwined with so much history—I don’t think I’ll read another like it because this book was so perfect and so well edited that I’m scared I may read a dud and be completely thrown off.

This is a "must read" book. The amount of history that is woven into this story is incredible. When I first started to read the book, I thought it was a coming of age story with little substance. Boy was I wrong. Everything that happens in the story has a reason.
The book is well edited.
It definitely is a first hand account of what was happening and moreover it tells the reader how the events affected those that lived through it.
I would think that this book could and should be required reading for university.
I look forward to reading more books from this author.

Ashbury Park, New Jersey in 1970. A group of three teenage friends, all from very different backgrounds, are thrust into both the fear and excitement of the race riots. At a time when they should be enjoying their last few years as children, looking for waves and just hanging out, they witness the tensions rise. Adam, Mollie, and Howard struggle with family conflicts, their cultural and sexual identities and their places in society.

I was completely absorbed in this book, and these characters, as their lives become more intertwined during this time of upheaval. Their emotions come across strong and gripping. In the end you can’t help but wonder what’s next for them.

I absolutely loved the mix of fiction with such a powerful historical moment. How it parallels our world today is truly striking. It’s not a light read, and it stays with you. It’s a coming of age story, but so much more. It breaks you but gives you hope.

I did like that the book was educational and touched on some important topics. I however did struggle to get through it and wasn’t sure if would be a DNF for me. I did enjoy the characters and the friendship they had. Thank you NetGalley, Paul and Bumper Car Books for the ARC!

Disclaimer: This review contains spoilers. No Lifeguard On Duty follows the life of a local Asbury Park NJ teen and his friends enjoying their summers on the breach. The characters are diverse. Howard’s friends come from different financial backgrounds and race. Fiction is woven in with history as the story details the racial tensions and protests during the tumultuous times of the seventies. It takes a compassionate account of how it affected the lives of residents and pushed away the visitors. As a NJ resident who saw Asbury Park’s decline, the author doesn’t touch on all of the corrupt politics that also ran the once bustling tourist town into the ground. I would worry readers might take away from this novel that it was just the racial unrest that did the town in and this would not be a very nuanced look at the great history of Asbury Park.

I found myself deeply absorbed in this book. I thought the book ended a bit abruptly. I was hoping to find the outcome of some of the plots and subplots. We end with Adam and his friend Howard about to go off to college, his best friend Howard’s father about to avenge a friend’s death and Mollie, Adam’s rich on again off again girlfriend, perhaps her story is the most unfinished. I hope there is a second part to this novel because I would like to spend more time with these characters.

Thank you to NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

#NoLifeguardonDuty #NetGalley

I received a digital ARC from Bumper Car Books through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I appreciated the interactions/friendship of the three teens; Adam, Mollie, and Howard.

I absolutely loved this coming of age story set in Ashbury Park, New Jersey in 1970. Reading the preview, I expected a book all about racial tensions. It was so much more. !
Three teenager friends are celebrating “Beach Life” in 1970. Getting up early to meet and look for waves to body surf, hang out together, drink and have fun. The life of many teens in the 70’s .
Soon things start to change as Adam , the town kid with blue collar parents , finds summer jobs, Mollie, a wealthy white teen who is staying at a summer house with her father and governess and Howard, the African teen from the black side of town , realizes the dangers of his hometown when race riots start.
The book continues to show the intertwined lives of the teens. Mollie has a very rough family background and a deep hatred for her father. Howard’s parents make plans to move him from the area and Adam is in love with Mollie but finds he does not really know her at all
Please consider a follow up book. Id love to read more about these characters and families
Thank you NetGalley, the publisher and the author for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

A coming of age novel , with historical history tied heavily into it, No Lifeguard on Duty by Paul C. Bomba, is a long read, but worthwhile, if you stick with it. I loved the evolution of the characters over the course of the novel and I enjoyed learning details about history I had never been exposed to in the past, If you are looking for a light , cheery read- this isn’t it, but if you love a historical novel that will give you hope and break you all at the same time, this is the book for you.

I was SO excited to receive this ARC from Netgalley. I was born and raised two towns over from Asbury Park and I am a Jersey girl to my core. My late Father was raised in Neptune in the 50s and while I knew a bit about what happened in the 70s in Asbury, I truly had no idea. While I enjoyed this book, it was not what I expected and I had some trouble following the story lines of the characters. It wrapped up well in the end, but I just wish there was more on the sights/historical information on the shore towns.

I enjoyed this one. I use to go to asbury park a lot growing up so I felt a connection with this one. I loved the coming of age and learning more about the history of the town. issues back then are very much issues still today.

This book is loosely based on the race riots in Asbury Park during the 1970s. We follow three kids who are friends but of different races, social, and economic backgrounds. Following their journeys, their experiences, and their lives opened my eyes to what happened and how life was. I was shocked along the way and thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Thanks Netgalley for this Arc.

I really could not get into this book. I tried on 3 separate occasions but the female characters just felt very flat for me and lack depth. The story line of 1970s Ashby Park beach. This book is educational however I just could not get into it

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
*********************************************************
It’s July of 1970. The decaying beach town of Asbury Park, New Jersey erupts with racial unrest that propels three unlikely teenage friends into turmoil. Adam, Mollie and Howard struggle with family conflicts and their racial, cultural and class identities in the midst of the chaos. Town and teens will never be the same.
When the smoke clears, secrets are revealed that brought the trio to this fateful time and place and will intertwine their lives in the years to come. The boardwalk and beaches become the setting for personal revelations, encounters with the dark side of human nature, and brushes with the supernatural.
No Lifeguard on Duty will stir a range of emotions and its nuanced treatment of race and class is as relevant today as it was in 1970.

When I think of the 1970s I think of horrible music, even more horrible movies, tacky, gaudy clothing, civic unrest and really, really, really bad hairstyles (and mustaches) on the men – and the women’s styles were not much better. I know Ashbury Park as the birthplace of Bruce Springsteen and Danny DeVito but to me this book could have easily been set in any beach town on the Jersey Shore. But then again, that is from a Canadian who had only visited the beaches a few times (and loved them) but then #COVIDhappened.

So, I looked up the incident and here it is, per Wikipedia:
The 1970 Asbury Park race riots were a significant civil disturbance that occurred in Asbury Park, New Jersey between July 4 and July 10, 1970. The seven days of rioting, looting, and destruction left more than 180 people injured, including 15 New Jersey state troopers, and resulted in an estimated $5,600,000 in damages.

So, like the riots and protests of today … what has changed?? NOTHING. Well, nowadays it would be on TikTok and people would try to make themselves famous due to their actions. (Influencer? Content Creator? UGGGGH!) Keeping that in mind, this is a wonderful debut novel from someone who lived through it, and it is delightfully social-media-free. The characters were great to spend time with and it made me hear the waves calling me to visit again. Given its relevancy to today’s civil unrest, looting, and racial-related riots/murders this is a book that I will recommend to patrons and book clubs alike. #shortbutsweetreviews

This debut was a great coming of age story set in 1970's Asbury Park, New Jersey. I grew up going to the beach every summer, but in Wildwood, NJ, and have spent full summers "down the shore" in my own teen years. It's a very specific lifestyle and I could relate to the characters a lot. I am not very familiar with Asbury Park and have only been a handful of times but this novel was so well researched that I feel that I could find my way around there. I also learned a lot about the history of the town. When we think back the 1970's, we put our rose glasses on and only remember the good things that came from it such as fashion, music, etc. This book touched on a lot of important topics that serve as reminders to us that these things are just as important now as they were back then.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for this ARC!

this was a definitely interesting read, and i sped through it quite easily. i like the topics that it deals with, and bomba’s writing is very strong, but i do think that the female characters lacked a little more depth.